Think!: Apples

This week's Think! challenge, Apples Again: Sculpt an apple into a person, place or thing using only your teeth and four toothpicks. (Though you may notice in the photo above that some of the gents used far more than four toothpicks. Apparently poking toothpicks into apples is quite entertaining. Who knew?)


Kindergarten gent carved a star into his apple.


Second-grade gent made a snowman.



This guy happily poked lots of toothpicks into his apple and called it a thing. A "sing." Darn, he's cute. What kind of thing? "I don't know. Just a sing." It's not so much what he says as the way he says it. He's just a little hoot.

I played too:

The fun didn't stop there. We've still got a huge bowl of apples in the kitchen and even more in the garage.

This fine young gent made a guy smiling. What's that on his head? Hair. One hair because he ran out of toothpicks.
Second-grade gent's second creation:

Another guy smiling? Nope, this is an alien. Now kindergarten gent's smiling guy is really an alien too because he likes that idea better.

We ended up with a snowman, two aliens (or an alien and a smiling guy with one hair), a cat, a bitten star, a carved star, a toothpick star, and two "sings". And, eventually, a giant bowl of apples slices on the table for a snack. Not bad for a morning's work.

Apple Picking

It was beautiful yesterday. So beautiful that we rushed through math and language arts, piled in the car and drove out to the apple orchard. Just the drive into the country on a sunny fall day would have been a good reason to ditch school today. Oregon is beautiful in the fall.

The fine young gents were delighted to see their new favorite apple on the trees: Granny Smiths. I promised them a pie if they picked at least eight green apples. We've got an entire bucket almost full of Grannies.

I found a new favorite apple, Idared. They're a round red squatty apple, white-fleshed, crisp and sweet.
I thought, "Oh, we'll come home with a bag of apples." Heh. Each of the fine young gents wanted his own bucket. Each fine young gent felt that he should fill his own bucket. We've got bags of apples in the garage.

One of my favorite moments of the day: Eldest gent offering to help his brother carry the heavy apple bucket.

The farm has a little hay maze, a farm stand, and lots of fall and Halloween decorations. Cute without turning into the crowded circus of the Hayrides and Cornmaze! farm. We admired the decorations and chose two more pumpkins for the front porch. We shopped at the farm stand. The fine young gents and I chose a few butternut squash, some delicata squash, and a jug of apple cider.

Then the fine young gents played in the hay maze while I soaked in the sun.


Time for nature journals. This is a school day, after all.

We picked apples.



When we got home the phone rang. It was lovely elderly neighbor, inviting us to come pick up her windfall apples before her yard guy comes and throws them in the yard waste barrel.

Last night I dried apples, and I've got more to dry tonight.

This morning we picked up the neighbor's yard and made a huge apple crisp.

Life is good.

Tuesday Ten: A is for Apple

Nor is it every apple I desire,
Nor that which pleases every palate best;
'T is not the lasting Deuxan I require,
Nor yet the red-cheeked Greening I request,
Nor that which first beshrewed the name of wife,
Nor that whose beauty caused the golden strife:
No, no! bring me an apple from the tree of life!
- Henry David Thoreau

One of our favorite things about fall is fresh ripe apples. Apple pie, applesauce, dried apples, apple muffins. They're fun to pick, fun to cook with, fun to play with, and fun to eat. We've been gifted with friends who have apple trees, including our lovely neighbor, so we've got dried apples in the pantry and pie filling in the freezer.

A is for Apple: Ten Fall Apple Activities

1. Apple prints.

This is such a simple craft to do with children. Slice an apple in half, cross-wise. Dip it into paint. Wipe or dab off the excess paint onto a paper towel, and stamp the apple onto a piece of fall-colored paper. (More directions here, here or here.)

The fine young gents made apple prints on white paper with a few of the apples we were gifted by our lovely neighbor. They wrote, "We love apples!" and "We love Joyce!" and "Thank you for the apples!"

2. 101 Nature-Oriented Things to Do This Fall

"#59: While eating an apple, locate the seeds and remants of the flower's calyx and stamens, as shown halfway down our Fruity Orientation Page."


From Backyard Nature with naturalist Jim Conrad: http://www.backyardnature.net/

(Nature journal entry originally posted here on 11/03/07)

3. Whole-wheat apple muffins from Smitten Kitchen

Swoon.

