Tell the children that fruits and exercise are important to healthy bodies. Explain that apples are fruits and are included in healthy diets. Present each child with a coloring page of an exercising apple character. Offer apple slices as a snack (See References 4 and 5).
Share a book about apples during story time. Let your preschoolers taste the difference between apple juice and apple cider. Ask the children which apple drink they preferred and graph the results. Discuss the results of the graph (See References 1 and 2).
Show the children how to practice fine motor skills with apple-related activities. Cut out several apple shapes from poster board and laminate the shapes. Punch holes around the edges of each apple. Provide brightly-colored yarn and tell the children to string the yarn through the holes. A variation of this activity is cutting out apple shapes from red, yellow and green construction paper. Set out hole punchers with the paper apples and tell the children to make holes where worms have been eating the apples. Let the children insert a pipe cleaner "worm" into a hole in the apple (See References 6 and 7).
Talk about the foods made with apples. Ask the children to name a food made from apples. Write each food that is named on a white board or chalkboard. Let the children count the foods. Use a felt apple tree to present another counting activity. Make three trees and an assortment of apples from felt. Place a number under each tree and ask the children to put the number of apples on the tree to match the number (See Reference 3).
Show the children how to create apple pizzas. Demonstrate how to add apple sauce, cream cheese and cinnamon to toasted hamburger bun halves, biscuits or English muffins. Toast the "pizzas" for an additional 20 seconds (See Reference 2).