All About Apples

One of my passions is integration!  I really love digging into one topic and letting that topic bleed into all of my other disciplines.  I do apple math, apple writing, apple science...you name it...I integrate it! :)

We are a STEAM school so, I have to try to coordinate some of the activities with STEAM things when I'm doing science.

Last week, I was able to do a whole lot on a shoe string budget.  I am so thankful for the parents that showed up to help me! :)

What we did in science...

Science experiments need to be about solving problems that come up.

I told the kids about how I didn't like to eat brown apples at lunch.  My mom put something on my apples to keep them from browning, but she didn't tell me what it was.

They were going to help me solve the mystery.

They immersed sliced apples in different household liquids and observed the changes throughout the day.

My kids were OBSESSED with what happened to the apples in vinegar!

They ALL wanted me to smell it! 

It was so much fun!

There's nothing better than seeing kids faces light up while they are discovering something new!

What we did for math...

The week I was teaching about apples, I was also teaching about story problems in the basal math series.  We used basic yellow and red counters to make up math stories about apples.

The white boards are just shower boards from Home Depot that are cut in 1 sq. foot sections.

I know my apple tree looks like a mushroom cloud. Don't hate. It wasn't about the art...just about the math for this lesson! LOL!  

What we did for writing...

This week, I did a fun apple snack with my kids! :)

Our kindergarten teachers do a lot with apples, and I didn't want to repeat what they were doing.  I wanted to try to find a few things to do with them that they had not experienced before.

First we cut fresh apples with an apple corer.

Then we put half of a container of whipped cream cheese in the middle of a plate.

I laid the apples around the outside.

Then I poured caramel all over the top of the cream cheese.

I topped the whole thing with Heath Chips.

DELICIOUS. PERIOD.

I got this recipe from Melissa Forney several years ago.  She was the one who inspired me to use a shared writing experience to increase the enthusiasm for the topic and help students recall details of events to share in their writing.

The kids had a good time working through the writing process together and then creating these bushels of apples to go on top of their writing.

Of course, for reading we read tons of mentor texts on apples! :)

I'll go into detail with that more when I talk about our writing!

Thanks for reading!

I hope a few of these ideas help you on your apple day!