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Gather round, all little apple pickers, because it’s time to go on a fun hunt that combines the joy of art with a sprinkling of alphabets in the mix. Apple Letter Hunt is a unique activity that is designed to get those little hands working while nurturing a budding understanding of letters. This is where creativity meets learning, yielding a rich and vibrant canvas of fun and knowledge.

WILL YOU MAKE THIS APPLE LETTER HUNT WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Materials:

Large sheet of paper
Blac,k green and brown markers
Red paint
Cardboard tube
Paper plate
Tape

How to Set Up Apple Letter Hunt

First, tape down your sheet of paper. Then let’s set the stage for our apple letter hunt by transforming that large sheet of paper into a magnificent apple tree. You can either draw the tree or you can encourage your little artist to unleash their creativity with green and brown markers, drawing out a brown trunk and green bushy leaves. This tree will soon be home to bright red apples, each holding a secret letter inside!

This next part is for you. Write out several letters all over the tree including the letters we are focusing Aa. You can even write them under the tree. If you are doing this activity with a 2-3 year olds keep it simple and only focus on capital or lowercase letters. For 4 year olds you can do both capital and lowercase letters. For older kids, 5-6 year olds you can focus on word families with the letter a in the middle or sight words that start with a.

Next, it’s time to create our special apple stamper. Take a cardboard tube and shape it into an apple (a bit like a heart shape) using tape to maintain its form. Pour out a puddle of vibrant red paint onto a paper plate, and we are all set for the hunt. It’s stamping time! Dip the shaped end of the tube into the red paint, and let the hunt begin!

Now here comes the educational twist in our art adventure. Your little hunter needs to find all the ‘Aa’s hidden amidst other letters and mark it with a beautiful red apple stamp. It’s a fantastic way for kids to familiarize themselves with this letter, creating a vivid visual memory filled with fun and colors.

As your little one dips and stamps, forming a delightful orchard of apples, they are not just learning a letter; they are developing fine motor skills, color recognition, and understanding the fun that learning can bring. Plus, at the end of this activity, you will have a vibrant piece of art that celebrates your child’s learning journey!

Tips for a Fruitful Apple Letter Hunt:

Blend Learning and Play: This activity naturally marries learning with play, keeping the child engrossed while they soak in the knowledge subtly.
Encourage Exploration: Before starting, you can have a little chat about apples and the letter ‘A’, stirring curiosity and setting the stage for exploration.
Celebrate Each Find: Each find is a victory, encourage them to celebrate it with a bright apple stamp, building a positive association with learning.
Personalize the Experience: Feel free to add more letters and turn it into a broader learning activity as your child becomes comfortable with the concept.

Step into this beautiful amalgamation of learning and fun, where each stamped apple brings a sense of accomplishment and a burst of joy. Happy Apple Letter Hunting!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 1 year old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is medium, see tips above.

Difficulty to Create

Low.

Skills Developed

Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.