FALL…in Love with Apples!

It’s officially upon us- fall is here, well in most states (sorry Florida folks)! While I do love lazy summer days, fall brings a refreshing change of cool breezes, new shades of nature, sweaters/boots, and pumpkin spice lattes!

For the kiddos that means nature hikes to add to Sean’s growing nature collection, apple picking, pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, and all the goodness fall has to offer.

This week we kicked off fall with a fun apple thematic unit that will end with a trip to the apple orchard in north Georgia. In the classroom I absolutely loved using thematic units to integrate subjects, apply learning to everyday life, and include fiction and nonfiction books to our lessons.

I headed to some of my favorite blogs and Pinterest  for some fresh ideas and free printables, and filled in the rest with some homemade goodies. This post contains the first 3 days of activities, a later post will contain the last 2 days. These activities are targeted for preschoolers and kindergarteners but can be adapted for younger and older children. I complete the activities with Sean providing assistance as needed.

Skills we are learning and practicing are: cutting, gluing, coloring, counting, measuring, writing, labeling, comparing/contrasting, graphing, reading comprehension, patterns, and investigating.

Introducing the apple:

 

We read Apples by Gail Gibbons and talked about why we label things. I made an easy cutout of an apple shape on red construction paper and a smaller shape on white paper. Glue the white on top, draw a core and seeds in the center, add a leaf and stem. I hand drew some labels and Sean cut and glued them on the apple. We also made some homemade applesauce. I peeled, cored, and large chopped the apples, Sean used a plastic knife and cut smaller chunks, added the cinnamon, and when it was cooked and cooled he mashed it. It was a hit with both Sean and Olivia.

 

 

 

Day 2:

 



 

 

We read Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Wallace. Today was my mini scientist’s favorite day, investigation! I found a cute booklet on the teacherspayteachers website, but  I knew I could quickly whip up my own for free. I choose to have Sean measure the apples height and width with legos, pegs, and a tape measure, guess and count how many seeds were inside, and predict and test whether it will sink or float. I hand drew the pictures and stapled a cover page on the front.

 

While we were doing the investigation Sean decided to test the other fruits in our fruit bowl (orange, kiwi, and peach) for size comparison and whether they sink or float as well.

We also completed an investigating apples flip book you can find HERE! Sean colored and cut and as we completed each section I recorded.

 

Day 3:

This was a math focus day. We read the book Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg.

I folded a sheet of construction paper into 8 and drew a tree in each box with a random number. I gave Sean some paint and q-tips and he stamped the correct number of apples on each tree. Sean completed this by himself while I cooked dinner but for younger children you could do smaller numbers and count out loud with them while they stamp, for older children you can use larger numbers or write addition sentences for them to solve on each tree.

 

He also completed  an apple  pattern sheet you can find HERE!

 

Sean used the extra paint to paint an orchard, this was one of the first non-abstract paintings he’s done!

 

*Check out The First Grade Parade blog for more great ideas!

 

Still to come:

Venn Diagram comparing apples and tomatoes (cut and paste), apple color graphing, apple taste testing, and making mini muffin tin apple pies.

Do the Monster Mash

Today was one of our bimonthly trips to the library and while Sean hunted for...gasp- TRAIN books, I picked out a few monster books. We have a few at home that Sean likes to read (Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton, Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak) and I had seen some cute projects on Instagram, so I thought I’d grab a few new titles.

 

We read Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen and Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. While reading we took note of how different the monsters looked in size, shape, and body parts. Sean counted eyes, used adjectives to describe, and created silly names for them based on appearance.

 

When we finished the book we whipped up half a batch of The Imagination Tree’s 4 minute no cook playdough. Anna has a very creative play based blog that I’ve been reading for a while. She has TONS of playdough ideas that far exceed simply busting open a jar of dollar store playdough. I usually make JELLO dough but didn’t feel like cooking. I prefer making my own because it doesn't dry out as fast as store bought, and it's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

 

Her recipe is simple: (I halved her recipe so check out her blog for the original recipe)

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¾ cup of boiling water
• Food coloring

 

 

Mix flour, salt, cream of tarter and vegetable oil in bowl. Add food coloring to the water and gradually mix in the water. Mix until it comes together and is slightly sticky. When it cools down knead it until no longer sticky. You may need to add a little flour if it’s too sticky. I separated the dry ingredients into 3 small bowls and added a little less than ¼ cup of colored water to each bowl.

 

 

I gathered some random loose parts and placed them in an old egg carton and Sean, Olivia, and I started creating monsters.

I used googly eyes, buttons, pom poms, cubes and craft sticks. I also pulled out some rollers, scissors and other random playdough tools.

 

This was a great activity for both kids. Yes! Olivia did try out the playdough, but since it has salt she quickly discovered that it was better for play than snacking!

 

 

After making several monsters, Sean decided he wanted to make a birthday cake for his monster like in his book Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton.  I love that playdough can really spark those creative juices!

 

 

 

Some other great Monster reads are:

• Go Away Big Green Monster

• If You’re a Monster and You Know It

• How to Potty Train Your Monster

• Tickle Monster

• That’s Not my Monster

• Go to Bed Monster

• The Book that Eats People

• The Monster Show

What's On Your Plate?

