Template of Apples on A Branch

      Children will like to cut and color the kind of apple that they know. Then the teacher may choose the best apples of one variety for the class to arrange on a branch, which has been previously cut and taped on a window or stapled to a bulletin board. If desired the leaves may be cut separately from the large pattern below.

Large pattern of an apple branch with fruit and leaves.

Old Apple Recipes

The following methods for preparing apples are over 100 years old! (1880)

Apples Creole 

       Make a sirup by boiling together one and one-half cupfuls of water, one and one-half cupfuls of sugar and two cloves. Peel and core six firm tart apples and boil in the sirup until tender, about ten minutes. When the apples are tender, remove carefully from the sirup and set aside to cool. Reboil the sirup for ten minutes and pour over the apples. 

       Heat to the boiling point three-fourths cupful of brown sugar and one-fourth cupful of water. Cook for eight minutes or until a little of the mixture forms a firm ball when dropped into cold water. After removing from the fire add one-half cupful of pecan nuts and beat until creamy. With this mixture fill the cavities in the apples. Serve cold with whipped cream or a custard sauce. 

Steamed Apple Pudding 

       Rub together two tablespoonfuls of butter and two cupfuls of soft bread crumbs. Add one-half cupful of finely chopped apples, one-half cupful of sugar, one-eighth teaspoonful of nutmeg, the grated rinds of one lemon and one orange, and one cupful of currants washed thoroughly. After mixing well add one tablespoonful each of lemon juice and orange juice, or two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, and two well-beaten eggs. Pack into a greased mold, cover, and steam for two hours. Serve hot with hard sauce or fruit sauce. 

Jellied Apples 

       Peel and quarter six large, tart, red apples. Place in a baking dish, adding two cupfuls of sugar dissolved in two cupfuls of boiling water. Cover the dish and bake in a slow oven until the apples are tender and colored a deep pink. Lift the apples carefully from the dish and place in a mold rinsed in cold water. Soak one and one-half tablespoonfuls of gelatin for five minutes in one-half cupful of cold water. Add to the hot apple juice and stir until the gelatin dissolves. Stir in the juices of one orange and one lemon and pour over the apples. Chill, turn out, and serve with soft custard or whipped cream. 

Apple Gingerbread 

       Peel and core three large, tart apples. Cut in very thin slices and spread on the bottom of a well-greased baking dish. After melting one-third cupful of shortening in two-thirds cupful of boiling water, add one cupful of molasses and one beaten egg. Sift together two and three-fourths cupfuls of flour, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking soda, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful each of cinnamon and ginger, and one-fourth teaspoonful of cloves. Stir into the liquid mixture and beat until smooth. Pour over the apples and bake in a moderate oven for about forty minutes. Cut in squares and serve warm either plain or with a liquid sauce, hard sauce, or whipped cream. 

Apple Rolls 

       Sift together two cupfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of salt and four teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Rub in four tablespoonfuls of shortening, adding enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll on a floured board to the thickness of one-eighth inch, keeping the dough rectangular in shape. Spread over it two tablespoonfuls of softened butter, one cupful of finely chopped raw apples and one-fourth cupful of sugar mixed with one teaspoonful of cinnamon. Roll the dough up tightly and cut into slices three-fourths inch thick. Place in a greased pan and bake in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes. Serve hot or cold. 

Apple Dumplings 

       Sift together two cupfuls of flour, four teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one teaspoonful of salt. Rub in four tablespoonfuls of shortening, adding enough cold water or milk to make a soft dough. Roll on a floured board to the thickness of one-eighth inch, and cut in three-inch or four-inch squares. In the center of each square place an apple, cored and peeled. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and fold the ends together. After placing the dumplings in a greased baking pan pour in two-thirds cupful of boiling water, one-third cupful of sugar and two tablesponfuls of butter. Bake for forty minutes in a moderate oven, basting every ten minutes with the liquid. Serve hot with hard sauce. 

Apple Omelet 

       Beat to a stiff froth the whites of four eggs. Then add the yolks of four eggs and continue beating until well mixed. Add gradually two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. In a hot frying pan or omelet pan melt one tablespoonful of butter. Pour in the mixture and cook slowly until firm. Spread over the omelet one cupful of thick, slightly sweetened apple sauce, fold over, and place on a hot platter. Serve immediately with powdered sugar. 

Apple Fritters 

       Sift together one and one-third cupfuls of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one-fourth teaspoonful of salt. Add to two-thirds cupful of milk one egg beaten until light. Combine the mixtures, beating until smooth. Peel two or three large, tart apples, cut into thin slices, and stir into batter. Remove the coated slices one at a time and drop into deep fat heated to 360 degrees or until it will brown a piece of bread in sixty seconds. Drain on soft paper and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, either plain or with a well-seasoned sauce. 

