Fall is just around the corner and what better way to mark the season than with a month of apple-related activities? It’s the time of year for fresh baked apple pies, apple festivals, and Johnny Appleseed’s birthday! Take a trip to a farmers market or orchard to pick your own apples. Throw a party to celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday. Serve apple pie and apple juice and plant apple seeds in their honor. These activities will also pair well with your fall, farm, or harvest themes.

Apple tidbits

Tell children these cool facts about apples to spark their interest and excitement about apples …:

• Apples come in all shades of red, green, and yellow.
• 2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States and 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide.
• The Pilgrims planted the first American apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• Apples are a member of the rose family.
• The most nutritious part of the apple is the skin.

Make your own applesauce

Applesauce is easy to make. Five pounds of apples makes about 2 quarts of applesauce. Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters. Put the slices in a pot and cover them partially with water. Boil the apples until soft. Let the children use a potato masher to mash the apples and make applesauce. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Dried apple rings

First, peel, core, and cut the apples into chip-sized circles. Next, dip the circles in fresh lemon juice. Use a wire cutter to cut a clean, white-lined clothes hanger. Next, decorate the hanger with some apples made of craft paper and add the apple rings. (Don’t let the apple slices touch each other.) Finally, hang the apples in a dry, airy place and let them dry for a week or two. Tip: Turn the apples every day.

Apple tasting

The next time you go to the grocery store with your child, point out the different types of apples. Tell your child their names. Buy a few different types, and when you get home, let your child taste them. Ask your child how each one knows, how each is different, and which one is his or her favorite. To add to the fun, buy or make different things made with apples, such as applesauce, dried apples, apple pie, apple butter, and apple cider. Let the children taste the treats.

Apple toss

Place a laundry basket or bushel basket and red bean bags or small red balls. Use masking tape to paste a line on the floor. Place the basket a couple of feet from the line. Have the child stand behind the line and try to throw the balls or bags (apples) into the basket.

Plant apple seeds

Talk or read a story about Johnny Appleseed and how he planted apple seeds. Provide young children with paper drinking cups, apple seeds, potting soil or soil, and water. Have the children fill their cups with dirt first. Then ask them to place their finger on the ground to make a small hole. Next, have them drop a seed. Moisten the soil with a small amount of water. Place the cups in a well-lit area and water occasionally.

Apple Relay

To play, you need an apple for each team. In the word “forward,” a team member places an apple on the back or hand of the first player. The first player runs to the end of the course and returns without letting the apple fall from his back or hand. If the apple falls, that player must stop where it is and put it back on. Once the apple is back in place, keep going from where it fell. When the player returns to his team, he places the apple on the back or in the hand of the next person in line. The first team to finish wins.

Apple smile

Cut an unpeeled red apple into wedges. Wedges should look like a smile. Spread one side of an apple slice with peanut butter. Add three or four miniature marshmallow “cloves” along the edge. Spread another apple slice with peanut butter. Place it on top of the marshmallows for a big, toothy smile.

Visit www.KidsSoup.com to find a bushel full of other great apple-related ideas.