Thursday, September 19, 2013

Apples, Apples, Applesauce!

Daily Question:  Have you ever made applesauce? (About half of our students have made applesauce).

Opening Activity: Threading Fruit Rings and Cheerios on our Zero Hero necklaces while listening to the song from School House Rock. (Simple patterns, fine motor skills)




Our class with the completed Zero Hero necklaces!
 
Parents, thank you for sending in apples/apple slices with your student.  We had a fun day exploring apples.

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.


Apples Here!  

Science/Math Extension:  Do apples float?  Students felt how heavy their apples were and then shouted out mostly "no!"  (See below--three students said "yes" and eight said "no" apples do not float!
Initially, our apples sank to the bottom of the sink (with little water).  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.
 


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!  


 


 

We had a fun time using an apple peeler, corer, slicer tool: sharing, taking turns, and eating the "candy" peels that spun off.










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.

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!

APPLES!




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.


 Snack:  Fruit Rings, and Cheerios, Celery sticks, raisins, Apple Skittle Treats, Cupcakes (What a feast we had in class today!)  Thank you, Eleanor's mom for a fun treat to help us remember our apple day and William's mom for the delicious cupcakes.)
 Kayson and Eleanor trying "Ants on a log (celery)!"
Good Manners!  Today at snack time it was so fun to hear: "More water please!," "No, thank you," and "What is this? Celery."  



William's "Unbirthday" Celebration:

We had a fun time getting to know William today!  William turned four on August 17!  He received Star Wars "guys" for his birthday and he enjoys playing with toy trains.  He told us his favorite color is GREEN.  He has a blue hat that he enjoys wearing outside. He has a good friend Dade in class and likes to listen to stories.

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 Hillenbrand

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