It’s back-to-school season, which means that fall is just around the corner. These apple counting cards are the perfect way to celebrate both the new school year and the upcoming season.
Apple Theme Activities Using Counting Cards
About fifteen years ago I tasted my very first Honeycrisp apple. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tart and has an unbelievable crisp as you bite down.
Honeycrisps are supposedly bred solely for their flavor as opposed to any other traits. Not for ease of growing. Not for shelf life. Not for baking or cooking. Just for taste.
Although the variety has been around for more than 40 years, farmers initially had trouble selling them. They didn’t last long after being picked and they bruised easily, making it difficult to get them to grocers and farmers markets. (source)
But Honeycrisps are catching on and becoming increasingly popular.
The first one I ever had was literally the size of my head! Ok, not literally, but it was big enough that I couldn’t finish it myself. When my husband was in graduate school I would bring him an apple in the afternoons while he was studying. We could cut the apple in half and share it between the two of us, and we’d still end up with a hearty and filling snack.
Apples have long satiated us, too. In the frontier years, families were responsible for feeding the teacher of their one-room schoolhouse, so they’d bring fresh produce cultivated on their own land. (source) Now, apples are iconic of back-to-school and all things school-related.
So when we’re looking for back-to-school or first-week-of-school activities, we often start looking for apple printables. And these apple counting cards work well for any fall or apple theme also!
Free Printable Apple Counting Cards
I love using counting cards in preschool because you can use them in so many different ways. Be sure to read all the different ways I use these counting cards in my apple theme math activities in preschool. Apple counting cards can also be used during your first week of school, for back-to-school or even in your fall preschool theme, too!
Materials
- apple counting cards (found at the end of this post)
- apple counters (optional)
- playdough (optional)
The simplest way to use my apple counting cards requires the cards themselves and no additional materials. But if you want to kick it up a notch, add some math counters or playdough for even more fun.
How to Use Apple Counting Cards in Preschool
These apple counting cards have the numeral on one side and the apples on the other. The apples range in color: red, green, and kinda’ an orangey-yellow, just like real apples.
Simply put, preschoolers can identify the number and count the apples. I always recommend that the child point to each apple as they are counting. This offers more practice in one-to-one correspondence, which is a critical skill in preschool.
Books to Read with Apple Counting Cards
No theme is ever complete without some picture books to read to your preschooler. In fact, it is often picture books that inspire the thematic activities I do with my preschoolers.
Picture Books for the First Week of School
Picture Books for an Apple Preschool Theme
How Counting Cards Develop One-to-One Correspondence Skills
By definition, counting means to take an account of a group of items and produce a total. Preschoolers love to count. They relish in participating in counting games, songs, and rhymes, but to truly be capable counters, children must be able to do much more than simply recite 1, 2, 3, and so on.
One-to-one correspondence is one of the foundational skills in mathematics as it is necessary to understand that for each number there is a direct quantity that corresponds. A child who has mastered one-to-one correspondence counting will say a number for each corresponding object being counted. For example, if a child is counting flowers, he will say, “one” for one flower, and say “two” for the next flower, and so on. This direct correspondence is the most important skill to learn in counting.
Counting is the most basic of math skills, and without excellent counting skills children simply cannot do higher levels of mathematics. Counting is increasingly difficult for children who don’t develop adequate one-to-one correspondence skills.
More Ways to Use Apple Counting Cards
Counting cards can be used in many different ways, not just for pointing and counting. Try some of these ideas next time you use your cards:
- Use an apple manipulative, like mini erasers, to place over each apple as it is counted. This helps develop one-to-one correspondence. Then, count the apples one more time as they are taken off the card.
- Offer a small basket and invite your preschooler to pick the apples off the card and place them in the basket.
- Use playdough to roll a tree and branches. Draw a card and add the corresponding number of apple counters. Then transfer the apple counters to the playdough tree!
- Make it into a cooperative game. Draw a card and identify the number. Count the apples on the card; then have one child add the apples to the playdough tree, and then have the other child pick the apples and put them into a basket.
- Roll playdough into little balls (apples) and use them as counters on the card. Once the card is filled, invite your child to smoosh each apple as he counts the apples on the card again.
More Apple Printables for Back-to-School
You might also like these apple theme counting printables. And don’t forget to grab your free printable from the end of this post!
Get Printable Apple Theme Preschool Centers
Looking for something educational to keep the kiddies busy learning for the coming harvest season? This Apple Activity Pack includes six super fun activities and multiple variations of each! It’s perfect for any back-to-school, fall, or autumn theme in preschool.
Don’t forget to grab your free printable apple counting cards at the end of this post.
Get Your FREE Apple Counting Cards Here
Think you need a set of apple counting cards for your first week of school or to add to your back-to-school activities? (I think you do).
Just click the image below and I’ll send a copy to your email.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
