Fall is just around the corner, and the apples will soon be ripening on the tree. So it’s the perfect time for an apple unit study! In this post I’m sharing 10 different apple Montessori activities that would be great for 2 to 5 year olds.
Note: For more apple activities, see my Apple Unit Study page.
Apple fine motor Montessori activity
I placed some red glass gems in a small bowl, some scissor scoops, and a silicone mold with apple shaped holes on a tray. Kids can use the scissor scoops to pick up the red glass gems and place them one-by-one into the apple shaped holes. This activity not only supports the development of fine motor skills, it also promotes an understanding of one-to-one correspondence.
Red and white bead patterning Montessori activity
On this tray I placed red and white beads into a small bowl along with a pipe cleaner. I provided a control card at the top showing an ABAB pattern my kids could make with the beads.
Comparing apple weights activity
This activity invites kids to compare the weight of two apples. I placed two apples of different sizes on a tray along with our Learning Resources balance scale set and a handful of counting bears.
Kids put an apple in each of the buckets on the balance scale, then they add bears to the side that weighs less to make the weights equal. Kids then determine how many counting bears more/less one apple weighs than another.
Apple coloring patterns
I printed this Color in the Apple Patterns page from 3Dinosaurs. I provided red, yellow, and green pencils for my kids to make their own apple patterns.
Apple-themed Montessori number activity
For this activity, I grabbed one of our wooden 3-part card trays from Montessori Services. I filled the large space on the left with green craft sand. I placed sandpaper numbers in the smallest compartment in the upper right of the tray. And I placed a handful of red glass gems in the medium compartment on the lower right.
My kids were responsible for (1) tracing the number on the sandpaper numbers card, (2) writing the number in the sand, and (3) laying the number card on the ground and placing the corresponding number of red glass gems underneath.
Put the apples on the tree counting activity with dice
For this activity I downloaded the Apple Count worksheet from A Teaching Mommy’s Apple Preschool Pack. I paired it with some red glass gems and our jumbo foam dice. My kids rolled the dice, counted the number of dots on the dice, and then placed that many red glass gems on the tree until it was all filled with “apples.”
Put the apples on the tree counting activity with stickers
For this activity I used another copy of the Apple Count worksheet from A Teaching Mama’s Apple Preschool Pack. On the tree I wrote the numbers that XGirl was working on at the time. On a set of apple stickers I drew dots corresponding to the numbers on the tree. XGirl worked to count the dots and match them to the numbers on the tree.
Put the apples on the tree number recognition game
This is a game I invented to help my daughter learn to recognize numbers 5-10. I used our wet erase markers to draw a big tree on our back window. (Can you see some of the outline in the photo below?)
I also cut apple shapes from green foam, and wrote the numbers 5-10 on them. I put the numbered apples into a basket and invited XGirl to play. I called out a number and she had to find that number, dampen the back of the foam with a bit of water, and then stick the foam apple to the tree.
(The tree I drew with wet erase markers erased easily with a bit of water when we were done. I love wet erase markers for doing window writing!)
Apple letter writing Montessori tray
On this tray I placed a few sandpaper letters for the letters XGirl was working on. I also filled a smaller tray with red craft sand. I placed a small apple on the tray just for effect. XGirl traced the sandpaper letters and then wrote the letter in the red craft sand.
Apple 3-part cards
I also found these cute apple 3-part cards from ABC Teach, although you can find others at Montessori Print shop and Puzzle Heads. We used them to learn the parts of an apple. We also used them when we dissected an apple.
More apple resources
More apple posts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Apple Unit Study
- Apple Printables Pack
- Apple Do-a-Dot Printables
- Apple taste testing
- Apple rotting experiment
- Dissecting an apple
- Apple sensory bin
- Apple Montessori activities
For more kid-friendly apple activities and apple printables, see my Apple Unit Study page and my Apples Pinterest board.
Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Apples unit ideas on Pinterest.
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Debbie Prater says
August 27, 2015 at 7:31 amThis looks like fun! I would have loved this as a kid. Great fun learning.