4. Bob for apples.

What a hoot! The fine young gents and I spent a hilarious twenty minutes bobbing for apples on Friday. We didn't have one of those galvanized buckets, so we made do with a plastic storage bin from the closet. The younger gents were hesitant in an "Are you crazy?" kind of way, until their elder brother shoved his face clear to the bottom of the bin to get his teeth into the biggest reddest apple of the bunch. Then they all got into the spirit of the game, until even Mom ducked under. We were soaked and breathless from laughing.

5. Compare apples to apples: Hold an apple-tasting.


You need:
Apples, at least 4-5 different varieties
Paper towels or paper plates upon which to write the names of the apple varieties and to place the apple slices
A knife and cutting board
People to taste the apples
A pencil and paper and/or graph paper if you'd like to record or graph the results

First, choose your apples, approximately one apple of each variety for every 5-7 people. We got about 14-16 slices per apple, depending on the size, so one apple of each variety was more than enough for our family of seven. Try to choose apples that are fresh and at their prime so you get the best flavors.
Next, label the apples. At the fruit stand I didn't write down the names of the apples we'd chosen, thinking I'd remember them when we got home. Ha! I called the kids' cousins. Can you believe that from the suggestions, "Mabel Rose" and "Marley" and "Marigold" I actually remembered that the last variety was called Marlow?

Last, slice, taste, and vote. We wrote our votes right on the paper towels next to the apple names and created the graph later. That way we didn't have to stop to do the math part until we were done with our snack.
(taken from this post, Apples to Apples, originally posted 10/26/07)

This year ('08) the Jonagold was still the favorite for most of us, but there was a surprise runner-up. The divinely crisp, but decidedly less flavorful Honeycrisp, was unseated by the Granny Smith apple, and the deciding votes came from our pickiest children--just the two you'd think would prefer the blander sweet taste of the Honeycrisp over the tart Grannies.

6. Visit www.allaboutapples.com It's all about apples. No kidding. Interested in apple varieties? More than you'd ever want to know about apple varieties on the Comprehensive Apple Variety List. Find an orchard near you on their Orchards page. Read about apples and health.

7. Head to the orchard.
An apple tastes its very best when you've just plucked it from the tree. An outing to the orchard on a cool fall day makes a lovely nature outing. Take your notebooks out to explore the orchard, and pick a few apples to bring home.

8. Read apple books.
One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth, Catherine Paladino.
A picture book about sustainable agriculture. (Poohsticks review here.)

Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains (Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Henderson).
A delightful tall tale, the story of how a young girl named Delicious (along with her brothers and sisters) helps her daddy bring an orchard from Iowa to Oregon. Outlandish as only a tall tale can be, it is based on the true story of Henderson Lewelling and his family, who brought apple and other fruit trees to the Willamette Valley and planted the first orchard in Milwaukee, Oregon. The story is a perfect read-aloud, funny and clever, and the illustrations are wonderful.

How Do Apples Grow? (Let's Read and Find Out Science), Betsy Maestro, Ill. by Giulio Maestro.
We enjoy all of the Let's Read and Find Out Science series. They're always informative and always have great illustrations. We've got this one on hold from the library.

The Apple Pie Tree, Zoe Hall, Ill. by Shari Halpern.
A book following the development of an apple tree through the seasons. The illustrations remind me a little of Lois Ehlert, who wrote a similar book called Pie in the Sky about a cherry tree.

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, Gail Gibbons.
One of the many things we appreciate about studying apples is that they offer the opportunity to study the seasons, so the study extends beyond just what we can do in the fall. We've already planned a spring visit to the apple orchard, and to our neighbor's back yard trees, to see the blossoms as they grow and develop into apples. The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree follows the seasonal changes of an apple tree, making it a perfect book to read now, and re-read in the spring as the fruit trees begin to bloom.

Apples, Gail Gibbons.
We really enjoy Gail Gibbons books. We've requested this book from the library as well. During apple season all of the apple books are out. Pumpkin books too. Thank goodness for the online request system. We've placed a hold on several apple books and pumpkin books.

9. Dried apple crafts.
We have not yet tried these projects, but they're definitely on the to-do list. If we don't get to them this year, definitely next year. Dried apple wreaths or garlands and apple dolls.


10. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Eat up! They're delicious, inexpensive and nutritious.






More Apple Fun

Apples at Enchanted Learning

A cider press coloring page

Apple recipes for kids

Apple coloring pages for kids

Apple experiments

Make an apple mummy

Apples, Apples! A mini unit study page.

"After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost

Nature Journal: Apples

"101 Nature-Oriented Things to Do This Fall," #59: While eating an apple, locate the seeds and remants of the flower's calyx and stamens, as shown halfway down our Fruity Orientation Page.

