Apple Life Cycle Printable + Other Apple Activities

Apple season is quickly approaching which means it’s time to start planning your apple preschool theme. One activity you should definitely include would be this apple life cycle printable booklet and class book. And did I mention that it is interactive…and free?

Can you feel it yet?

I can.

I step outside and the air feels just a little different. The sun sits in the sky a little differently and it is starting to loose it’s blazing powerful heat that is so unbearable. It peers through the trees, making them look warm and making the leaves translucent from its glow. The days are getting shorter, too, ever so slightly. The days still warm, and the evening breezes are beginning to have a cool backing to them. And while our vegetable gardens sweet, red tomatoes that I refer to as Nature’s best candy, the summer flowers are drying out and replacing them are Black-eyed Susans.

Now can you feel it?

It just feels a little different.

Because it’s almost fall, which also means that apples will be in season soon.

But honestly, how can someone not look forward to the fall season with apples galore? Have you ever met anyone who didn’t enjoy a crisp and juicy apple that was the perfect combination of sweet and tart?

Preschoolers love them, too.

And so it’s time to study apples in preschool. Preschoolers are fascinated by those round, shiny fruits, and we have some traditions in our apple preschool theme that my little students looks forward to every single year.

Apple Life Cycle Interactive Booklet

We used a similar apple life cycle book last year in our apple theme, but I have improved it for this year. I’ve made it interactive. We know that preschoolers learn best by being involved, and this printable encourages preschoolers to talk about the apple life cycle while they are learning the science behind it and also picking up emergent literacy skills.

You can grab a free copy of my apple life cycle printable booklet at the end of this post.

Since my fall preschool session hasn’t actually begun, I did a trial run with my own kids, which is what I’m sharing here.

Apple Life Cycle Printable Class Book

I began by reading the class book to my son and daughter. Each page is full of information about that particular piece of the apple life cycle, but the last sentence of each page asks the reader a question. I wanted to give my preschoolers (and children) a way to connect with the content, since it is very unlikely any of them have traced a life cycle of an apple tree in real life. (‘Cause, you know, they are only three to five years old, and it takes about that long for an apple tree to start producing apples).

But my kids loved the questions on each page. The questions draw on their personal experiences while relating the content to the knowledge they already have. Now, my daughter loves to talk so she had a lot to share when we came upon the questions, but she also had a lot of questions to ask, which is also a great thing.

My son, who is barely three, also benefitted from the questions. It gave him an opportunity to talk and develop his speech skills, and being the third of (soon to be) five kids, a chance to talk without being interrupted by someone else.

Apple Life Cycle Printable Student Booklet

The student version is exactly the same as the class version, with the exception that it is in a smaller booklet size and in black and white. This allows the preschoolers to develop their fine motor skills while coloring in the pictures, if desired, but it also could be used as a comprehension assessment since the text refers to specific colors of apples and flowers.

Once assembled and colored, preschoolers can “read” their booklet over and over again. And the questions at the end of each page are the perfect way for parents to interact with their children while reading it at home.

Apple Life Cycle Printable Book Extensions

One of the things I love most about this booklet is that it is great for a range of skills and abilities. Preschoolers who can’t read can benefit, as well as even second or third graders. For a homeschooling parent, this is awesome! For a first grade teacher who has a huge range of abilities in her classroom, this is also awesome!

I have a second grader, too. Or, at least he will be in the second grade in literally four days. Not wanting him to be left out, I came up with a few ways to extend the teaching while using my apple life cycle printable.

The following ideas can be used from preschool to third grade, depending on the skills level of your class.

Dictated Answers

As an exercise in writing, record the children’s responses to the questions on each page on a whiteboard. Invite the children to read the response back to you, pointing to each word to demonstrate one to one correspondence in reading.

Search for Specific Words

Older students can search the text for targeted words, such as sight words or science related words like apple, sprout or blossom. These words can be copied for writing or spelling practice, added to a word wall, or they can be highlighted making them easy to recognize while reading.

Comparing Texts

Children who have read more than one book about the apple life cycle can compare texts, pointing out matching pictures in each book. When doing this with a partner, children have the opportunity to not only share their reading experiences, but they also develop language skills by talking about the text with others.

Get Your Apple Life Cycle Printable

Think this is something that will compliment your apple theme lesson plans? You can download your copy here.

Looking for Even More Apple Theme Activities?

I’ve had the pleasure of joining some of my favorite kid bloggers in bringing you a whole slew of apple activities, perfect for preschoolers through second grade. Be sure to pin this page so you can always refer back to it.