Apple Salad 

       Cut a thin slice from the tops of six large, firm, red apples. With a strong spoon scoop out the pulp and drop the apple shells into cold, slightly acidulated water until ready to use. Cut the pulp into dice and mix with popped corn and celery, allowing one-half cupful of each to each cupful of apple. Mix with cream mayonnaise dressing and stuff into the carefully drained apple shells. Garnish with celery tops and serve on lettuce. 

Baked Apples and Custard 

       Peel and core six firm, tart apples and place in a baking dish. Fill the cavities of the apples with sugar, cover the dish and bake in a moderate oven for about twenty minutes. To two eggs slightly beaten add one-third cupful of sugar and two cupfuls of scalded milk. Pour this over the apples, cooking them uncovered in a slow oven for about twenty minutes longer or until the custard is firm and the apples tender. Serve cold. Care must be taken not to have the oven too hot or the custard will separate. 

The Apple Rhyme

THE APPLE RHYME
Author Unknown
In my garden grows a tree
Of apple-blossom, where for me
A blackbird perches every day, 

Sings his song and flies away.
So since fairies make for birds
Music out of fairy words,
I have learned from it a rhyme
For folk to sing at apple-time,
Which (if you live where apples grow),
You'll find a useful thing to know.


Apple Time
Author Unknown
Shower-time, flower-time, earth is new and fair;
May-time, hay-time, blossoms everywhere;
Nest-time, best time, days have longer grown;
Leaf-time, brief time, make it all your own;
Berry-time, cherry-time, songs of bird and bee;
But, of all the happy times, apple-time for me.
Wheat-time, sweet time, in the closing year;
Sheaf-time, leaf-time, now will disappear;
Yellow ones and mellow ones, dropping from the tree;
Rusty Coats and Pippins, apple-time for me.


In Apple-Time
Author Unknown
When the red is on the apple,
And the apple 's on the tree,
When Myrtilla with her basket
Flings a saucy glance at me,
All the joys of all the seasons
Ripen in a rosy glee,
When the red is on the apple,
And the apple 's on the tree.

Apple Time

APPLE TIME. 

By George Cooper

Come and see the chubby faces 

Peep from under lifted leaves 

Which the noisy breeze displaces 

What a jolly tune it weaves! 

Crimson faces, scarlet faces, 

Faces green, and gold, and brown; 

For a troop of tricksy goblins 

Only last night wandered down, 

In apple-time! 

How the rough old Boughs are tossing 

In the cool and crispy air! 

Do you hear the children crossing 

O'er the meadows, here and there? 

Goblin faces, peeping, hiding 

Seem to greet them every one; 

And the orchard-rows are ringing 

With the frolic and the fun, 

In apple-time! 

Oh, the little hands that dip in 

Baskets shallow, baskets deep, 

Where the Russet and the Pippin 

Mingle in a shining heap! 

Long before the sunset's glory 

Orchard boughs are lone and bare; 

But another golden Autumn 

Sees the goblin faces there, 

In apple-time!  

Two Illustrated Rhymes from The 1800's

Illustrated rhyme from St. Nicholas Book anthologies.

 "Angelina Titherington

Was not at all too smart.

She bought some cheese

and butter-beans

To make an Apple tart."

Illustrated rhyme from St. Nicholas Book anthologies.

"My little dog's 

quite clever,

When we go 

for a lark,

He's smarter then

than ever,

He'll bark and bark

and bark."

Autumn

Autumn

by Albert Laighton.

The world puts on its robes of glory now;

The very flowers are tinged with deeper

dyes;

The waves are bluer, and the angels pitch

Their shining tents along the sunset

skies.

The Planting Of The Apple Tree

The Planting Of The Apple Tree

by William Cullen Bryant

Come, let us plant the apple-tree!

Cleave the tough greensward with the spade;

Wide let its hollow bed be made;

There gently lay the roots, and there

Sift the dark mold with kindly care,

And press it o'er them tenderly,

As round the sleeping infant's feet

We softly fold the cradle-sheet;

So plant we the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree?

Buds which the breath of summer days

Shall lengthen into leafy sprays;

Boughs where the thrush, with crimson breast,

Shall haunt, and sing, and hide her nest;

We plant upon the sunny lea

A shadow for the noontide hour,

A shelter from the summer shower,

When we plant the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree ?

