Bushels
of Apple Fun
By Sandy Fleming
Fall is just around the
corner, and it's the season for fresh, juicy apples! Apples
can be a bountiful source of nutritious learning fun for your
entire family or group. Just take a bite of some of these ideas
and grow your own fun.
Consider taking an outing
to pick your own apples on a nice afternoon. Everyone, from
the youngest toddler to parents, can help with this job, and
the reward will be lots of juicy apples. It's a wonderful opportunity
to help youngsters see the value of their own work -- help
them compare the price and quality of apples in the grocery
store to the apples from the farm. Chances are good that the
U-pick apples will be cheaper, and you have a lot more control
over the quality of fruit that you accept. Counting, weighing
and measuring the apples provides real-life experience for
youngsters to practice their math skills. Try some story problems,
like "If apples cost fifty cents a pound, how much will ten
pounds of apples cost?" Older children can use this opportunity
to become more familiar with the measurements of bushel, quart,
pint, and so forth.
Once you have the apples
home, cut them into sections to practice fraction activities.
How many halves are in four apples? Do the math together, then
cut the apples to make the experience complete. When you are
cooking with your apples, talk about the fractions and lead
the younger children to discoveries such as 2/4 is the same
amount as 1/2. There is no substitute for hands-on experience
when it comes to understanding fractions, and the more experiences
you can provide your children, the more successful they will
be at this subject in school.
When you feel your children
are ready, teach them the proper way to peel and cut an apple.
Those who are already skilled with a knife or peeler may enjoy
a contest to see who can cut the longest strip of peeling from
a single apple. Astonish your youngest friends by cutting the
apple "sideways" to show the star formed by the seeds. Does
every apple have the same number of seeds? Find out by checking
a few! You can even compare different varieties and sizes of
apples and graph the results.
Most of all, apples provide
a wonderfully nutritious snack. Use the encyclopedia or other
reference books to discover which nutrients are abundant in
this fruit. Would a diet with lots of apples be healthy? What
products can be made from apples? Start the list with applesauce,
apple juice and cider, but don't stop there! Check other food
labels, like fruit snacks and roll-ups, other kinds of juices
and even fruit muffin mixes. You will be surprised to see how
many products actually contain apples. Have a crunchy good
time!
Sandy Fleming
is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides
in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents
in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts
and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and
children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop
her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
