A is for Apples: An Activity for You and Your Preschooler

"A is for apples," which, of course, is the first letter of the alphabet. There are lots of things that you can do to teach your child about apples, while he also learns about apples. Here is what we recommend:

1.Start by talking to your preschooler about where apples come from and how apple trees grow. You should also show her the inside of the apple and what the apple seeds look like. Allow her to close her eyes and examine what these seeds feel like.

2.Split an apple in half, dip it in some paint and allow your preschooler to use this as a stamp on a piece of paper. It will be neat for your child to see how the design looks.

3.Another great way in which to paint is by placing a piece of paper in a small, square cake pan and then dipping marbles into paint and allowing them to roll around on the paper. Once your preschooler is done painting, you can cut this into the shape of an apple.

4.Collect some apples in a variety of colors, then allow your preschooler to sort them by color.

5.Use a template to cut out several different sizes of apples, then allow your preschooler to organize them from smallest to largest.

6.Collect some seeds from several apples together. Divide a piece of paper into 4 squares and write the numbers 1 through 4 in each of the squares. Your preschooler can then count out the correct number of seeds to place in each square.

7.Before you cut an apple up, have your preschooler estimate how many seeds might be inside the apple.

8.For pretend play, you can cut out and laminate pictures of apples. Place a piece of Velcro to the back of each of these pictures and put a piece of brown paper on your wall. Your child can then pretend that he is picking apples.

9.Make some homemade applesauce. This can even be taken a step further and give your preschooler some empty plastic jars and small red balls so that he can pretend to make his own applesauce.