We are kicking off our Apple themed Weekly Virtual Book Club today! Each Monday we'll have a new weekly theme and fun activities to share with you. You can find more details over in our Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook group.
For our apple theme this week we read Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss and we created a colorful spin art apple banner! If you haven't tried spin art yet, put it on your "must do" list ASAP. We love it!
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR APPLE BANNER SPIN ART:
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links for your convenience.
- salad spinner (we love this Tokig salad spinner from IKEA and the OXO salad spinner)
- Washable Tempera
- Liquid Watercolors
- white cardstock
- scissors
- twine/yarn
- apple template
INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLE BANNER SPIN ART:
This activity is super easy. First, you need to print a copy of my apple template onto white cardstock. If you don't have a printer, just draw an apple shape onto a piece of white cardstock.
Next, cut out your apple shape and then put it in the salad spinner.
After that, squirt a bunch of paint into your salad spinner on top of your apple shape. We always use A LOT of paint, because the kids love it. This week we talked about different apples that we like and then we used those colors for our painting (reds, yellows, greens). The kids especially liked the sparkly colored paint.
Once you've squeezed out a lot of paint, put the top on the salad spinner and start spinning!!
Spin art is a great way to teach kids about colors and color mixing. We do a lot of predicting about how colors will look and what colors will do when they are mixed. We also practice color recognition as we use paint.
Admire your beautiful apple creation once you are done and then set it aside to dry while you make another one!
Since we read 10 Apples Up On Top we made TEN colorful spin art apples!
Once all of our apples were dry we attached them to a long piece of twine and made a big colorful spin art apple banner.
Every guest that comes to our house comments on our banner and loves the colors! Most want to know how they can make one too.
If you haven't done spin art before, be prepared to do it a lot once you get started! It is totally addicting. I always have to have a turn too.
Our banner is my favorite thing to see when we walk into our house right now! Make one this week for your house too and then you'll feel ready for Fall!
ADDITIONAL APPLE THEMED BOOKS
Since our weekly book club is all about books, here are several other favorite Apple Themed books you can check out this week!!
This list contains Amazon Affiliate links for your convenience.
Featured Book:
Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss
Additional Book Ideas:
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
Apples, Apples Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
Apples by Gail Gibbons
Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
MORE APPLE THEMED ACTIVITIES
Our Weekly VBC co-hosts have been working hard to create awesome apple themed activities to share with you! Click on the links below to explore all of the apple activities for this week. We'll be sharing even more ideas over in our Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook group, so come join it if you aren't over there yet! The activity links below will go live on Monday, September 12st at 12am PST/3am EST US time.
Name Activities
Magnetic Names Apple Picking - Preschool Powol Packets
How to Trace Your Name With Fingerprint Apples - Big Owl Little Owl Witty Hoots
Number Activities
Fine motor Apple Graphing Activity - Extremely Good Parenting
Ten Apples Up On Top File Folder Game - Views From a Step Stool
Sequencing Number Words - Adventures of Adam
Sensory Play Activities
2 Ingredient Apple Scented Playdough Recipe- Rainy Day Mum
Finger Painted Apple Trees- Clares Little Tots
Play Dough Apple Stacking Activity - Inspiration Laboratories
Cooking Activities
Apple Snack for Kids - CraftCreateCalm
Making applesauce and cinnamon apple peels- Mama Smiles
Science Activities
Science in Motion Apple Game - The Educators' Spin On It
Teach Beside Me- Magnet Levitating Apple stacking
Color Activities
Apple Color Mixing Science Experiment - Powerful Mothering
Colorful Spin Art Apple Banner for Kids- Toddler Approved
Pre-Writing Activities
Apple Themed Pre-Writing Activity - Sugar Aunts
Movement Activities
Ten Apples Up On Top Movement Activity - Still Playing School
Move Like a Tree- Kori at Home
Shape Activities
Are Apples Round? Fun Ways for Exploring Shapes - Peakle Pie
Do you have a favorite apple book or activity? Come tell us about it!
PLANNING AHEAD:
Next week #VBCFORKIDS is featuring the theme of friendship with the book Should I Share My Ice Cream by Mo Willems. Join us every Monday!
TODDLER TIME
This is also our first post in our Toddler Time series that we are joining, hosted by I Can Teach My Child. We'll be sharing 4 weeks of simple activities for toddlers. You can read more about it in Jenae's Toddler Time post.
I don't have a salad spinner but I so need to get one so we can do this!!
Do you tape the apple down in the spinner or will it stay put? Does it paint both sides?
Mary- sometimes it moves, but no I don't tape it down. It usually only paints one side. If it flips over then we just put it flat again before we spin it again. Sometimes we add more paint and spin it twice if we didn't get enough paint on it the first time.
My class used to love spin art – something I am yet to try out with Adam though.
The banner would look great strung along a mantle for Fall!
Where is the apple template available? Thanks!
How adorable!!! I wish I had a salad spinner now 🙂 Next week is our first letter lesson in preschool and A is for Apple is the theme!
This looks like such fun with the kiddos to make. Excited to be organizing the weekly VBC with you Kristina. So many ways to encourage our little ones to fall in love with books.