Johnny Appleseed Day
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Hey there!
Today I am sharing my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day activities for your kindergarteners!
I just love Johnny Appleseed Day! Something about apples and the beginning of kindergarten just make the day so much fun and Johnny Appleseed’s birthday so fitting!
We celebrate Johnny Chapman’s birthday every year on September 26th. Due to his love of apples and planting apple trees, Johnny is known by the name Johnny Appleseed. Not only did Johnny plant thousands of apple trees throughout the United States, but he also had a love for animals. Johnny is a fun historical character for kindergarteners to learn about!
Below I am sharing my favorite learning activities for Johnny Appleseed Day!
14 Johnny Appleseed Day Activities For Kindergarten
1) Ten Frame Math
Ten frame activities for kindergarten are an easy, fun way to work on building number sense. These ten frames have a Johnny Appleseed day theme and I used mini apple erasers that I found in the Target Dollar Spot. I check the dollar spot almost weekly because I have some serious FOMO when new products arrive.
The mini apple erasers aren’t available at target any longer, but I found this fruit variety available on Amazon!
2) Ten Frame Worksheets
Worksheets are a great way to check in on student’s learning! I use the worksheets as either a follow up from the center ten frame activity, or as a whole group activity.
3) Write the Room
Have you ever tried Write the Room activities? If not, put them on your list to do! My kiddos LOVE LOVE write the room activities because they are able to get up and MOVE. As we know, these little bodies can’t sit still for too long, so writing the room is an excellent way to get kids moving and learning!
Depending on my group of children, I will choose to do either the Johnny Appleseed Write the Room Letters or Write the Room Sight Words. Many of the center activities that I use are editable, so I can choose exactly what I want my students to work on and differentiate easily within a larger group.
4) Johnny Appleseed Story – Online!
Johnny Appleseed has a very interesting and exciting life to learn about! This kid-friendly video has so many fun Johnny Appleseed facts! When using this activity for a center group, I have students use the QR code to listen to the story. When using this activity as a whole group, I just click the link and play the video on the Smartboard. The video is presented through SafeShare so that means the viewing is safe and there is no ads.
5) Johnny Appleseed Coloring Page
I like to follow the video with this coloring page the students can take home to their families. By students completing this coloring page, families will know that their child had learned about Johnny Appleseed that day and have talking points for the dinner table.
Plus, coloring is an important skill at the beginning of kindergarten!
6) Apple Life-Cycle Printable Book
Integrating science into learning about Johnny Appleseed is SO easy! I teach my students about the life cycle of an apple using an easy reader. At this point in the school year, I don’t expect my kiddos to be able to read this book independently, so we read this book together as a group. My students even use a yellow crayon to highlight the sight words they find in the book. DOUBLE SCORE!
This book is also easy to prep! See below!
7) Apple Life-Cycle Cut & Glue
After the Apple Life-Cycle Reader, I like to follow up with an Apple Life-Cycle Cut & Glue.
Students use what they learned from the book to sequence the apple life-cycle pictures. Another easy way to integrate science into your day!
8) Sight Word Mini-Book
Sight word mini-books are a great way to reinforce sight word recognition! Students feel a sense of ownership over these books because they help create the book and make it their own! My students keep these books in their independent “just-right” book bins to read during reading time.
9) Q-Tip Painting
Why not add in some fun painting to the day?
I look for ways to add in fine motor strengthening activities at the start of the school year! My kids always love painting with Q-Tips so I am always on the hunt for Q-Tip painting ideas! The apple tree Q-Tip painting printable is so fitting for Johnny Appleseed Day!
10) Tree Craft
Some more Q-Tip painting!
I use toilet paper rolls donated by families or within the school for this fun apple tree.
11) Star Painting
Seeing the star on the inside of an apple is always amazing, for any age! There is a fun story that goes along with the apple star. We aren’t allowed to dive into that story due to its religious nature, so it is one I save for my own children!
12) Johnny Appleseed Headband
What a fun way to show off to everyone in the school that you are learning about Johnny Appleseed! AND pretty much every kindergartener loves to wear crowns.
13) Johnny Appleseed Day Math Memory
Memory is a game that most students come to school already knowing how to play. This makes math memory an easy game to drop into a math center group.
See my post here about an Editable Sight Word Memory Game!
14) Count and Clip Cards
Count and clip cards are an easy kindergarten math center activity! There are so many fun varieties of clothespins you can find to go along with different themes.
The clothespins below come in many different colors and would fit so many activities!
BONUS! Johnny Appleseed Day SNACK!
I haven’t tried making this, but it looks so fun! This is the perfect project to delegate to a Room Mom or Parent Helper!
There you have 15 fun Johnny Appleseed ideas for your classroom! I hope this post was helpful for planning a memorable Johnny Appleseed Day!
You can see this entire bundled product on TpT, just click the image below!
Get ready, Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is just around the corner!
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