Sweets for a hundred flowery springs

To load the May-wind's restless wings,

When from the orchard-row he pours

Its fragrance through our open doors;

A world of blossoms for the bee,

Flowers for the sick girl's silent room,

For the glad infant sprigs of bloom,

We plant with the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree?

Fruits that shall swell in sunny June,

And redden in the August noon,

And drop when gentle airs come by.

That fan the blue September sky;

While children, wild with noisy glee,

Shall scent their fragrance as they pass

And search for them the tufted grass

At the foot of the apple-tree.

And when above this apple tree

The winter stars are quivering bright.

And winds go howling through the night,

Girls, whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth.

Shall peel its fruit by the cottage hearth;

And guests in prouder homes shall see,

Heaped with the orange and the grape.

As fair as they in tint and shape.

The fruit of the apple-tree.

The fruitage of this apple-tree,

Winds, and our flag of stripe and star,

Shall bear to coasts that lie afar,

Where men shall wonder at the view,

And ask in what fair groves they grew:

And they who roam beyond the sea

Shall think of childhood's careless day,

And long hours passed in summer play

In the shade of the apple-tree.

Each year shall give this apple-tree

A broader flush of roseate bloom,

A deeper maze of verdurous gloom,

And loosen, when the frost-clouds lower.

The crisp brown leaves in thicker shower.

The years shall come and pass; but we

Shall hear no longer, where we lie,

The summer's songs, the autumn's sigh,

In the boughs of the apple-tree.

But time shall waste this apple-tree.

Oh, when its aged branches throw

Thin shadows on the ground below,

Shall fraud and force and iron will

Oppress the weak and helpless still ?

What shall the task of mercy be.

Amid the toils, the strifes, the tears

Of those who live when length of years

Is wasting this apple-tree?

"Who planted this old apple-tree?"

The children of that distant day

Thus to some aged man shall say;

And, gazing on its mossy stem,

The gray-haired man shall answer them:

"A poet of the land was he,

Born in the rude but good old times;

'Tis said he made some quaint old rhymes

On planting the apple-tree."

DIY Apple Card Games for Early Learners

Alphabet Apple Cards made from die cuts.

The alphabet apple cards, just right, are made from die cut apples and precut alphabet letters.

Alphabet Apple Card Questions:

• Spell out simple sight words like: GO, MY, ME, AT, TO, BE, NO, YES
• Put the alphabet cards in order and recite the letters out loud.
• Find a specific letter or remove a specific letter.
• Identify the vowel letters?
• Which letter is at the beginning of your name?
• Pick out a letter and make it's sound. 
• How many letters are in the alphabet? Count them to find out.

The Seriation Apple Cards: are cut from red construction paper and shaded with crayons or colored pencils. Young students can line these apples up, starting with the smallest apple and ending with the largest, or vice versa. 

• For wild animal seriation designs click here

Homemade Seriation Apple Cards.

The Whole & Half Apple Card Set: For this next apple card set, cut four of each design: four cut apples of yellow, lime green, dark green and bright red and then four uncut apples of yellow, lime green, dark green and bright red. There should be thirty-two cards altogether.

Questions for this card game:

• Match the pairs, each pair should share the same color and include one cut half apple and one whole apple
• Display four apples, three alike and one different. Which apple doesn't belong?
• Display five or six cards and ask the child to identify specific colors, specific cut halves, or whole apples.
• Spread out all the cards face up and ask the child to make a book, four matching cards exactly alike.
• Spread all the cards face down in the pattern of a grid and have the children take turns turning two cards face up. If the two cards each player turns face up match they can take the matching pair and put it into their own personal stack. If the two cards do not match, the player must return them face down to the grid. The player with the most pairs by the end of the game wins. Players must turn cards over until none are left in the grid.

Pictures of the Whole & Half Apple Card set. Far left, Match the pairs., Next, count the red apples.,
Center, make a book., Far Right, Which apple doesn't belong.

More Apple Games: 

• Free Apple Number Puzzles
• Apple Number Match Up Activity
• Even More Apple Themed Activities

A Summer Snowstorm!

A SUMMER SNOW STORM

 

It's snowing hard as it can snow

The ground is almost white

And all our pretty orchard grass 

Is hidden out of sight.

The wind is blowing from the south,

And coming good and strong,

You'd never think a southern wind

Would bring the snow along!

The sun is shining warm and bright

The flowers bloom in throngs

The birds are flying to and fro,

And singing happy songs.

And if upon their feathers soft

The snowy flakes should fall,

They shake them off and sing some more,

And never mind at all!

