Apple Themed Activities for Toddlers

By LAURIN BRAINARD Updated Oct. 17, 2023

I am so excited to share this amazing journey of toddler learning that I have embarked on with my son! This past week we started toddler school in our home. My son is 2 1/2 and is the perfect age for working on pre-academic skills that will help prepare him for kindergarten and beyond. For our first unit of study, I created an Apple Themed Unit. Enjoy a peek into our week through a sampling of our activities together!

Lesson Components

Each of the 5 lessons in this unit includes the following activities:

• literacy/language
• math or science activity
• fine motor activity
• gross motor activity
• art activity
• recipe/snack

If you want to learn more about how to get started planning activities for your little ones, download my FREE guide for everything you need to know about the 6 skill areas we incorporate into toddler school:

Kick off Apple Week with a Field Trip to the Grocery Store or Apple Farm

I really wanted the first day of learning to fill my little guy with an excitement for learning, so we took a field trip to buy apples from the grocery store. He was so excited to get to help pick out the apples and put them in our shopping bags. We talked about the names, colors, shape, smell, and sizes of each apple as we compared the fruit in the store. I made sure to buy red, green, and yellow apples to use in our lessons.

Lesson Setup

After our shopping trip, we dove right into learning about apples! To begin the first lesson, we colored the cover page for our unit notebook. We read the I CAN statement and discussed what we would be learning about. To prepare the notebook, I stapled a gallon size ziplock bag and copy paper inside a folded piece of construction paper. As we finish activities, we will be gluing the completed work on the pieces of copy paper. Any reusable materials will be kept inside the ziplock bag for use again at a later date.

Art Activities

This unit is FILLED with art activities! Each day we work on the letter A and a. We colored a picture to reinforce this learning and associate a picture with the letter of the week.

This apple seed craft was a huge hit! My son loved getting to glue the apple seeds onto the apple. It was a great way to integrate science and art as well.

My son had SO MUCH FUN with this apple plate craft! It was one of his first time using scissors, so I could definitely see a need for extra practice in this area. We cut and tore paper, then he used his gluestick to independently glue the paper onto the apple. When he finished, he shouted “the apple is done!!” and was so excited to show his apple to everyone he saw over the next few days.

Sensory Exploration

Sensory play and exploration is so important for the toddler age. Allowing your child to use his or her imagination during a hands-on activity will engage the child and help him reach his full potential. I created this Apple Pie Sensory Bin to work on “big A” and “little a” through sensory play. My son would not stop playing for a full hour!

We also enjoyed washing apples in this apple water sensory play station. I gave my son 3 mixing bowls filled with water and apples. He used a ladle to move the apples between the bowls. So much fun in such a simple activity!

Math Activities

To work on number skills, we added pom pom “apples” to these apple trees. Most children at this age will need support to count the apples, but can add the apples to the trees independently.

Fine Motor Activities

To work on fine motor skills, we rolled playdoh and placed the playdoh on the letters A and a in a sheet protector. First, teach your child to roll the playdoh into “snakes” and then place on the letters. This playdoh mat also makes for a great busy bag activity that can be pulled out at anytime for your toddler!

This apple lacing fine motor activity was a struggle at first for my little guy. He understood that he needed to pull the lace through the hole, but he kept missing the hole and pulling the lacing behind his head. I used hand over hand movements and this really helped him understand the concept of lacing. This is definitley a skill we will be practicing over the next several months.

Snacks/Recipes

The most exciting part of our day was eating our fun apple snacks! We enjoyed apple “donuts” and apple sandwiches, apple slices, apples dipped in caramel, and homemade applesauce. All of our snacks were delicious!

Now Let’s Start Learning!

I hope you are feeling inspired to begin toddler school with your little ones! All printables and full lesson plans are available in my Apple Unit on Etsy or in my Teachers Pay Teachers Shop!

If you are looking for even more Toddler School fun for you and your little ones, then check out my Complete Toddler School Curriculum Bundle for all the plans and printables you need for an entire year of learning!

I hope you have a wonderful day playing and learning with your little ones! Feel free to send me a message on Instagram @theprimarybrain with any questions about how to teach your little ones!

This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links, which helps to support The Primary Brain blog. As always, I only recommend products that I love and all ideas shared are my own.

Written on September 7th, 2018 by Laurin Brainard