1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple Math With Me

I never mind putzing a bit to make a math center because once you’re done making your activities things are easy-peasy.

I designed this packet so students are empowered because they set up the center, do the activity independently, check their work via the answer-key posters, make corrections if needed, then put things back where they belong. 

No more prep for you, so you’re freed up while children are happily engaged.

Plus you can reuse this “apple-icious” math center every year. Woo hoo!

I keep my apples with a pipe cleaner stem in a large ZipLock Baggie and have included labels so you can separate the 0-10 apples from the 11-20 ones.

I created the patterns in such a way that you can easily diversify your lessons, while practicing a variety of standards such as:

* Sequencing, patterning, number recognition, counting forwards & backwards, +1 addition, -1 subtraction, groups/sets, subitizing, sorting odd & even, number word recognition, plus greater & less than.

There are so many independent center options that I've included a list of suggestions.

For example, I have one set of apples where I've glued the number leaf and mathcing oval set of seeds to an apple, which is labeled with that number word.

For this math center students count and string that many beads on the pipe cleaner stem, which matches the appropriate numbers on the apple.

They can use all one color, or show me an AB-AB or ABC-ABC color pattern. 

For another activity, the leaves and center options are laminated, then individually cut out. 

Children match the leaves and various centers to the appriate apple.

Even though I'm not teaching reading to my Y5s, I still put the number words on the leaves and apples.

They enjoy these games so much, that the continued repetition of seeing number words associated with a specific number, eventually sinks in by association, so many start reading those words on their own!

You can also use the patterns to make a set of apples without a pipe cleaner stem. I simply glued on a strip of brown paper.

We use this set for sequencing the numbers from 0-20, as well as sorting them on the odd or even number mats. 

To reinforce the fact that apples can be red, yellow and green, I make a set of each color. 

Students can make matches with the apples, (great for "Memory Match" or "I Have; Who Has?" games) as well as showing a row of color patterns. 

For another set of apples, I glue a blank white oval to the center. 

Children pick a number leaf, place it at the top then use black or brown pony beads to make a group of that many "seeds", which practices counting, making groups/sets, number recognition, plus one-to-one correspondence!

Besides using the variety of pattern choices for activities in your math center, you can laminate a class set of blank apples, as a quick, easy and super-fun way to whole group assess.

Call out a number. Using a dry erase marker,  students write that number on their leaf, and make that many "seed" dots on the center oval, then place that many "seed beads" on the pipe cleaner stem. 

When they are done, they hold their apple in the air.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

This is an inexpensive and easy enough craft, that students could also make their own apple, then take it home for continued practice there.

Today's featured, apple-themed  FREEBIE, is another fun way to help your students practice number recognition, counting  and sequencing. 

As with my other math centers, I keep each one of the puzzles in their own ZipLock Baggie.  I hope your kiddos enjoy these apple strip puzzles as much as mine do. 

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm heading out to the farmer's market.  Mmmm mmmm I can just taste that apple cider.

Wishing you an awesome autumn.

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why!" -Bernard Baruch

1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple Crafts With Me  

Although I’ve seen a variety of 3D apple and pumpkin crafts using paper strips to form the sphere, I could not find a pattern anywhere on the web.

After a few hours of diddling around, I came up with this simple “print & go” apple craftivity, complete with several pattern options and step-by-step directions using photographs of the various stages.

Few teachers have the luxury of simply making a craft just for fun; so to incorporate some science standards, one of the options is to make a “label the apple” craft.

I’ve included labeled templates for little ones, as well as blank ones, so that older students can label their own pieces.

You can also opt to simply make an unlabeled apple, with the “skin strips” going all the way around the "core", which is a toilet paper tube. (Love recycling!)

Completed apples are free standing and make adorable centerpieces.

I’ve also designed the stem as a “looped handle”, so that the red, yellow & green apples look amazing swirling & twirling in the air, suspended from the ceiling on various lengths of yarn.

This craft goes perfect with my "Parts of an Apple Emergent Reader" packet. Click the link to have a look.

There’s a full-color copy for teachers, as well as a black & white version for your kiddos.
Choose the 6-on-a-page size, or the 12-on-a-page pattern to make Itty Bitty booklets.

* I’ve also included a set of 8 pocket chart cards, plus a colorful poster that labels the parts of an apple.

* There are 3, black line worksheet options, for students to color and label the parts of their apple too.

