I have a letter A is for apple craft. Also, I have more alphabet letter fun on my page How to Homeschool Preschool.
Too, you’ll love the other ideas I have on my page Apple Lapbook and Apple Unit Study.
In addition, I have a whole week’s worth of fun apple-themed crafts, activities, and snacks to teach your preschooler without even picking up a pencil.
There are several trains of thought on how to teach letters, some teach in order, some teach easier letters first and then harder letters, and some altogether.
You know me and how much I love a good unit study, and there is no reason why you can’t use a fun but simple unit study for teaching letters to preschoolers as well.
You do not need to cover every subject every day, or even weekly but if you would like a little bit of structure for your preschool lessons, I have worked out a simple plan that covers 5 days.
So go the pace of your preschooler’s interests. For example, your week may look like 3 days of one week and 2 days next week.
Also, it could be Saturday and Sunday learning and three days of the week.
Additionally, many things are naturally addressed in one simple activity.
For instance, while apple stamping is art it is also a great science lesson as you talk about the anatomy of the apple after you slice it open.
Count the apples you use and the seeds and you have covered math.
You might mention Johnny Appleseed and talk about how and where he planted his apples, it is now a light history/geography lesson.
More How to Homeschool Preschool Letter of the Week Activities
- Alphabet Letter A is for Apple Craft for Preschool | Fun Apple Study
- Letter O is for Owl Preschool Craft | Fun Great Horned Owl Study
- Alphabet Letter H Handprint Craft For Fun Preschool Horse Study
- How To Make An Alphabet Teeth Cleaning Activity | 5 Preschool Letter T Crafts
- Alphabet Letter R is for Rainbow Craft for Preschool | Fun Rain Mobile
- Alphabet Letter M is for Monkey Handprint Preschool Fun Monkey Study
- Alphabet Letter G is for Gorilla Fun Paper Plate Preschool Mask
- W Is For Winter Craft Easy Snowman Oobleck Activity
- Letter E Is For Eagle Easy Preschool Eagle Study
- Alphabet Letter N Is For Nest Handprint & Fun Nests Preschool Craft
- B is for Bird Craft | Free Preschool Bluebird Study
- X is for X Ray Craft | Unique Crayon Resist Skeleton
Books and Resources for Preschool
Too, add some of these resources to your apple theme.
Preschool Apple Themed Resources
Add some of these books and resources for your apple learning week.
Who doesn’t love to go apple picking at the first sign of fall? A sister and brother celebrate autumn with a trip to a local apple orchard in this simple, rhyming Step 1 early reader. The kids bound with glee through the rows of trees, and race against other children to pick the most and the best apples. The story of their day is bright, fun, and full of light action. It’s told in easy-to-follow rhyme, ensuring a successful reading experience.
Practice the Letter A with Matt. Practice how the letter A sounds in words like apple and acorn. Words: ant, apple, cat, acorn, cake, snake. In this video we practice the long and short a sound.
Playing with playdough is not only fun, but great for strengthening hand muscles, sensory activity, and exploring creativity too.
If you're looking for fun apple activities for kids - your toddlers and preschoolers will have so much fun with this
Learn the difference between a farrow and a barrow, and what distinguishes a weanling from a yearling. Country and city mice alike will delight in Julia Rothman’s charming illustrated guide to the curious parts and pieces of rural living. Dissecting everything from the shapes of squash varieties to how a barn is constructed and what makes up a beehive to crop rotation patterns, Rothman gives a richly entertaining tour of the quirky details of country life.
Count your way through this silly stacking adventure with Dr. Seuss!Don't let the apples drop! Three animal friends practice balancing apples on their heads in this hilarious introduction to counting, illustrated by Roy Mckie. The sturdy board book teaches all about numbers, with a dose of signature Seuss charm. Kids will learn to count to ten--and want to start all over again!
Letter A Alphabet Song for Kids Let's Learn About The Alphabet Phonics Song
Your children will be engaged in singing, listening and following along as they’ll learn to: identify the alphabet letter Aa, form the upper and lower case letter, say the letter sound clearly and accurately. They will see, hear and say both the long and short vowel sounds at the beginning and middle of a variety of storytelling words.
Apple donuts are a healthier treat, and one that my kids constantly beg for and fight over. They love the variety of toppings as I'm sure your kids will as well.
Read and find out about how apples grow in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.
This is a clear and appealing environmental science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom.
Questions addressed in this book include:
- Did you know that when you bite into an apple, you're eating part of a flower?
- Why do apple trees need bees to make apples?
- How does the tree feed the gorwing apples and make them ready to eat?
Way Up High in an Apple Tree is our very popular apple song for children,
In this video, learn about the legendary apple farmer, Johnny Appleseed.
Mac and Will have tons in common. They love to read adventure stories, go on lots of adventures themselves, and even start finishing each other's sentences.
Language Arts Focus Day 1
For your first day, you want to focus on letter recognition and sound. Look for objects that start with the letter sound like- Apple, ant, avocado, astronaut.
You don’t need to buy anything special, look around outside, in the house, you can probably find a lot of objects in the toy bin.
- Letter/Sound Recognition – Introduce the letter and the sound, use letter flashcards, letter tiles, or cardboard letters. Watch Letter A Pronunciation, the repetition is fabulous, and it will also help identify a few basic words that start with A.
