This is part of my 15 Minute Focus series. Children observe details about apples, notice what is different about apples versus another fruit and do a taste test of two fruits.

Objective: Children can describe 2 ways that apples and peaches are alike and 2 ways they are different.

Supplies:

• plastic fruits (optiona0)
• for each child – a paper with a line drawn down the middle – label one side apple, and the other side peach
• crayons
• a piece of paper or a white board and marker for you
• a real apple and a real peach (for 8 or fewer kids – for more kids, you’ll need more fruit)
• a knife and cutting board, paper towels or napkins

Activity

Optional: If you have enough plastic fruits to hand one to each kid, I do – it gives them something to hold on to, which can be helpful to help young four year olds engage. Ask them what each fruit is called. Ask them to describe what is the same about them or different about them.

Put apple out where kids can see it. Ask kids to all draw a picture of the apple on the apple side of the paper. Then put out the peach. Ask them how it’s like the apple and how it’s different. Ask them to draw a picture of it.

Ask what color they think each fruit is on the inside. Write down some predictions. Ask how many seeds they think each fruit has. Write the guesses down.

Cut peach in half to show its pit. Ask them to draw the pit next to their picture of a peach. Slice it and have them draw the slice and color it.

Cut apple into slices – take out and count seeds. Have them draw a seed. Have them notice the color of the apple and how different it is from the color of the outside of the apple.

Then serve each child a slice of peach and a slice of apple. They eat slices while you read a book.

Book rceommendations:

• Apples and Pumpkinsby Anne Rockwell. (Video preview.) Simple book that features fall themes like apple picking, jack-o-lantern carving, and trick or treat.
• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington. (Video preview.) Talks about apple picking, counting, sorting, baking, and selling at a farmer’s market.
• How to Bake an Apple Pie by Reagan. (Video Preview) A nice little story about picking apples and baking a pie with grandpa.

Note: the links in the titles take you to a book description on Amazon – if you order on Amazon, I get a small bonus. But you can also check your local library or independent book seller. The videos are just for you to preview which book to get – I don’t recommend using these videos in a class.

Song to Sing:

Apple Tree – [Video of tune and gestures]
Way up high in the apple tree.
Two little apples smiled  at me.
I shook that tree just as hard as I could.
Down came the apples
and mmm they were good.

Or [to the tune of Clementine, video here]
Picked an apple, picked an apple,
That was growing in the sun,
Then I washed it, and I ate it,
Then I picked another one.