Apple Montessori Activities for Toddlers
In early September I love using an apple theme to kick off our fall activities. We’re all getting excited about fall beginning and getting back into a regular school routine. These are some of our favorite apple-themed Montessori style activities for toddlers- ones I’ve done with both my daughters and look forward to adapting each year.
Plus, be sure to scroll to the end to get a free, downloadable choice board for these activities.
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Language Activity
Decorating an “A is for Apple” Sheet
At this age, teaching the alphabet is honestly unnecessary. But I do like to give my toddler some exposure to letters through simple little interactive activities. So I created a very simple “A is for Apple” printable, set her up with some dot stickers, and encouraged her to fill in the A with the stickers. Then she colored the apple and we called it a day.
Family Activity
Visit an Apple Orchard
There’s nothing like a good orchard visit to kick off the fall! Pick some apples, try some orchard treats, and let you toddler play on an overpriced playground while you think about how the playground in your neighborhood park is free. It’s the classic fall family memory!
(But for real though- we LOVE visiting the orchard in the fall. Even if it is easily our priciest fall activity.)
Service Activity
Making Someone an Apple Treat
I love instilling in my girls the value of service to others, and making someone an apple treat is a great way to share some fall joy with others. Include your toddler in making something easy (I love this recipe for apple butter), and then let them help you deliver it to neighbors or whoever might just need a little extra toddler love in their lives.
Science Activities
Sink or Float with Apples
Science activities at this age are all about encouraging your child’s already natural penchant for observation and hands-on activities. Give them a bowl of water, some apples, and some apple slices, and let them observe if they sink or float. (And on a warm September day, this can be a great outdoors activity to also let your toddler splash around in the water.)
Sorting Apples by Attributes
Toddlers also love to naturally sort. (The Montessori sensitive period for order really kicks in during the toddler years. And I know- I know. This doesn’t make sense because toddlers also seem to love to bring the chaos- but they also love order.)
Sorting is also a great skill to develop to lay the foundation for early math and science skills.
I got this set of play apples for this activity and I LOVE them. Toddlers can sort by size, by color, or by attribute (i.e. apples with leaves, apples with cute little worms sticking out of them, apples without anything extra going on). What I love about these is that you can adapt it to different ages.
At age two, what we focused on was matching colors. At age three- we looked more at the attributes.
Plus, (and this might just be for me), the smooth feeling of the toy apples was SO CALMING to play with. It’s a nice addition when doing activities with a toddler who does indeed love to bring the chaos. (Was I playing with these long after my toddler had moved on? Yes. Yes I was.)
Practical Life Activities
Washing Apples
Toddlers love helping. Toddlers love water. Pull them into the kitchen and let them wash some apples up with you. A kitchen tower can really help with making this easier. (And if you’re on the fence about splurging on a kitchen tower, you can check out my post here on my honest thoughts on a kitchen tower. And by honest- I mean it’s a rave. My kitchen tower is my favorite splurge EVER.)
Helping Make Crockpot Apples
Toddlers love cooking. Toddlers love transferring. And they have no concept of heat and danger. So a great way to include them in the kitchen is to have them transfer ingredients before the heat gets turned on. Crockpot apples are great for this. Slice up some apples, let your toddler put them in a (turned off) crock-pot, add a pat of butter, and sprinkle on some cinnamon. Your toddler will also love the sensory experience of smelling the cinnamon.
Turn the crockpot on low for several hours and your house will not only smell amazing, but you’ll also have a delicious topping to add to some homemade oatmeal on a crisp fall morning. (And your toddler will have the joy of knowing they helped make it!)
Art Activity
Apple Suncatcher
I love doing art activities with my toddler, but with their limited attention span, I need them to be short and sweet. And if it’s low mess and a sensorial experience, even better!
This apple suncatcher is perfect for that.
Roll out some contact paper and trace two apple shapes on it with a marker. Then cut out the apple shapes and peel off the paper.
Place the apple shape sticky side up and give your toddler some apple-colored tissue paper pieces. (If they like to shred paper, indulge their hamster-like tendencies and let them tear up the tissue paper on their own.)
Then place the tissue paper pieces on the contact paper, seal it up with the other apple cut out, and tape it around the edges for good measure. I then punched a hole through the top, threaded some string through it, and we had an adorable apple catcher decoration that my daughter proudly hung up on our back door all in less than ten minutes.
Sensory/Fine Motor Activities
Pouring, Scooping, and Transferring with Apple Erasers
Toddlers LOVE a fun sensory activity. These apple erasers are so much fun to scoop and pour with. (Ok- did I actually buy them because I wanted to play with them? Yes. Yes I did. And I have zero regrets. But my kids loved them as well!)
Set them up with some bowls and scoops and let them enjoy the feeling and sound that the erasers make while being poured!
Apple Threader Toy
Toddlers (and preschoolers) are also working on fine motor skills. This adorable little apple threader toy is a great car toy or quiet bag toy to let your toddler work on those skills.
Math Activities
Counting Apple Slices
At some point during the toddler years you’ll probably hear your toddler start to quietly try and count to themselves. Even when she was barely two, she clearly didn’t know her numbers but I would watch her point at objects, say “count!” and then would talk in toddler gibberish as she counted. But you know what was amazing? Even though her numbers weren’t clear at all, the cadence was there- the same cadence I use when I count out loud with her.
So give them this practice. Count alongside them. Guide their finger and point at each apple slice. All of this practice is laying the foundation. (And it’s easy to do with other activities here! Count the apple slices as they drop them in the crockpot or as they see if slices sink or float.)
Counting with Apple Erasers and Sandpaper Numbers
If your toddler is ready for a little more counting practice, grab those apple erases and either a set of sandpaper numbers or apple themed counting cards. Help them place the correct number of apple erasers on each card, trace the number with their fingers, and gradually, this well help them with the concept that each number represents a finite number of objects.
You can find a set of sandpaper numbers on Amazon here. If you want to take a DIY route, you can easily make sandpaper numbers by tracing numbers on cardstock and then going over it with glitter glue.
Or if you want some apple themed counting cards, you can download the ones I created here for free!
Apple Themed Toddler Books
Biscuit and the Great Fall Day
Biscuit is so sweet. In this book he goes to the orchard to pick apples and makes some friends along the way. It’s available on Amazon here.
Curious George: Curious About Fall
I LOVE these tabbed board books with poems for Curious George. This one was the first one I ever bought from the series and it’s still my absolute favorite. Each poem features a different part of fall, and a couple involve apple orchards and making apple pies.
It’s available on Amazon here.
And if you’re looking for more fall-themed books for your toddler, check out my post here with my absolute favorite fall books for toddlers.
