Apple Farmer Annie

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
(Dutton Children's Books, 2001)

Apple Farmer Annie has her own orchard of apple trees. Each fall, she picks, sorts, and processes apples into a lovely variety of fresh fall apple treats. Join Annie as she travels to a large town market and sells her wares.

I love Apple Farmer Annie! The illustrations are bright and colorful. Pages are interesting and have lots of detail. Annie is a successful apple farmer. Children will enjoy her apple growing and selling journey, while at the same time learning about the cycle of farming and marketing.

I feel like Annie. Each fall, I can't wait to get my hands on some apples!

Some fun things to do with apples:

~ Make one of the recipes included at the end of Apple Farmer Annie.

~ Purchase (or pick) apples of different varieties. Have a taste test and see who likes what type of apple. Give children colored construction paper to make their own apple of the proper color and graph the results. Who wins? Everyone!

~ Draw and cut out large apples from construction paper. Chop red, green, and yellow tissue paper into one-inch squares. Squish each square, dab the bottom with white glue, and attach to an apple shape. Cover the apple shapes with tissue paper for a textural apple decoration. Hang from the ceiling (or a hanging wooden branch).

~ Make apples for playing by showing children how to wad up red, yellow, and green construction paper pieces into balls. Let them wrap masking tape around the apple balls to secure the edges and keep the apples round. Give out canvas bags and let them 'pick' the apples from the floor. If you have a chain link fence, shove apples in the holes. Stand a solid step stool on the ground near the fence and let the kiddos have at it. Harvest by pulling out apples and dropping them in a canvas bag.

~ Take a trip to an apple farm. Ask for a tour. Pick some apples. Ask the farmer (some areas call apple farms apple ranches and farmers are called ranchers)questions about how apples are planted, grown, harvested, and taken to market.

~ Take pictures! If not at an apple farm, go to a fall fruit stand. They usually have displays of apples. At the least, hit the grocery store produce aisle. How many apple varieties are there? How much do they cost?

~ Dissect an apple. Help your child to cut open and pick apart the apple. Label the parts by drawing each on a sheet of paper (seeds, skin, core, flesh, stem). Will the seeds grow? Let them dry out. And then experiment.

~ Make applesauce! There is nothing more wonderful than a crock pot simmering away with chopped apples (I leave the peels on), some water, and cinnamon. Mmmm. Kids love to wash, chop, and add apples to the pot. Eat it while it's warm.
(Hint: Use one of those apple slicers to cut clean apples into sections and remove the cores. Give kids a butter knife and cutting board. It really works!)

~ Weigh some apples. Use a bathroom scale (cleaned) or a food scale or a balance scale.

~ Talk about fractions (1/2, 1/4, and so on) as you cut an apple for a snack.

~ Taste apple products - juice, cider, pie, turnovers, muffins, applesauce, dried apples, apple butter, baked apples with ice cream, apple crisp, apples and cheese together . . . There are many, MANY ways to enjoy apples.

Apples are great. Go to the library and check out some more books about apples. Or visit your local bookstore. I know they have excellent ideas.

And remember. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.