Apples and Applesauce

Daily Question:  Have you ever made applesauce? About half the class has and half have not.

Toys: Apple Memory Game, FP Village, Train Table, and color puzzles.

We found the "A's" in our names!

 

 Fun peeling apples.

 






 
APPLES!

Science:  Do apples float?  Initially, our apples sank to the bottom of the sink (with little water) and many students guessed that an apple would NOT float.  As the water rose, so did the apples!  Apples FLOAT in water!  The principle behind this is that anything that is less dense than water will float and apples contain about 25% air and are less dense that water and so they float--leading to a fun game in the Fall,  Bobbing for Apples.

Applesauce activity: We had so much fun peeling the stickers off our apples; giving them a bath/rinse in hot, soapy, water and then taking turns using an Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer to help us make our very own applesauce!  An abstract recipe:

 Homemade Apple Sauce

Peel several apples (different varieties make it especially sweet.  Great for older "grumpy" apples).

 Core and slice up the apples.

Place in pot with a shallow layer of boiling water and a pinch of salt.

Turn apples down to a simmer and partially cover.  

Refill water when pan sounds "dry."  

When apples turn somewhat translucent (after 10-15 minutes), take off the heat and allow to cool some.  

Use a potato masher to squish up apples (my children love to help with this) or ladle apples into a blender and gently process.  

When finished to desired consistency, ladle into bowls and top with cinnamon and or cream and enjoy!

Apple Exploration!  What does an apple look like?... taste like?... sound like?...feel like?...smell like?  Today we found out.  We used various words to describe our apples--hard, round, red, green, yellow, sweet, juicy, etc. 

Apple Facts: We learned that another word for apple seed is a pip.  (Lemons seeds are also called pips.)  Also, we cut an apple in half and learned that it hides a star inside.

Johnny Appleseed, Myth or Man?  Man!

John Chapman, often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, including the northern counties of present day West Virginia. Wikipedia

Born: September 26, 1774, Leominster, MA

Died: February 18, 1845, Fort Wayne, IN

Song:  Johnny Appleseed Grace (Song)

(For a link to the music and other verses click on the above underlined song title.) 

Oh, the Lord's been good to me.

And so I thank the Lord

For giving me the things I need:

The sun, the rain and the appleseed;

Oh, the Lord's been good to me.

For the old Disney version, see here.(Click on the link and hear the music)

We had fun with our Show N' Teaches and will get to our A
Finger Painting Activity on Tuesday.

 We learned that A the alligator is angry because ants took his adorable apples, "A a a! Bring me back my apple!" he calls.  Students make their hands into fists and shout "a" with A the alligator.  In the finger painting activity, student made an ant path up the maze to the apple.

Parents, thank you for sending in apples/apple slices with your student.  We had a fun day exploring apples.

Comments:  

• Lukas: "I have an apple tree in my backyard!"
• Lena: "Look--my apple is green and red!"

Show and Teach (The Letter "A"):

• Tanner: Grandma's genuine alligator head
• Anna: A toy alligator
• Lena: A FP airplane and Princess Ariel doll
• Raegan: A "bendy" alligator toy
• Eva: apple puppet
• Harris: Straw hat (A for Amish)
• Ben: Lightning McQueen car (red like an Apple)
• Zakai: Towel with a monkey on it, that had his name "Zakai" on it

Books Read:

Johnny Appleseed: A Poem by Reeve Lindbergh, Paintings by Kathy Kakobsen

Little Apple: A Book of Thanks by Brigitte Weninger and Anne Moller 

Apples Here! Written and illustrated by Will Hubbell

Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Suess

Preschool to the Rescue by Judy Sierra and Will Hillenbran

Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins (Math Counting, backwards from 10-0)