September brings on cooler air, the thoughts of pumpkin spice lattes, and hopes of sweater weather dance around us all. It’s prime time to go apple picking and enjoy the season of all our favorite fall things.
To kick off fall favorites, here are four apple crafts you can do with kids.
Apple Crafts
1. Watercolor Apples
What You’ll Need:
- Coffee filters
- Scissors
- Watercolor markers
- (optional) Dot markers — we prefer these because of the variety
- Spray bottle with a little water in it
- Pan (lined with parchment paper) or any dry surface for the watercolor art
- Black and green construction paper
Every hue of red, green, and yellow brings on the colors of fall. Start by grabbing your coffee filter(s) and have your child decorate their apple by using watercolor markers or dot markers. Dot markers are mess-free and make colors blend easily.
Next, lightly spray the filter with water using your spray bottle and watch the colors flow into one another creating a beautiful watercolor painting. Air dry on the parchment paper or other dry surface fully.
Once dry, cut out the apple outline and leaf on construction paper. Glue your watercolor apple to the construction paper. Hang up on a window as beautiful mosaic art.
2. Handprint Apple
What You’ll Need:
- Construction Paper: yellow, red, brown, green
- Scissors
- Markers
This handprint craft is great for letter recognition and a keepsake. It is so simple to create.
Take your red paper and stencil your kiddo’s hand onto it. Cut it out and glue it to your yellow construction paper. Cut out the stem and leaf and glue it onto the apple handprint. Use your markers to write out “ A is for Apple.” It serves as a great lesson, pairing perfectly with the adorable book Apples, Apples, Apples.
3. Apple Stamps
What You’ll Need:
- White construction paper
- Apples cut in half
- Watercolor paints
This craft is meant to get a little messy. We love apple stamping! There is no right way to stamp. Cut an apple in two parts down the center. Get out your fall color paints, dip your apples into the paint, and stamp them onto construction paper.
Add an educational layer of fun by pairing this craft with the book An Apple’s Life (Watch It Grow). You can teach the different parts of the apple and save the seeds for planting if you wish.
3. Apple Shakers
What You’ll Need:
- Two paper plates
- Glue stick
- Paint
- Uncooked lentils or rice
- Construction paper
Shake & rattle: these fun apple shakers are sensory play and creative.
First, paint the back of the paper plates and let them air dry. Using uncooked lentils or rice fill the paper plate with them. Glue the other painted plate to form a shaker. Cut out a leaf from construction paper. Glue it to the shaker and now you have a musical instrument.
Bonus: Apple Treat
After you’ve crafted the day away you’ll be sure to whip up an appetite. This easy apple snack brings on the flavors of fall.
Baked Apple Rings
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- 3-4 apples
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup of milk
- Additional cinnamon and sugar for coating
Directions:
Peel and core the apples. Then cut the apple into ring shapes. Mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl. Set that base aside.
Crack an egg and mix with the milk in a separate dish until combined. Then slowly pour into your flour mixture combining the two to form batter for dipping.
Next, dip your apple rings into the batter and place them onto a pan lined with baking parchment paper. Coat with additional cinnamon and sugar. Spray lightly with cooking spray and bake at 400° for about 6-8 minutes.
For an easy air fryer method: Batter the rings, coat with additional cinnamon and sugar, and then spray lightly with cooking spray. Place in an air fryer basket and bake for 5 minutes. And enjoy!