1. Introducing Apple Preschool Vocabulary

Why an apple preschool unit? I love learning about apples with my toddlers because we eat them every day, so it’s something that they’re familiar with. The familiarity makes it easy to expand their vocabulary. When teaching apple vocabulary, I think it’s best to use a real apple. Show your toddler the apple skin, talk about what color it is. Show your toddler the apple stem. Let them try to twist it off. A favorite in our house is the apple seeds. Cut the apple horizontally so that your toddler can easily see the seeds in the middle. 

Another fun way to reinforce apple vocabulary is with this coloring sheet. My toddler did this activity when she was about 21 months old. It was a lot of fun to talk about the different parts of the apple and watch her color it. Check out her beautiful apple creation!

2. Add in some Apple Preschool Math

Big vs small

Sort the apples into the correct bushels. This activity was a lot of fun, but we made it even more fun by putting it into a sensory bin. We made apple pie cloud sand (flour, cinnamon, and oil) which was a lot of fun to play with but very messy! I’d probably just use kinetic sand if I did it again. Anyways, I hid the apples in the sand and let my toddler sort them when she found them. (If you’re interested in learning more about sensory bins, be sure to download my sensory bin guide and read about ways to overcome sensory bin struggles!)

Counting Apple Preschool Activities

There are SOOO many counting possibilities, but here’s what we did:

First, we practiced counting by putting seeds on each apple. I gave my toddler black pom poms and let her match the pom poms to the seeds to count. 

Then, we practiced counting by putting apples onto an apple tree. I added velcro to the color sort apple trees and to the apples, and my toddler would count up as she put the apples onto the tree. We would count backwards as we took the apples off the tree. This activity was a favorite!

Finally, we did a number match. We matched the number of seeds on each apple to the correct number. This was much more of a guided activity because my toddler doesn’t recognize written numbers yet, but she did enjoy counting the seeds. 

Shapes

My toddler is obsessed with shapes. She loves to find them in the world around her and loves all the different shape puzzles. This shape sort was the PERFECT addition to our apple unit! She LOVED naming and sorting all the shapes.

3. Apple Cutting Practice

My 2.5 year old is OBSESSED with cutting things with scissors, so this apple preschool cutting activity was a HIT. It is a longer activity (and my toddler has a very short attention span) so we had to split it over a few sessions. She cuts out a row on the dotted line, then cuts the 3 cards in the row. Then, we count the seeds and glue them to the correct number. A little tip if you’re toddler is new to cutting: At first, I had to color the dotted line blue and tell her to cut on the  blue line. But, after a few times she started to understand where she was supposed to cut! If your toddler is as obsessed with scissors as mine, be sure to check out these other fun ways to make cutting practice for preschoolers fun!

4. Apple Color Matching

This is a cute activity, especially for younger toddlers. I used these 2 different colored trees and let my toddler sort red and green pom poms to the correct tree. I think this would also be fun if the pom poms were hidden in a sensory bin! 

5. Apple Fine Motor Skills

My favorite fine motor skill practice is definitely DOT STICKERS! They are so easy to incorporate, perfect for all aged toddlers, and fun! Your toddler will take a dot sticker and try to line it up into the circle. If you have a younger toddler, take the outer sticker part off the sheet (so that you just leave the dots). It will make it easier for you toddler to take the dots off independently.

Apple Toys

I love to immerse my kids into the unit we’re learning about! I try to match their toys, sensory bins, and playroom decor to the theme! This is an AMAZING resource for some Apple-y toys to add to your playroom or classroom for your toddlers! Most of them would be loved for many years!

7 Favorite Apple Toys by Clubbhouse Kids (her blog is another great if you have toddlers!)

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