The flowers, too, don't care a bit,

It only makes them grow

Because, you see, this summer storm

Is apple-blossom snow!

By E. S. T.

"Apple Of My Eye" Valentines

The "Apple of My Eye Valentine" card.

On top you see three white apple shaped interior pages and two red
exterior apple shaped pages. Below, left, half of the apple is glued on
to the other, leaving a section open to insert the interior white apple
pages that have been previously folded.

   This little tutorial for Valentine's Day was created for those of you who still like to handcraft your own cards and letters. If you are looking for a special Valentine pattern for your classroom teacher, this is a classic prototype. I have also included here the origins of the first "apple of my eye" references as well. Also view a few vintage versions of similar cards (below) from American publishers over fifty years ago.

 Materials You Will Need:

• white glue
• scissors
• red, brown, green, and white construction paper
• black pen (preferably permanent ink)
• pattern
• heavy cardboard
• a stapler
• googly eyes (tiny)
  

Step-by-step Directions for the Apple of My Eye Valentine Card:

1. Download and print the pattern for the "Apple of My Eye Valentine."
2. Cut the pattern shapes out and trace these onto heavy cardboard.
3. Trace around the smaller apple shape three times. Cut out at least three white pages for the interior of the card. Fold these in half and set them aside.
4. Cut two larger apple shapes in red, yellow, or green for the exterior of the apple card.
5. Glue the two red shapes front to back on only one half of the apple. see  picture, right.
6. Now take the folded white interior apple pages and staple these together along their outside edge to form a kind of a pamphlet. 
7. Then glue the outside pages of this little pamphlet into the open leaves of the red apple card. You may like to write a message on these. I have chosen to write mine on the outside of the card.
8. Now trace and cut out the worm shapes from green paper. 
9. Glue the worm's head on the outside of the front part of your Valentine. Glue the backside of the paper worm to the lower outside, back half of the Valentine card.
10. Now look carefully at the interior white pages and approximate where it would be best for the worm's body to be threaded through in order for both ends to appear as though they are attached. Cut a hole through all of your Valentine's white interior pages at this point.
11. Now you will need to weave together to strips of paper that are cut to an approximate width similar to the that of the worm pattern. You will only need about five inch lengths of two colors. One strip should be green and the other white or pale pink.
12. This art teacher, Mr. Lundgren, demonstrates the accordion ribbon fold technique in his video, that I used in my card. He has made several excellent videos for art students and visitors may access them here.
13. Now glue the accordion folded ribbon into place after threading it through the hole. Hold the two ends firmly in place until the white glue becomes a bit tacky. 
14. I have also drawn on the pattern sheet a stem and an apple leaf for you to trace and cut. Glue these onto the outside of your card at it's top.
15. Add details to the worm, leaves, and stem with a thin tipped, black permanent ink marker along with an expression: "You are the apple of my eye," or "An apple for the teacher," or a scripture, all of which are listed below. I also glued tiny googly eyes to my worm for character.

I have cut a hole, left, large enough to insert my accordion folded ribbon. I will "guesstimate" where to glue this in order to
make the interior ribbon look as though it is a natural extension of the worm's body.

Here you can see that I have inserted an accordion woven ribbon through the worm hole and glued it in place. The worm now looks as though it has eaten through the pages of my Valentine apple card. Below it a link to an art teacher who demonstrates this simple accordion paper folding technique in a video.

Pattern for the "Apple of My Eye" Valentine Card.
Click on image to download the largest file.

Where does the expression "Apple of My Eye" come from? The phrase "Apple of My Eye" comes from the Bible. It is first mentioned in Deut. 32:10 “He found him in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye,"and then Psalm 17:8 "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. . . Proverbs 7:2 also includes the expression, "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye," and lastly in Zech. 2:8 "For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye."

• Read more about these scriptures and what the meaning behind the phrase is here.
• "James Re: Who is the apple of God's eye?"
• Apple of God's Eye

More Apple Inspired Valentines:

• DIY Apple of My Eye Printed Valentine's Day Cards
• Share the Love {You're the Apple of my Eye}
• Apple sweet teacher's treat for Valentine's Day!
• Printable Sandwich Bag that may be used for apple candies on Valentine's Day
• Digital Costume Stamps Perfect for "Apple of My Eye" Valentine Cards
• Bridget's Paper Blessings: "You're the apple of my eye" card idea perfect as a valentine
• Apple of My Eye Card from Create with Expression

Visit My Apple Themed Early Learning Center Activity Pinboard 

Vintage Apple Themed Valentines: 

"Of Core-se You Know You're the Apple of My Eye!"