Today's featured FREEBIE is one of my personal favorite apple crafts. Even though this craftivity is quick, easy & fun, it definitely has the "Wow!" factor.

"Apples can be red, yellow and green. These are the prettiest apples you've ever seen."  is the little poem that's in the middle of the apple.

I've included a large, full-size teacher's apple, that you can use as a sample to explain things to your kiddos, then later, place it in the middle of your apple display or bulletin board.

Using a crayon sharpener & broken peeled crayons, have students "shave" separate piles of red, yellow & green shavings. 

They pinch a bit and then sprinkle the 3 colors on top of their apple cut out. Both of these activities, provide super, fine-motor skill practice, that helps strengthen those finger muscles.

Cover with a sheet of wax paper, press with a warm iron for a few seconds, then gently peel off the paper.

My kiddos often squeal with delight at how awesome their apple turns out.

Take that teachable moment to explain secondary colors, as the red crayon melting into the yellow will create a nice orange color.

Each apple is different; which makes for an amazing bulletin board that never fails to get lots of ooohs and ahhhs, from students and staff who pass by.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for popping in.  It's a beautiful autumn day in the 70s, so time to go crunch some leaves.

Chloe, my poodle pup is wagging her whole body in anticipation.  Wishing you a delightful day.

"If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour." - Victoria Erickson

1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple and Pumpkin Activities With Me!

One of the much-needed skills for little ones, is the ability to cut.  Just learning how to hold a scissors is quite an accomplishment for some.  To help my Y5's strengthen their hand muscles and increase dexterity, I incorporated cutting practice in some form or another every day.  To make this less tedious and frustrating, many of the activities revolved around creating a craft that included other skills as well.

Keeping this in mind, I designed "A-peel-ing Apples" so children could practice cutting in a circle.  This is a wonderful opportunity to add the term spiral to students' vocabulary as well.  Giving a red, yellow or lime green color choice for the apple, also reinforces that science fact. 

To add a bit more pizzazz, older students can glue two different colors together.  The thicker paper lessens the drop of the spiral, and the double-sided colors add interest to the dangler.  Students glue a stem and leaf to the top.  Punch a hole; add a yarn loop and suspend from the ceiling, or as a border against a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the A-peel-ing Apples activity.

Cutting on a straight line is also not that easy for some little ones. These apple and pumpkin "strip" puzzles, will not only give your students practice with that skill, but review and reinforce sequencing numbers from 1-10, skip counting by 10's, or counting backwards from 10-1. I've used a dashed-line font, for the numbers on the apples and pumpkins, so that students can get some writing practice in.  Encourage children to count quietly as they trace the numbers.

Simply choose a number concept you want to work on and run off the puzzles on construction paper.  Children choose a puzzle; trace the numbers; cut the strips, lay them in the proper sequence on a sheet of black construction paper, and then glue them down. 

Remind students to keep a small space between the strips.  Students add a stem and leaf to the top.  You can make the pumpkin more of a keepsake, by having children, or a room helper, trace their hand, with their fingers spread, onto green construction paper.  They trim and glue next to their stem.  Completed projects make a sweet harvest bulletin board.

You may want to laminate one of each kind, to keep in your math center.  Each puzzle has its own Baggie.  Children can work indepently, or pick a partner to play "Speed" against.  The first one who completes their puzzle, is the winner.  Click on the link to view/download the Apple and Pumpkin Number Puzzles.

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"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." -Lauren Bacall

1-2-3 Play An Alphabet Matching Game With Me!

The Dollar Store is one of my favorite stores.  My mantra when I go in one is: "What can I do with this, that will help my students learn?"  so when I saw that they carried clip-on clothespins, I designed all sorts of games that students could "clip and match."  I did this for colors, numbers, upper and lowercase letters, shapes, and even glued my kiddos' photo on the front and back, so they could clip it to a yes or no answer for Question of the Day. 

I used another photo clip for attendance. This clothespin could also be used on your behavior board. i.e. Children all start out on the green apple for "good" behavior, and move to a yellow apple when they've been warned, and finally to a red apple if there's a consequence.

Because my little ones needed help recognizing and writing their names, I wrote them on clothespins for them to "find".  These were kept in a bucket and were sometimes used when I graphed something.   Children could also pick a clothespin out of the bucket and have that child be their partner. 

