When hosting an apple event for preschoolers and their families, using children's artwork as a decoration will always be appreciated. Before the event, have children use stencils to trace and cut out several different colors of apple shapes. Have the children write their names on their apples and hang them up around your event area. Also, place bowls of brightly colored apples on tables throughout the venue. Not only are they pleasing to the eye, but will lightly scent the air.
Of course, you will be serving apples at your apple celebration. Have several varieties on hand for guests to sample, such as Red Delicious and Granny Smith, and also serve some lesser-known varieties such as Pink Ladies and Ginger Gold. For fundraising, ask some culinary-minded parents to donate a few fresh baked apple pies for auctioning. A day or two before the celebration, make applesauce with your preschool class and serve it as a snack at your apple event.
Your venue is decorated and all of the guests have full bellies, but now what? You will need to plan a few activities for parents and their children to do together while enjoying the apple celebration. One simple idea that will not take a lot of preparation is to provide red, green and yellow paper and apple stencils and allow children to trace and cut out a few more apples for decorations. Or, create a cooperative apple tree. Provide brown finger paint and a long piece of butcher paper. Encourage each guest at your apple event to place a brown handprint on the paper to form a tree trunk. Keep red, green and yellow paint with paintbrushes nearby and ask guests to paint an apple on the tree after adding their handprint to the trunk. Hang this artwork in your classroom for all to enjoy during the apple celebration.
In addition to art and craft activities, provide a few simple games at your apple event for preschoolers to participate in with their families. For a very simple game that even toddlers will enjoy, place a large bowl of different-colored apples in the middle of a table. Provide three bowls, one red, one green and one yellow, for guests to sort apples into according to color. When guests enter the event, display a large container with many different apples of every color, size and shape. Give guests an index card to write down their guess as to how many apples are in the container as well as their name. Toward the end of the event, reveal the number of apples in the container and offer a prize to the guest whose guess was closest. Perhaps a fresh baked apple pie could be the prize.