The idea for this project came about during a discussion of Fall. I was reading the children a book about the changing of seasons, and in the part about fall the book discussed harvest and apple picking. The children were very interested in how apples grew and how they were picked and what the farmers did with the apples after harvesting them. I made a planning web in order to organize what the children could learn from this theme. Once I had an idea of what I wanted to accomplish, I sat with the children and asked them what they knew about apples. They gave me some great answers and we made a web using our Smart Board.
Once the planning was complete, I gave the children the opportunity to explore apples in different ways. I provided apple books in the Science Area for them to look at during Work Time and I posted a poster of the apple tree life cycle. I brought in different types of apples for them to look at and draw pictures of. We also tasted different types of apples to find out which type we liked best. We graphed the results using the computer and Smart Board. Together, we made apple pie and apple sauce with the apples that were left over. I saved the seeds and stems for them to observe, draw and count. I provided many different apple activities during Work Time, including sorting apples, counting apples, and making 3-D apples that they later used to make a 3-D bulletin board for the hallway. We took a field trip to an apple orchard where the children took a hayride through the apple orchard, got to taste apple cider and saw a farmer's market. As a culmination to share what we learned, my focus child recalled the project and I wrote down her dictation. She also drew pictures to go along with her words and we made a book. The book is currently in our book area where the children can read it on their own.
