September 26th is Johnny Appleseed Day!
Growing up in Indiana, I learned about Johnny Appleseed in school every fall. There is a nostalgia associated with apple seeds, crisp weather (okay, maybe I’ll just crank my AC down this year), and that infamous tin hat. I was able to reminisce as my daughter and I celebrated Johnny Appleseed Day- and I learned a little more along the way.
Did you know that Johnny Appleseed was a real person and that the apples that his trees yielded would have actually been used to make alcoholic beverages? I don’t remember learning that in 4th grade!
To celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day, I decided to hold an apple taste test (check out the free printable below!) and create an apple sensory bin. These are both perfect activities for toddlers. Side note – my daughter thinks “taste tests” are a BLAST and I have gotten her to try many-a-new-food by using this method.
For our sensory bin, I used bags of dry pinto and kidney beans from my pantry, old paper towel rolls, and colored pom-poms. I also added a dash of cinnamon to the bin to really add to the effect. I cut construction paper and doubled some scotch tape so that my kiddo could stick the “apples” to the tree.
What You’ll Need:
Clean and Dry Bin or Large Bowl
Pom Poms (I used red, green, and yellow)
Paper Towel Rolls, cut in half
Construction Paper, cut into the shape of a tree
Scotch Tape
Dried Beans (I used Pinto)
Cinnamon, if desired
Sensory bins are my jam. They can usually be created with things that are already laying around my house or items found at the dollar store. They are a simple way to entertain kids and are a great way to (sneakily) work on fine motor skills, colors, counting, and more. This apple sensory bin was a huge hit in our house and was the perfect way to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day.
For our taste test, I used 5 different types of apples that I picked up at our local grocery store. I cut small slices of each apple and placed them on a plate. Pro tip- save the stickers from your apples and use them to tell apart the sliced apples.
We decided to test each apple plain, with peanut butter, and with chocolate peanut butter. I already had some red, blue, and yellow stickers, so we used these in our taste test chart (link here!) to note if we thought each combination was “yuck”, “yum”, or “okay”. My toddler could place the stickers by herself and anything that involves apples and peanut butter is her kind of party. She loved rating each apple and may have tried to lick the plate clean when we were finished. We had such a blast with our taste test and it was the perfect way to switch up snack time.
Happy Johnny Appleseed Day!
We hope you have fun celebrating with your kiddos!
Click here for your Free Printable!
For more FALL fun visit the Fall in the Coastal Bend Guide here!
