by Trudy Brown

Created on: October 15, 2009   Last Updated: October 27, 2009

Apples are a great decoration for any time of year and can be used in teaching many different concepts such as the letter "A" or proper nutrition. You can use them to decorate during the harvest season when many people go to orchards to pick their own fresh apples or at Thanksgiving as part of a cornucopia. Even use them in summer as part of a picnic scene or in winter as hot apple cider. For such a versatile fruit, there are many different crafts you can do both with real apples and to produce your own decorative apples.

*Apple stamps

You can make two different stamps with apples. If you cut an apple in half horizontally, it makes a very unique star pattern stamp, but if you cut it in half vertically, it makes and apple-shaped stamp. There are endless things you can do with those two stamps. Use them to decorate. Having a picnic? Buy a paper tablecloth and let your kids stamp apples on it to give your party some flair. Know someone who likes apples? Buy an unfinished jewelry box and stamp it with an apple shape to give as a gift. A great idea to say "Thank You" to your child's teacher is a canvas bag stamped with apples. It's incredibly easy and has numerous possibilities.

*Apple candle holders

Using an apple corer, cut a hole halfway through an apple. You should be able to place a candlestick into the hole. Decorate the apple by carving designs into it using a potato peeler. To keep the carvings from browning, rub some lemon juice on them. This is a good craft for older kids and makes a great fall centerpiece for dinner parties.

*Apple tambourines

Apple is a popular word to use in teaching the short vowel sound for "A" because it is widely familiar and something appealing to preschoolers. One craft you could make with young children to talk about apples and the letter "A" is an apple noisemaker. You will need two paper plates, red paint, green and brown construction paper, raw beans or some other small objects to rattle around, and a stapler or glue gun. Begin by having your child paint the paper plates red. While you wait for the paint to dry, cut out a stem from the brown paper and leaves from the green. Tape the stem and leaves to the inside of one of the plates with most of it visible above the rim. Once the paint is dry, staple or hot glue the plates together leaving just a small opening so that you can pour in the beans and then seal up that hole as well. Shake your apple and it should make a wonderful rattling noise. To help your child remember the connection between the letter and the craft write a large "A" on each side of the apple.

*Finger paint apple trees

Finger print apple trees can be a colorful way to brighten up your child's art wall. All you need is a few small fingers, paper, and brown, green, and red paint. For a project like this, especially if you have multiple children, I recommend buying a roll of poster paper so that you can make a mural out of it with all your kids' prints on it. First, using either fingers or brushes, have them paint the grass along the bottom and the brown tree trunks and branches. Once they have that foundation, stick their fingers in the green paint and have them dot "leaves" all over the tree branches. Rinse fingers and then dip them in red paint and have them dot the "apples" among the leaves. They might even want to add a few fallen ones in the grass. Let them be creative and add a sun or blue sky or clouds or flowers. It's their masterpiece so stand back and watch it emerge.

Crafting is a great way to spend quality time with our kids and make them feel creative and empowered. Make sure you display their works of art proudly to remind you all of the good memories you have from spending time together.

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