- Book – Read Aloud Apple Picking Day.
- Craft/Activity-Make a batch of Super Soft, No-Cook Apple Playdough to use for the week. Beyond just simple playdough fun it can be used to make apples for dramatic play and to form letters for practice.
- Song/fingerplay – Applesauce (To the tune of Yankee Doodle)
Applesauce (To the tune of Yankee Doodle)
Peel an apple,
cut it up,
cook it in a pot.
When you taste it
you will find it’s applesauce you’ve got.
- Snack – Make these adorable Graham Cracker Apple Snacks to enjoy.
Science Focus Day 2
While you are cutting open the apple to make stamps for today’s craft.
Take some time to examine the apple, and talk about what it looks, feels, smells, and even tastes like.
Dissect an apple and examine the parts, the seed, the skin, the flesh, the stem, etc.
Also, if you are looking for a great science reference book to include in your lessons this is a perfect time to grab Farm Anatomy.
You will be able to reference it for a lot of topics but can start right now with the wonderful Apple information.
- Letter/ Sound Recognition- Hide upper and lowercase A’s around the house or outside. Every time that your child finds one, remind them of the sound that A makes. Until they confidently know how to make the sound you say it first, so they learn it correctly.
- Book-Read the Dr. Seuss Classic 10 Apples Up On Top.
- Craft/Activity – Make Apple Stamped pictures (instructions below). In addition to having your child identify the paint colors, you can also have them count the number of apples in each color to incorporate some simple math.
- Song/Fingerplay –Watch Letter A Song For Kids Jack Hartmann to introduce your preschooler to the sound as well as words that start with the letter A.
- Snack- No Bake Apple Donuts– Using just apple slices and whatever icing and toppings you have on hand, this is an easy way to focus on apples with a yummy snack.
Math Focus Day 3
- Use mini erasers or other apple counters to practice one-on-one correspondence which is just the skill of counting one object as you say one number. For example, if you are counting objects, you point at the first item and say ‘1,’ then point to the second and say ‘2’ and so on. If they are already at this stage, you can have them add and subtract small numbers.
- Letter/ Sound Recognition – Create a salt writing tray by placing a piece of red construction paper in the bottom of a small tray (I found this one at Dollar Tree) and just barely covering it with table salt. Make a lowercase and uppercase A for your child to copy by “writing” it with their finger.
- Book- Let’s Read and Find Out Science books are a wonderful living book introduction to the world around us. How Do Apples Grow brings in a science element while still developing processing skills, vocabulary, and comprehension through a read-aloud?
- Craft/Activity- Baked Apple Cotton Balls go perfectly with today’s story and it is just super fun crushing apples while they develop hand-eye coordination.
- Song/Fingerplay- Way Up High in the Apple Tree
- Snack- Healthy apples, protein, and a satisfying crunch but mostly look how adorable these Simple Kids Snack Ideas: Crunchy Apple Boats are. Letting your little ones make them alongside you will develop their fine motor skills so important for prewriting.
History/Geography Focus Day 4
- Learn about folk hero Johnny Appleseed through a book or watch a video like Johnny Appleseed for Kids. Introduce your child to a map and show them the states Johnny Traveled through. While they won’t fully grasp the idea this is a great time to slowly introduce maps as well as historical figures.
- Letter/ Sound Recognition – Coloring, cutting, and pasting are just a rite of passage in preschool, make the Letter A Apple Craft using paint, markers, or crayons.
- Book – BAD APPLE – A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway are good for social/emotional intelligence.
- Craft/Activity- Set out some playdough in red, green, and yellow as well as include an apple cookie cutter, a letter A cookie cutter or stamp, and a craft stick for cutting. You can also use the dough you made on day 1.
- Song/Fingerplay –The Apple Picking Song.
- Snack- This Apple Pie in a Cup is a delicious snack and a simple math introduction rolled into one.
Language Arts Focus Day 5
- We want to repeat things like letter recognition and pronunciation to reinforce what they are learning. We have a great Aa sorting activity today as well as a fun hands-on recipe where little fingers are busy building letters with dough rather than using a worksheet. Rewatch one of the videos from earlier in the week to be sure they get it.
- Letter/ Sound Recognition – Download and print this Letter A Apple Sort to help your child learn to distinguish between lower and uppercase letters. Remember to practice the A sound at the same time.
- Craft/Activity- Make Cardboard Yarn Apples to work on fine motor skills.
- Song/Fingerplay- Do You Know The Apple Man?
- Snack- Make upper and lowercase A’s with this Homemade Pretzel Recipe, the ABC’s never tasted so good!
Finally, make this apple stamping craft.
Apple Stamping Craft
This is a sweet and simple craft that can be done with an apple or two and develops fine motor strength, creativity, and independence and reinforces color knowledge.
You will need:
- Red, yellow, and green craft paint
- Fresh apples
- Thick construction paper
- Paper plate
First, make a shallow puddle of red, green, and yellow craft paint on your paper plate, using it like a palette.
Cut apples in half, make one for each color.
Then cut a wedge out of either side of the peeling side of the apple, creating a little handle.
This is much easier for little hands to hold onto than a big round apple.
Stamp apple halves in the paint.
Stamp all over the paper, using one apple for each color.
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