Apple STEM Activities for Back to School

I don’t know if there’s much that’s symbolic of fall and back to school time like apples, so let’s play with our food and do some learning while we’re at it with these apple STEM and STEAM activities.

Why not make an apple bird feeder and keep a log of the different kinds of birds and other animals you see using it? Messy Little Monster has this simple DIY.

Since apples are alive they can decay, so you can use them to learn about mold (on a smaller scale than the classic decaying pumpkin experiment). Share It Science has a post about a kid’s book you can read about observing mold and decay, plus all the details for setting up your own kid-led experiment to see what happens when apple slices are left to rot and how well different preservatives help them stay fresh.

On the other end of the spectrum you can dry apples, which is another means of preserving them. Adventure in a Box has all the details for turning apple drying into a science experiment for kids that you can eat when it’s done!

While you’re slicing apples, make some apple boats with this idea from A Dab of Glue Will Do. Let the kids decorate their sails (and/or make them different shapes, sizes and materials) and have them use the worksheet in the post to hypothesize whether their boats will float and why.

Kid Minds has a fun experiment using an apple where you investigate the center of gravity by balancing an apple off the edge of a table. Head to the post to see how and why this one works (and definitely consider doing the stabbing of the apple yourself instead of having a kid do it).

And then of course there’s the classic apple volcano experiment, speaking of things done on a smaller scale than using a pumpkin. Homeschool Preschool has all the details on this fun project that kids of all ages enjoy.

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Bird Learning Activities for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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