It’s beginning to feel like autumn, which means apple theme and orchard fun! The song “Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples” is always a favorite this time of year. Add it to your five red apples fingerplays and songs for circle time.
I’m sharing a fun, FREE printable to go along with it! My preschoolers love this apple song!
Even if our monthly theme is not apples, come September or October I always spend some time teaching an apple theme in preschool, and five red apples fingerplays are a classic!
Preschoolers love learning about apples. They are real and tangible, and there are a ton of clever ideas to celebrate this special time of year. From apple picking and tastings to apple crafts and play dough activities, preschool teachers have a lot of fun apple activities to do!
Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples is a cute song to add to your circle time routine. it teaches counting and one to one correspondence skills and is one of our favorite learning activities this time of year.
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FAQ About Teaching an Apple Theme in Preschool
An apple preschool theme offers so many creative activities! Focus on giving your preschoolers authentic experiences will apples, if possible. Start by teaching your preschoolers about the life cycle of an apple. Then go to an apple orchard, make applesauce or apple pie, or have an apple taste testing.
Well written preschool lesson plans should always include math and literacy activities, as well as sensory, art, dramatic play and science experiments. And that is so easy to do! Check out all my apple activities here. Or, you can get my free apple lesson plans for preschoolers here.
I have a ton of preschool apple theme activities in my site. Practice counting with this apple drop counting game, or count apple seeds and practice subtraction with this freebie. Enjoy a fall apple sensory bin and make paper plate apples.
Apple Song for Apple Theme
During our apple unit study, we start our circle time with the song, Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples. It’s simple and repetitive, so my preschoolers catch on really quickly and before they know it they are singing it on their own.
If you are unfamiliar with the “Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples” song, it goes like this:
Farmer Brown has five red apples hanging from a tree
And he picked one off, and ate it hungrily.
Now he has four red apples hanging from a tree.
The song continues with four red apples, then three on down to zero.
If you’re unfamiliar with the tune, check out this YouTube video. (I actually find the song to be a little redundant, so I eliminate some of the repetitive lines).
Apple Theme Toys and Manipulatives
“Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples” FREE Printable
While this song is fun to sing on its own, it also makes a wonderful felt story as illustrated in the YouTube video.
Now, I don’t have a felt board (or time to make a felt version of this song), so instead I whipped up these simple counting mats. It reinforces number recognition, one to one correspondence skills and subtraction. Gotta’ love all that learning!
How to Use the Printable
To use the printable, just sing the song and place the corresponding number of apples on Farmer Brown’s tree, then take one off and “eat it hungrily.” After all, that’s what he does in the song.
Go to the next printable page, and sing the next verse.
You can see on the printable as the apples are counted down, the core of the apple gets dropped by Farmer Brown’s feet, so you could also use these printable mats to introduce and reinforce basic subtractions skills appropriate for preschoolers: the concept of ‘taking away’.
This is a crazy cute and fun fingerplay and song!
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Print it in color and laminate it for added durability and you are ready to start singing “Farmer Brown Has Five Red Apples,” and practice so many math skills in a super fun apple-themed way!
Get Your FREE Apple Song Printable
Think this is something your preschoolers will adore? I know they will.
Children’s Books for Apple Preschool Theme
You know how I love to integrate our activities with great picture books. Here are some we have read and I recommend.
Find More Apple Activities for Preschoolers
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.
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