Bushel of Apple Information
The smell of fall is in the air. As the leaves begin to turn, consider
hosting an apple theme at your childcare 
center. Apples are a versatile fruit, with a large variety of unique flavors, textures, and colors to taste. Nutritionally, apples are powerhouses! After all, the original proverb from 1866 stated, “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” Later translated to simpler language, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Apple Nutrition:
- Apples are a good source of fiber, water, and vitamin C.
- Most of the fiber is found in the apple peel so be sure to keep it on when eating an apple.
- Apples are filled with antioxidants, which help keep body cells healthy.
Apple Activities:
- Take a field trip to an apple orchard, and pick an apple from a tree.
- Sort apples by color: red, green, yellow, or a combination of colors.
- Do a taste-test of the many apple varieties, and make a chart highlighting each kid’s favorite apple.
- Use all 5 senses to SEE apple colors, HEAR the crunch when taking a bite, TASTE the juice of the apple, SMELL the sweetness, and FEEL the parts of an apple.
- Sink or Float test with different pieces of the apple – whole apple, core, and slice.
Interesting Facts about Apples:
- Apples are grown in all 50 states.
- Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit.
- The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- Apples are a member of the rose family.
- The largest apple picked weighed three pounds.
- In colonial time, apples were called “winter banana” or “melt-in-the-mouth.”
- Apples have five seed pockets, or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds.
- It takes about 36 apples to make one gallon of apple cider.
- The apple variety ‘Red Delicious’ is the most widely grown in the United States.
Uses for Apples:
- Fresh apple slices, or dipped in peanut butter
- Add chopped apples into breads, muffins, or pancakes
- Bake with pork or poultry, or chop into stuffing
- Add to a salad: vegetable salad, chicken salad, pasta salad
- Make it into homemade applesauce