From Backyard Nature with naturalist Jim Conrad: http://www.backyardnature.net/

Apples to Apples

The fine young gents and I went to the corn maze yesterday with their cousins. I've never been to the corn maze before and it was dandy fun. Here's a tip: Wear boots. It's muddy.

And go with a group during the day. All of the school groups are going to the pumpkin patch instead, if you have more than 10 people you get the group rate, and you can see. If you aren't fortunate enough to have a sister who popped out enough kids to nearly get the group rate all on her own, invite friends. (How long do you think until I get a nasty email saying, "What do you mean about popping out kids?" Heh heh.) Paying $12 a head to wander around a corn field bumping into shrieking preteens in the dark doesn't appeal; paying $2.50 each to wander around an empty corn field without having to worry that strangers will see you doing the hokey-pokey to choose your way, or about losing the little ones, priceless. Well, technically not priceless. It cost me $10.

What does this have to do with apples, you ask? Well, nothing. We did buy the apples at the farm stand after we went through the corn maze and looked at the goats, but I could have just said "We went to the farm and bought apples while we were there." This saves me having to write a separate post about the corn maze. I'm lazy, er, efficient that way.

First grade gent is studying pioneers and the Oregon trail for history. Last week we found a fabulous library book, Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains (Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Henderson). Apples to Oregon is a delightful tall tale, the story of how a young girl named Delicious (along with her brothers and sisters) helps her daddy bring an orchard from Iowa to Oregon. Outlandish as only a tall tale can be, it is based on the true story of Henderson Lewelling and his family, who brought apple and other fruit trees to the Willamette Valley and planted the first orchard in Milwaukee, Oregon. The story is a perfect read-aloud, funny and clever, and the illustrations are wonderful.

The apple facts on the back cover of Apples to Oregon prompted a discussion about apple varieties. Fine young gent and I decided that it would be great fun to have an apple-tasting, and since we were at a farm stand yesterday which offered several varieties of apples, we seized the opportunity. The apples we chose were crisp, fresh, local, and cost less than they would have at the grocery store. With the help of their cousins, the boys chose Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonathon, Jonagold, and Marlow. Likely none of those varieties were around in pioneer times, but we had to make do with the varieties available.

They were all lovely apples. Jonagold won for best flavor (3 votes), with the aptly named Honeycrisp, honey-sweet and perfectly crisp, a close second (2 votes). Golden Delicious, with its the milder flavor and texture, was the favorite of the youngest gent; middle gent preferred the Jonathon apple. The poor Marlow variety didn't get any votes, but I suspect that may be because it was a bit past its prime, and though it had a nice flavor it just couldn't compete with those other perfectly ripe apples.

What does this have to do with school, you ask? We learned about the first orchard in Oregon and how it got here (history), we read and discussed a new form of writing, the tall tale (literature), fine young gent read the book himself and wrote a book report (reading and writing). He also wrote the apple names (handwriting and spelling), tallied the votes and colored a graph showing our family's apple preferences (math), and we talked about food groups and the nutritional value of apples and other fruits (health). One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility we have to just follow our noses. The ladies and gents find something that they enjoy or that makes them want to know more, and I find ways to squeeze the larnin' out of it.

---

Comparing apples to apples: An apple-tasting

You need:
Apples, at least 4-5 different varieties
Paper towels or paper plates upon which to write the names of the apple varieties and to place the apple slices
A knife and cutting board
People to taste the apples
A pencil and paper and/or graph paper if you'd like to record or graph the results

First, choose your apples, approximately one apple of each variety for every 5-7 people. We got about 14-16 slices per apple, depending on the size, so one apple of each variety was more than enough for our family of seven. Try to choose apples that are fresh and at their prime so you get the best flavors.

Next, label the apples. At the fruit stand I didn't write down the names of the apples we'd chosen, thinking I'd remember them when we got home. Ha! I called the kids' cousins. Can you believe that from the suggestions, "Mabel Rose" and "Marley" and "Marigold" I actually remembered that the last variety was called Marlow?
Last, slice, taste, and vote. We wrote our votes right on the paper towels next to the apple names and created the graph later. That way we didn't have to stop to do the math part until we were done with our snack.

All of the apple slices were gone by the end of the afternoon, and loving husband picked up a bag of Jonagolds at the grocery store this afternoon.

Interested in apple varieties? More than you'd ever want to know about apple varieties on the Comprehensive Apple Variety List. Except I can't find "Marlow" on the list, so mow I'm wondering if I've still got the name wrong. Hmmm.....