 

"You're the "Apple" of my eye Dear Valentine!"

"You're the APPLE of my eye . . . Please be my Valentine! card

Print and Play An Apple Themed Color Sort Game

An Apple Themed Color Sort Game

      Download and print out my apple sorting game for your early learning center or homeschool. If you have Microsoft Word, you can enlarge these bushels of apples before printing them. I've included one sheet of apple graphics for students to color or for teachers to print onto red, green and yellow papers here.

      After laminating the tiny printed apples on red, green and yellow papers, mix them together inside of a dark sack made of burlap or even a brown paper bag would suffice. Then lay the color printed bushels out onto a carpet and pass the bag of colored apples around a circle of very young students. Ask each child to take turns at pulling a little apple from the sack. The students should then match the color of their apples with the colors of the bushels as they go. This simple early learning game teaches them to distinguish between red, yellow and green.

Red bushel of apples.

Green bushel of apples.

Yellow bushel of apples.

Stringing Beads at The Early Learning Center

      Stringing beads will help your little one develop small motor skills. However, it could also teach him or her even more! Teach your children to also make patterns with the beads. The patterns can be about color, shape or size. By learning to mimic patterns and/or design their own, young children practice a very significant pre-literacy skill; words and sentences have shape, length, pattern and location too!
      Just left, you can see that one of my young students is learning to make patterns and also to follow directions. During her assignment, she was required to string the beads according to the instructions of the lead teacher. She had to listen carefully, concentrate on the order of colors and determine the size of each apple shaped bead in order to complete the assignment. This was a more advanced variation of the stringing project she was asked to perform last week. Every time she completes one stringing activity with confidence, she will be given a new slightly more difficult stringing assignment to accomplish. Step-by-step she will be taught increasingly more complex procedures and by the time she enters kindergarten, she will be ready to 'string' letters from the alphabet together in order to read and write sentences.

      If stringing beads is too difficult for your child, replace the string with pipe cleaners. The chenille stems are stiffer and therefore, easier to poke through beads. When teachers, parents or anyone really, makes concessions for the limited abilities of  students, teachers call this adaptation scaffolding. As this little girl grows and her motor skill develops, she will be able to string beads with a shoe string and eventually a needle and thread. 

• 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students
• 8 Strategies for Scaffolding Instruction
• The Purpose of Coloring Pages

"In this in-service suite teachers learn ways to help 

children when they struggle to learn a concept or 

complete an activity. More information is available

 at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta..."

Scrumdiddlyumptious Apple and Quince Treats and Recipes!

      It has been said that apples may be prepared in more than 200 different ways; and following the slogan "Eat an apple a day and keep the doctor away," it should prove easy and interesting to serve them at least once daily in late September menus.

      Quinces and crabapples, while not so popular as the apples, may also form the basis of many delicious dishes, and in the way of preserves, a savory catsup, jellies and marmalade they are two of our best fall fruits. 

      In making quince jelly be sure that not a single seed is cooked with the fruit, as these have a mucilaginous property which will prevent jelling, giving instead a ropy, thick syrup.

      Baked and as sauce are the most popular ways of serving apples, and yet these may be varied so that a different style is possible for every day in the week. When cooking apple sauce if it be strained do not core or pare the fruit--merely cut into pieces and add the water. This saves time, gives a larger quantity of sauce and more flavor and color.

      If apples are to be cooked in quarters, first cook the skins and cores in cold water, with a few slices of orange or lemon, stick cinnamon and a dusting of nutmeg. Then strain, and in this juice cook the apples. It will give a better flavor to the fruit and a richer syrup. Apples cooked in this way are practically preserved and are delicious served as a compote. Raisins, dates, figs or preserved ginger may be added to suit the individual taste.

      This same method of cooking is recommended for stewing crabapples and quinces; these are excellent as compotes.

      Never attempt to cook a dry sweet apple, as no matter what the recipe the result will be a flavorless dish. Select rather tart, juicy cooking apples and always add as little water as possible, so as not to dilute the true flavor. Virginia Carter Lee, New York Tribune, September 24, 1922.

New England Baked Apples

      For the New England baked apples butter a quart baking dish, fill with peeled, quartered apples, dust lightly with ground cinnamon and a bit of grated lemon peel. Add one cupful of maple syrup, cover and bake in a slow oven until tender. Serve with cream.

Escalloped Quinces

      To prepare baked escalloped quinces, pare, core and cut the fruit in halves. Place with the hollow side up in a pan, fill the cavities with sugar, add a few slices of orange and pour in enough quince liquor (made by boiling the skins) to half cover the fruit. Covert he dish or pan and bake for several hours in a slow oven. Then uncover, dust thickly with crushed, dried bread crumbs mixed with melted butter and brown over in a quick oven. Serve with a hard sauce flavored with vanilla.

