Apples, Apples, Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Mmmmmm.... I am enjoying one of my favorite holiday drinks: PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES :)  I know, that they are all the rave around this time of year but I really do absolutely love them and am not ashamed to say so.  Plus, last year the Starbucks here in England NEVER carried pumpkin spice flavoring.  It was so sad.  So you have to imagine my excitement when I was walking down the high street and spotted the "pumpkin spice" sign in their window today.  I about started screaming with joy right there.  Can you imagine what they would have thought - "hmmm look at that crazy American girl, what is she doing?" haha.  Really though, that taste and smell just gets me all excited for fall!  And seeing as its felt like fall here for the last month this drink was much needed.

Around this time of year I always get excited because like many teachers fall calls for fun themes like pumpkins, bats, spiders, and more.  But before we get to all that, September calls for APPLES.  Yes, that's right it's apple harvest time and this month also calls for remembering the folk hero Johnny Appleseed.  I always enjoy teaching about apples and thought I'd share a few activities I'd be using in the upcoming weeks if I were in the classroom.

One fun activity that I like to do is have an apple taste test.  It's such a simple activity that students just love.  Just pick up some red apples, green apples, and yellow apples.  Slice them up and have a taste off.  Once everyone has had a taste use a class graph to record your results.  While creating this class graph I'd have students filling in their own too. Then we'd hold a discussion about the graph to see what the results showed. 

Another activity that is a must is teaching about the life cycle of an apple.  I'd read the story How do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro and then together as a class we would draw out and sequence the life cycle.  Then for independent work or in a center I created this activity that students can create.  They cut out the steps, color, and then glue them in order.

There are so many great apple activities out there!  What do you do?  The above two activities and a few more come from my Apple themed mini set.  Click the picture below to check it out in my TPT store.

Now time to get back to this latte.  Have a wonderful Thursday!