 

 

As a mommy of littles, food consumes a vast majority of your day. A topic of discussion amongst moms is often what your kids eat, as they grow through changes, like stages of eating, to changes in preference. With a preschooler going through a growth spurt I feel like I live in the kitchen. Thankfully both of my kiddos are fairly good eaters, I attribute this to: 1) Both of my babes are/were breastfed, Olivia is still nursing and Sean was nursed for 19 months. It is said that flavors of food pass through breast milk and babies who nurse tend to be more adventurous when starting solids. 2) I made their baby food. Have you ever played the baby food game at a baby shower and missed several because the taste/color was indistinguishable? Exactly, homemade baby food tastes fresher and more similar to eating the whole food itself, which helped my kids transition to eating these foods later as finger foods 3) We buy it, so they eat it! They won’t eat what’s not readily available. If fast food and junk food is what is on hand, their taste buds will begin to prefer that over other food choices. Trying to get a child to change from eating those salty, sweet, and fatty foods is very difficult, trust me I know from experience. Feed them right from the start!

Now I will say my family is not vegan, vegetarian or healthy food fanatics. We do eat pizza and cookies and other not so healthy treats on occasion; but we try to keep eating fast food and junk to a minimum, cook as much as possible rather than quick processed meals, and try to keep introducing new foods to our diets. We do like to eat out on the weekends since we love other cultures' food. Our favorites are Japanese, Greek, and Indian. When we eat out both kids also eat and get to try new things.

 My goal is for my family to eat the R A I N B O W every day. I feel that by eating the rainbow each day they are getting tons of vitamins and minerals from an array of items, and it keeps them from getting bored or stuck on a “favorite.” I keep the refrigerator stocked each week with fruits and vegetables of all colors/variety and fill in with protein and grains to make a meal. When we are out and about I always carry snack bags of fruit, nuts, water/juice, granola etc. so that I am not enticed to stop and pick up fast food. Sometimes I get in a rut and feel like they are eating the same thing so I head to Pinterest for toddler meal ideas; weelicious is a great website for little people meals.

Here is a list of what produce we typically eat throughout the week:

Red: strawberries, watermelon, tomatoes, apples

Orange: oranges, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, mango, carrots, peaches, persimmons

Yellow: banana, lemons (juiced in our water), squash, pineapple, corn (popcorn)

Green: edamame, spinach (salad, green smoothies), kale (salad, green smoothies), kiwi, green beans, peas, broccoli, zucchini, avocado, grapes, celery (snack with peanut butter, green smoothie), lettuce, pears, peppers, asparagus

Blue/Purple: eggplant, blueberries, grapes, plums 

I used to say that I would not be that mom who cooks separate meals for their kids, but I had to eat my words. On occasion I will go to one of Sean’s “go to” meals which is “green pasta,” pesto pasta made with Barilla Plus Pasta and pesto sauce. I like the Barilla Plus because it is made from wheat and legume flour, flaxseed, and oats. It is full of protein and omegas which is perfect for the kiddos since they don't eat a lot of meat.

Most days though both kids will eat an abbreviated version of the main meal cooked for dinner. Below are examples of how I prepare meals for myself and the kids.

* Taco Night: Mine (taco salad), Olivia's deconstructed taco, Sean's taco and guacamole

 

*Asian- Mine (veggie fried rice (brown), stir fried veggies, sprouts) Sean (edamame, spring roll, rice, miso soup) Olivia (brown rice, veggies)

 

 

 

*Pasta Night: Eggplant Parmesan

 * Sean's Plate- he doesn't like sauce or cheese on his, Olivia has her eggplant diced in with the pasta, Mine (regular)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do a loose meal plan each week before I go grocery shopping so I basically jot down what I will prepare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and use that for my list.

The following are a few samples of what the kids  typically eat.

 

Breakfast: *always served with fruit, sometimes bacon or egg

Sean and Olivia eat the same thing for breakfast.

 

 

•  homemade wheat/flaxseed blueberry banana pancakes ( I make a big batch twice a month and freeze them so in the morning I just need to heat them)
• Kashi blueberry waffles
• Multigrain oatmeal with sautéed apples or peaches

• Cereal
• French toast
• Homemade orange or blueberry/banana muffin

Lunch:
Sean- soup, grilled cheese, plums    Olivia- melon, avocado, black eye peas
Sean's school lunch- fruit, craisens, pesto pasta, garlic bread    Olivia- pasta, cheese, mango, avocado





 

Sean:

• Pesto Pasta, salad

• Grilled Cheese, soup

• Turkey Sandwich

• Homemade Pizza

• Peanut butter & Jelly sandwich

• Tacos

•  Beans and Rice

• Homemade Vegetable Fried Rice, edema me, veggie spring roll 

• Homemade mac and cheese with pureed squash baked in

Olivia usually has a deconstructed version of Sean’s lunch: for example if he has a sandwich, she will have the meat, cheese, and veggies without bread diced up.

Snacks:

 

 
 

 

 

 

• air popped popcorn and fruit

• graham crackers/apples/celery with peanut butter
• smoothie
• tortillas and salsa/guacamole
• homemade fruit popsicle
• yogurt and granola
• veggies and dip

 

Dinner:

We all eat some form of the same meal majority of the time. Sean and Olivia are not  big meat eaters so they will sometimes have the sides with a salad.

We normally have fish at least once a week, a veggie dish like eggplant or beans once a week, and chicken the rest of the week. I do not cook pork (outside of bacon) or beef (occasional ground beef maybe once a month) at home often. Here a few sample meals:

(left--> right)
Mine and Olivia's stuffed chicken breast, veggies, mashed potatoes

 

trout, edamame, sweet potato         jerk chicken wraps, plantain chips, fruit salad

 

salmon, shrimp scampi, fingerling potatoes, snap peas     Olivia's mac n cheese with squash, snap peas, watermelon

 

dinner salads for Sean and I

 

 

I would love to know what's on yours or your kiddos' plates? Always looking for new ideas so feel free to share in the comments!