Apple Toast and Bacon

       Apple toast with bacon is a very good breakfast dish. For an individual service stew a peeled and quartered apple in one tablespoon of butter, two of water and one of sugar. When tender arrange on a round of fried bread and lay over the top, two slices of crisp broiled bacon.

More Apple Ideas

      In preparing either the apple muffins or cornbread merely add chopped, peeled apples to your usual batter and slightly increase the amount of sugar and baking powder.

      The variety of apple salads is almost endless, and this fruit combines admirably with either chopped celery or shredded cabbage. Used with the latter it gives a particularly healthful salad and one especially adapted to serve the children's health and happiness. A few chopped walnuts are a great addition and either a boiled or mayonnaise dressing is recommended. 

      For the carbapple pie slice the flesh from the cores of the apples but do not peel them. Fill into a deep pie plate lined with pastry and cover with bits of butter, one and a half cupfuls of sugar and a slight dusting of nutmeg. Cover the top with strips of pastry, arranging crisscross fashion and bake in a moderate oven.

Glace Crabapple

      The glace crabapples are prepared from an old-fashioned recipe and are especially good; they may be stored as canned fruit or will keep for some time in stone crocks. Select a firm, red variety and for a peck of the fruit allow five pounds of sugar. Put the fruit and sugar in layers into a stone crock or deep casserole and add two broken sticks of cinnamon and a tablespoonful of cassia buds. Cover the jars with a buttered paper and bake in a slow oven for two and a half hours. This dish is very good prepared in a fireless cooker. (Crock Pot, set on low it would take longer than two hours to cook!)

Apples and Sweet Potatoes

      A very excellent dish is the escallop of apples and sweet potatoes. Peel and cut boiled sweet potatoes into quarter-inch slices. Butter a baking dish, put in a layer of the potatoes, sprinkle with grated nutmeg and dot with bits of butter. Cover with a layer of thinly sliced apples and dust with ground cinnamon. Continue with alternate layers of apples and potatoes and sprinkle the apples lightly with brown sugar. When the ingredients are used have the top layer of potatoes and cover with buttered crumbs. Bake for one hour in a moderate oven.

Apple Frosting

      A delicious filling for a layer cake can be made from apples. Boil one cupful of sugar with one-third of a cupful of water (without stirring) until it threads and pour on the stiffly whipped white of one egg. Continue to beat until thick and fold in one grated tart apple and a half teaspoonful of orange extract. Spread the filling between the cake layers and sprinkle with minced candied orange peel. A cake filled with frosting should be eaten the same day or it becomes soggy.

Apple Betty With Cheese

      Mix four tablespoonfuls of melted oleo with two cupfuls of soft bread crumbs. Some people prefer the browness and added flavor of crumbs sauted in butter. Pare, core and slice four apples. Mix together one-third of a cuptul of brown sugar, half a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, a quarter of a teaspoonful each of the ground cloves and nutmeg and a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt.

      Arrange the alternate layers of crumbs and apples in a buttered baking dish, sprinkling the fruit with the seasonal sugar. Continue the layers until the dish is filled and pour over a syrup made from two tablespoonfuls of hot water, the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoonful of sugar.

      Cover the top with the crumbs mixed with three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and bake slowly for forty minutes. Cover the pudding at first, so that it will not brown too quickly.

You know when autumn has arrived when the crab apple trees are sagging under the weight of fruit. Carb apples are great for making jelly as they are full of pectin. In this video I therefore show you how to make crab apple jelly. More about wild foods at www.self-sufficientinsuburbia.blogspot.c

­om

Crabapple Catsup 

      Cook five pounds of crabapples with one pint of vinegar for eight minutes, or until the fruit is soft. Press through a fine sieve, turn into a preserving kettle and add two and a half pounds of brown sugar, three tablespoonfuls of ground cinnamon and half a tablespoonful each of salt, paprika and ground cloves. Simmer until thick and store in sterilized, self-sealing bottles, as for tomato catsup.   

Crabapple Ice Cream 

      Have ready one pint of sifted, well sweetened apple sauce that has been flavored while cooking with ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg and lemon juice to taste. Have the sauce quite thick and while hot stir in two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Cool, chill on the ice and fold in the stiffly whipped white of one egg and one pint of double cream that has been whipped solid and sweetened with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Freeze slowly, using three parts of ice to one of rock salt.