My clothespin craftiness started 13 years ago.  Creative minds must think alike, because I've seen clothespin activities all over Pinterest, with similar ideas.  One gal used yellow alphabet clothespins as "rays" that were clipped around a sun.  This gave me the idea to make several themed alphabet clothespin games. 

I started with an apple and then made a pumpkin. I'll fool around with a turkey and its feathers for November. Hopefully by then, all of your students will be able to identify upper and lowercase letters.

Here are some tips to help you make the apple/pumpkin alphabet games.  Directions for the pumpkin are similar and included in the packet.

If you are making multiple games, so that more students can play, make a template for the leaves and stem. Print, cut and trace onto an old file folder to make a pattern that’s easier to trace.  Using the template, trace the leaf once on green construction paper and then cut several at a time. Do the same for the stem, only on brown construction paper.  Glue to the back of your apples then laminate.  Children will clip the Aa clothespins on the stem, and the Z or B clothespin on the leaf, depending on where you glue the leaves.  Run off the apples on red, yellow and lime green construction paper.

I suggest you clip all of the clothespins onto the apples BEFORE you write the letters on.  Since little ones are just learning about letters, it’s less confusing for them, if you print on the clothespins, so that a letter doesn’t appear upside down.  i.e. I printed letters E, F, G, H, I, J, sideways with the “pinch” end of the clothespin going to the right, and letters Q, R, S, T, U , V and W sideways; with the “pinch” side going to the left. Letters A, B, C, D, Z, Y, X with the “pinch” side up,; and L, M, N, O, P with the “pinch” side down.

Another help for younger children, and allows for quick sorting, is to print the uppercase letters in red permanent marker, and the lowercase letters on the flip side, in black.   Bag up this particular set of clothespins and mark them Apple Clothespins.  

Children can also play with a partner, dividing the clothespins so that each child gets 13 to clip. Teacher chooses the partners, so that a stronger student can help a child who’s struggling.  There's an apple and pumpkin alphabet anchor chart, so that children can self-check their work when they have completed clipping their clothespins.

Make a few extra games to send home with children who need more one-on-one help.  Inform parents via a note (There's one included in the pack) that they may BORROW the game for one week and need to return it on a specific day.  Jot yourself a note as to who has the game. I've also included a reminder note to send home, in case a child fails to return the game on time.

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Alphabet Clothespin Game and/or the Pumpkin Alphabet Clothespin Game.

Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the menu bar.  If you'd like to see all of the wonderful-educational ideas that I pin, click on the heart to the right of the blog.

"I was asked to memorize what I did not understand; and, my memory being so good, refused to be insulted in that manner." -Aleister Crowley

1-2-3 Come Sequence The Life Cycle Of An Apple With Me!

I liked to do several life cycle "craftivities" for our apple unit.  After several hands-on activities, the sequence eventually got into everyones head.  Cutting and glueing are wonderful fine motor skills that need plenty of practice, so I made several ways for you to use the life cycle of an apple printables.

For a quick and easy table top activity, run off the “Sequencing the Life Cycle of an Apple” worksheet.  Make sure you print a color copy for your demonstration model.  Students cut off the bottom and then cut and glue the individual pictures to the matching ordinal number position at the top of the paper. Before hand, point out to students, that the pictures are numbered.

When everyone has completed their project, use the “teacher cards” on your word wall or pocket chart, to reinforce and review the life cycle (science) as well as the new vocabulary. This is a great time to cover ordinal numbers as well.

If you’d like to involve math, have students choose a partner and take turns rolling a die.  Whatever number they roll, is the piece that they cut and glue.  If they roll a six, they lose their turn.  The first child who completes their apple life cycle, or the one who has the most squares glued on when the timer rings, is the winner.  All children should complete their paper.

To involve a bit more cutting, plus listening and following directions skills, pre-cut red, yellow and light green construction paper into 11 by 4 inch strips.  Give students a color choice.  They cut “slits” on their ordinal number template; the “doors” will then flip up.  So that children don’t snip off their “fllip-up’s” remind them to STOP cutting when they run out of a line to follow.

Students rub a line of glue along the top of their ordinal number rectangle (this is the title portion) and glue it to their piece of construction paper.

Children press on the folds to crease them, so that they easily flip up.  Students glue the appropriate picture under each flap.  When everyone is done, to make sure that students have the correct order, review the life cycle.

Click on the link to view/download The Life Cycle of an Apple activities.

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"All of the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined." -David Malouf