Easy Apple Crafts for Kids

We’ve talked about STEM activities using apples, and apple themed printables, so now lets get into the STEAM part with some apple craft ideas.

Of course you can use apples as a stamp, which is a classic art activity for kids in the fall. If you need help with this one, check out the details at Simple Fun for Kids. I like the idea of using different kinds of paint, like liquid watercolors, tempera paint, whatever else you might have on hand, to see what makes the best stamps. You can also add glitter to the mix like in this idea from My Bored Toddler.

Make painting a counting activity, too, with this fingerpainting activity from Raising Dragons. Give them a number of how many apples to put on each tree and use fingerpaint or dot markers to make the apples.

Another take on apples and stamping is to make apple-shaped stamps out of bubble wrap. It’s easy to cut into shapes and make fun prints with a lot of texture. Get the DIY on this one from Crafts by Amanda.

This one may take a little bit of help from grownups, but I love this felt apple pie pretend play activity from The Best Ideas for Kids. It’s pretty low prep but lots of fun for kids in the filling and dumping phase!

Or make easy apples out of yarn with this cute craft from Hands on As We Grow. You’ll just need glue, water and yarn!

If you want to go your own way to develop apple craft ideas, grab this apple printable page from Fireflies and Mudpies. Color them in, make a garland with apples of different colors, cut them out of felt and make little pillows or appliques you can add to other projects, cut one out of fabric and let kids practice sewing on it — there are so many possibilities!

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Celebrate National Postage Stamp Day

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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Have you read?

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