Quince Marmalade

      Cook the skins of the pared quinces in water to well done. For every quart, cover and add also yellow rind of one large lemon. Cook for forty minutes, then strain and in this liquid cook the cored fruit that has been cut into small pieces. When the fruit is tender press through a fine sieve and allow three-quarters of a cupful of sugar for each cup of the pulp. Let the quince cook for twenty minutes, add the hot water and for a pint of the combined fruit and sugar add the juice of half a lemon and half a cupful of blanched chopped almonds. Cook down quite thick and store as for jelly. (Do not use any of the quince seeds.)

Marlboro Pie

      Wipe and cut in quarters three large juicy apples. Steam until tender, rub through a fine sieve and add one-third of a cupful of butter. Add one-third of a cupful of sugar, three lightly beaten eggs, the rind of half an orange, grated, a few grains of salt, four tablespoonfuls of thick cream and a tablespoonful and a half each of grape juice and lemon juice. Have ready a deep pie plate lined with pastry, put on an ornamental rim, turn in the mixture and bake in a moderate oven until firm. Cover the top with sweetened whipped cream arranged in a lattice fashion and garnished cubes of crabapple jelly.

Spiced Apple Jelly

      Cut half a peck of juicy cooking apples in three pints of vinegar and one pint of water until soft, adding an ounce of broken stick cinnamon, two slices of lemon, half an ounce of whole cloves and half a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. When soft drain through a jelly bag, boil the juice for twenty minutes and add three quarters of a cup of sugar for each cupful of the juice. Simmer until it jells, skim well and store as for ordinary jelly. This is delicious served with chicken, duck, roast pork and either cold or hot ham.

Apple Foam

      Have all the ingredients thoroughly chilled. Turn into a large bowl, two-thirds of cupful of sweetened, strained apple sauce (flavored with lemon and nutmeg) and add two tablespoonfuls of finely minced preserved ginger, two stiffly whipped egg whites blended with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and half a cupful of thick cream, beaten solid. Turn into parfait glasses lined with strips of sponge cake and top each portion with a maraschino cherry.

Spiced Crabapples

      If the crabapples are hard they should be steamed before being added to the syrup. With the softened fruit press two cloves into each crabapple after removing the blossom ends. Prepare syrup from cooking together three and half pounds of brown sugar , three cupfuls of vinegar, about one and half cupfuls of water, one dozen cassia buds and three ounces of broken cinnamon sticks. When this has cooked seven minutes put in the crabapples, a few at a time, and cook until tender, but not broken. Skim out into sterilized jars, simmer down the syrup until quite thick and fill the jars to overflow. Seal as for canned fruit. Divide the spices among the jars.

More Apple Treats:

• Apple cinnamon crackers
• Gram Burde's Fresh Apple Glazed Cookie Recipe
• Apple Dumplings
• Old-fashioned Apple Sauce Cake
• Apple Fritter Doughnuts
• Apple Muffins
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes
• Aplets and Cotlets Candy

More Desserts Made With Quince:

• Quince Basics from Martha Stewart
• Poached Quince with Greek Yogurt
• Honey-Poached Quince Pie
• Quince Almond Cake
  

"A" was once a counting apple pie too!

      Suse Macdonald illustrates this beloved poem, "A was once an apple pie" for children in her colorful, popular book. The poem, is an absurdly endearing classic by Edward Lear.

      I cut and pasted an apple pie pocket just for teaching simple math to the young students in our classroom. Teachers should probably laminate the pie and apples so that the game will endure for a couple of years at least. 

      I used tin foil for the pie's plate and painted, cut, and pasted construction paper for the pie top and the apples. These elements looked much like those illustrated inside Suse Macdonald's book. 

      Many people believe that it is a marketing device to produce multiple subjects using similar themes and illustrations. However, expert educators have proven that illustrating multiple academic subjects with similar visual cues helps to stimulate a student's memory, particularly if it is done within the context of a limited span of time. This is why preschool teachers consistently use the thematic presentation of multiple subjects. 

      Of course, it is much more entertaining for young students to count apples instead of dots on a page. Teachers try to make learning fun so that immature students will happily comply without too many complaints.

      For this apple game, students may be asked to add or subtract apples from the pie. The answer to their math problem is then what remains inside the pie pocket! All they need to do is empty and count the remaining apples to give the correct answer to the games question. This playful use of adding and subtracting pleasant visual aids greatly improves young appetites for math exercises. It also may ensure that little tummies will begin to grumble while playing it. 

      Why no serve up a healthy snack of chopped apples for an afternoon snack after reading the poem and playing the game?

