Theme: Apples

Focus of the Week: Our theme series focuses on one letter, one shape and one color each week. I put together and printed this printable mostly for my two. I hung it in our craft room and would often point to the letter, shape and color for him to identify throughout the week.

September Themes: My boys (ages 2, 3) go to preschool twice a week, so I planned our activities for the off days - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I printed a monthly chart as a way to keep organized and stay on track. Here's the third week at a glance:

MONDAY:

Art (Fizzy Apples): I found this idea on Kids Play Box last year and have waited an entire year to try this! I'm not sure if it's because we didn't have citric acid or if I didn't add enough food coloring to our vinegar, but our colors didn't turn out near as vibrant. The boys still loved painting with baking soda and squirting red, green and yellow on their paper and watching their art fizz!

Numbers (Apple Seed Counting): We ran out of time for this activity, but I was planning on doing this darling Apple Seed Counting (with free prinatable!) from Modern Preschool. You can use real apple seeds or black beans as the seeds.

Gross Motor (Apple Bean Bags): Last year, I made these no sew apple bean bags. We used them to balance "ten apples up on top" of our heads when we went across our balance beam.  

Colors/Sorting (Apples & Water): This was a HIGHLIGHT of our week! I filled our sensory bin with water, Twisty Droppers, Handy Scoopers, Scrubbers & Attribute Apples, (these come in three different colors and sizes). The boys loved scooping the apples (great for fine motor) and sorting the apples by color. 

WEDNESDAY:

Sensory (Apple Tree Seasons): My boys really loved this art and sensory project. After reading books about apple trees and how they change depending on the season, we made this craft. We used tissue paper for the fall leaves, cotton balls for the winter snow, popcorn for the spring blossoms, and green curly ribbon for the summer leaves. My four swapped the spring and summer trees on accident.

Fine Motor (Apple Tree Alphabet): I found this printable on I Heart Craft Things. My four matched uppercase and lowercase letters. We also reviewed most of the letter sounds. My two is just learning his letters, so I printed the blank tree option and wrote the letters he knows in the white circles. I would call out a letter and he'd put a red office sticker over the letter. My boys both really enjoyed this!

Shapes (Apple Baseball): I was trying to think of a fun shape activity and wanted something my boys would really love - baseball. This is how I incorporated the two! I found these baseball mats at the Dollar Tree and drew various shapes on the back. I set the shapes up in a large circle in our back yard. The boys took turns batting at the different shapes. We used our baseball tee.

Science (Apple Volcanoes): We ran out of time to do this activity as well, but I know my boys would have loved it. We may do it on a random rainy day and I'll update this post. Check out a tutorial at Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tail.

FRIDAY: 

Nursery Rhyme (Hickory Dickory Dock): We made a simple clock craft (also a good number review) and then played with our colored rice sensory bin. I love this clock puzzle, because you can learn numbers, shapes, fine motor and colors. Not pictured, but I had a little stuffed animal mouse to use in the sensory bin as well. Note: Save the colored rice for future use!

Field Trip (Apple Picking): I have always wanted to go apple picking! We happened to go on a day that was pouring rain at the farm, but we still had fun and bought some apples for our next activities.

  

Treat (Apples & Toppings): Cut up apple slices from the Apple Farm and have your children dip them in all different toppings - peanut butter & crushed oreo, crushed nuts, and sprinkles. This idea is and picture is from Mrs. Plemon's Kindergarten.

Colors/Sorting (Apples & Water): This activity doubled as our Color & Sorting Activity well as our Sensory Activity we did on Monday. Scroll above to view.

Apple Booklist: And of course, we read often throughout the week. We mostly read before our quiet times each day, but we occasionally read during a meal or random time during the day. I placed these books on hold at our local library and we enjoyed reading them this week as we learned about apples:

• Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie by Herman Parish
• Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
• Apple Countdown by Joan Holub
• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
• A Visit to the Apple Orchard by Patricia J Murphy
• Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd
• Up, up, Up It's Apple Picking Time by Jody Fickes Shapiro
• Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss
• The APple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
• The Seasons of Arnold's APple Tree by Gail Gibbons

Note: I'd also like to focus on beginning sounds, hand writing, cutting and beginning reading for my three (he'll be four in a few weeks). I will incorporate more of these ideas in this series, but also love this beginning reading program.