If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a sucker for hand print crafts! They are simply adorable to display, easy to make, and fun for the kids. Last week during our home preschool Allie learned about apples. We talked about where they came from, how they grow, how they get to the store for us to buy them, etc. She really enjoyed this theme and I enjoyed learning new things about apples with her. The following are apple facts you can share with your child.
APPLE FACTS
- Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. There are apples that have an aftertaste of pears, citrus, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, strawberries, grapes and even
pineapple! - Planting an apple seed from a particular apple will not produce a tree of that same variety. The seed is a cross of the tree the fruit was grown on and the variety that was the cross pollinator.
- Apples are a member of the rose family.
- It takes energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.
- Fresh apples float because 25% of their volume is air.
- China produces more apples than any other country.
- There are more than 7500 varieties of apples grown in the world. About 2500 varieties are grown in the United States.
- The only apple native to North America is the crabapple.
- Apple trees don't bear their first fruit until they are four or five years old.
- Apples can last up to 6 weeks in your fridge.
- Don’t store with green vegetables and salad greens because of ethylene gas that apples give off can damage the vegetables.
What you will need:
- White printer or construction paper
- Brown paint for tree
- Green paint for leaves
- Red paint for apples
Paint your child's arm and hand brown. Press the arm and hand down on the paper as shown in the photo below. This creates the tree trunk and branches. Next let your child dip a finger (or five) in green paint and make finger prints for the leaves. Last have your child make red finger prints for the apples in the tree. If they wish they can make little piles of apples under the tree.