Printable Templates and Coloring Pages of Apples

Apple Template Printout
Free apple pattern with stem and leaves
Multiple apples on a single page
Free apple pattern for scrapbooking
Apple template from preschoolpost.com (PDF)
Vector apple image
Apple and multiple fruit applique patterns

An Alphabet' by Edward Lear read by Murray Lachlan Young

Little Apple Rhymes and Poems

A Apple Pie.

B bit it.

C cut it.

D dealt it. 

E eat it.

F fought for it.

G got it. 

H hid it.

J joined it.

K kept it.

L longed for it.

M mourned for it.

N nodded at it. 

O opened it.

P peeped at it.

Q quartered it.

R ran for it.

S stole it.

T took it. 

V viewed it.

W wanted it.

X Y Z & 

Amperse and 

All wished for 

A piece in hand.

Apple Gathering by Georgina Rossetti

    I plucked pink blossoms from mine apple-tree
        And wore them all that evening in my hair:
    Then in due season when I went to see
            I found no apples there.

    With dangling basket all along the grass
        As I had come I went the selfsame track:
    My neighbours mocked me while they saw me pass
            So empty-handed back.

    Lilian and Lilias smiled in trudging by,
        Their heaped-up basket teased me like a jeer;
    Sweet-voiced they sang beneath the sunset sky,
            Their mother's home was near.

    Plump Gertrude passed me with her basket full,
        A stronger hand than hers helped it along;
    A voice talked with her through the shadows cool
            More sweet to me than song.

    Ah Willie, Willie, was my love less worth
        Than apples with their green leaves piled above?
    I counted rosiest apples on the earth
            Of far less worth than love.

    So once it was with me you stooped to talk
        Laughing and listening in this very lane:
    To think that by this way we used to walk
            We shall not walk again!

    I let my neighbours pass me, ones and twos
        And groups; the latest said the night grew chill,
    And hastened: but I loitered, while the dews
            Fell fast I loitered still.

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, 1803

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit, and always green;
The trees of nature fruitless be,
Compar'd with Christ the Appletree.

This beauty doth all things excel,
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see,
In Jesus Christ the Appletree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought;
I miss'd of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the Appletree.

I'm weary'd with my former toil—
Here I will sit and rest awhile,
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the Appletree.

With great delight I'll make my stay,
There's none shall fright my soul away;
Among the sons of men I see
There's none like Christ the Appletree.

I'll sit and eat this fruit divine,
It cheers my heart like spirit'al wine;
And now this fruit is sweet to me,
That grows on Christ the Appletree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the Appletree.


Two Little Apples by Anonymous
Two little apples hanging on a tree,
Two little apples smiling at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could.
Down came the apples, Mm! Mm! Good!

Craft A Half-Eaten Home!

Above is a perfectly sweet apple craft that teachers may hang any where inside the classroom to decorate for fall.
Apple units are frequently taught to preschool through second grade in the United States during the months of September and October.

This simple little apple craft is so easy to teach to young students. Every student should have the following supplies to complete it successfully:

• white cotton balls
• red, green and brown markers
• two white paper plates
• white glue
• scissors
• five green pom-poms 
• one pair of googly eyes
• one tiny red pom-pom for the worm's nose
• a hole punch
• a few black beans

Directions: Step-by-Step

1. Color the backsides of both white paper plates with a bright, ruby red marker.
2. Cut from the center of one plate, a large or small hole.
3. Paste onto the front white side of one paper plate, a cardboard stem and two leaves. These should be colored with markers before gluing onto the inside edge of the back plate.
4. Paste on top of this first plate the second. Apply glue to the circumference of the entire edge of the back plate. Both of the red sides of the paper plates should be facing away from each other in order to create a three dimensional apple.
5. Let the paper apples dry thoroughly.
6. Glue soft cotton balls to the interior of your apple shape to represent the white insides of an apple. 
7. Paste inside of the apple, a tiny, green pom-pom worm. 
8. Glue on the worm's googly eyes and tiny red pom-pom nose.
9. Glue a few little black bean inside the apple to represent 'seeds.'
10. Punch out a hole at the top of your apple's stem so that you may hang your clever little 3D paper apple plate anywhere inside of the classroom.

This is wormy apple craft includes soft, bumpy, and rough textures.

 Pat Jaswell of Jaswell Farms in Smithfield gives a lesson on apple picking to 27 children from Harrisville Preschool. The children and parents got to pick Macintosh apples, just ripe for picking at the 113-year-old farm on Swan Road. The farm orchard has 11 different kinds of apples and today they did their first pressing of apple cider.