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Preschool Syllabus: Apples

Our first two weeks of homeschooling went well. There were a few bumps in the road - keeping little brother entertained is a challenge - and we didn't come close to getting to all our "special" activities. The Buddy, however, is loving homeschool and I enjoy feeding his hunger for knowledge.

Since we are hoping to make it to an orchard this week, our new theme is apples. 
We checked a ton of apple books from the library but here are 
my favorites: ApplesThe Apple Pie Tree, One Red Apple
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree,From Seed to Apple
Ten Apples Up on Top
I think we are going to start creating fact boards for each of our 
themes. I'm hoping that eventually the Buddy will "write" the 
cards but for today I just wrote down what he said.  He really 
enjoyed "reading" these fact cards to his dad this evening.
Skills Practiced; reading comprehension, vocabulary, connecting meaning to print
Writing Center Additions: apple stickers, letter cards, name cards,
"A" stamp and ink pad

Skills Practiced: fine motor, uppercase and lowercase letter recognition,
 creativity, communication through print
 Apple Tree Counting Game: the top of the tree is felt and the
apples are pom poms. The tray with little boxes is a Dollar Tree
find to which I added printed numbers. The Buddy will use the
tweezers to pick the apples from
 the tree and then place the correct
number of apples in to each box.

Skills Practiced: rational counting, number sense, numeral recognition, fine motor 
Apple Orchard Puzzle
Skills Practiced: fine motor, hand eye coordination, spatial sense, logic
Letter Sort: images for this game were found via Google and
 the board is simply construction paper with stamped letters.
Skills Practiced: letter recognition, sorting, phonetic awareness
These foam blocks were half off in the dollar spot at Target.  
I added the apple stickers. We will use them to 
work on AB and ABC patterning. 
Skills Practiced: rational counting, patterning, sorting 
This book tells the story of an apple tree's life-cycle so I paired it with 
some apple tree life-cycle cards (I didn't make them, I picked them
 up
 almost five years ago in an early education class).  The Buddy 
will color the cards and then put them in order
Skills Practiced: reading comprehension, sequencing, logic
The Buddy is obsessed with dinosaurs and just learned about
nonstandard measurement so I thought it would be fun to see how 

many apples some of his dinosaurs weigh. I made a little chart with
photos of his dinosaurs and included some apple stickers so he

 could easily document his findings
Skills Practiced: non-standard measurement, rational counting, comparing 
I saw this apple pie play dough idea on Counting Coconuts & 
had to recreate it for my boys. Josiah hasn't had a chance to try it 
out yet because Mini-man played with it for an HOUR this morning! 
Skills Practiced: fine motor, practical life, creativity 
This is an idea I saw on I Can Teach My Child and since the Buddy
loves the book I decided to create our own version.  It's hard to see 
but there is a numbered picture of him in each spice bottle.  The
"apples" are styrofoam balls I painted red. This is where he 
chose to spend most of his time this morning - he thought putting 
apples on his own head was quite amusing. 
Skills Practiced: rational counting, numeral recognition, fine motor,
reading comprehension
I don't know if we will get to them but I also have some ideas for a few apple crafts and the Buddy really wants to try his hand at making applesauce.

P.S. Check out our homeschool page for lots more theme units and educational ideas. 

Comments

  1. Super activities! I really like the apple tree with the tongs. I just did a tongs and pom pom activity on my blog too. I am a new follower from the Show and Tell Blog Hop. Vicky @ www.messforless.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this unit. I pinned the apples up on top activity on Pinterest.

    ReplyDelete
  3. so much fun! I LOVE the Apples Up On Top bottles/activity! I shared this unit on facebook! :) Thanks for linking to the Sunday Showcase & hope to see you next week!

    Bern

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here's an apple kids craft project you can also do! http://www.craftprojectideas.com/index.php/how-to/seasonal-projects/back-to-school/661-1-teacher-apple-ornament

    ReplyDelete
  5. What fun apple projects! Thank you for sharing this with us on The Sunday Showcase!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love this! Pinning. Came over from For the Kids Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stopping by from montessori Monday. Love your trays! Love the apples on top idea!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love these ideas! Thank you so much! I just might have to try some and share on my blog, too (linked back to you, of course!).

    Sheryl

    ReplyDelete
  9. What fun, creative apple activity trays, Rachel! I LOVE the Ten Apples Up On Top tray! Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at both the Living Montessori Now Facebook page and in my Montessori-Inspired Apple Unit at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/09/22/montessori-inspired-apple-unit/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fun apple ideas! I just started and did an apple theme as wel. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just featured your Ten Apples Up On Top activity and photo in my Montessori-Inspired Dr. Seuss Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/02/28/montessori-inspired-dr-seuss-activities-and-dr-seuss-linky-party/

    ReplyDelete

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