Life Cycle of An Apple
If you and your children are ready to learn all about apples, you’ll love this unit study! We cover the parts of an apple including labeling the parts, a puzzle to cut apart and use for learning the life cycle of an apple, coloring pages, and much more.
Unit Study on the Life Cycle of an Apple
There are over 2,500 different varieties of apples grown in the United States! Can you guess which apple is the only native apple to North America? Believe it or not, it is the Crab Apple!
The most popular varieties of Apples in the US
According to the U.S. Apple Association, these are the five most popular apples in the United States.
Gala. It is a sweet, crisp, juicy, mild apple. Did you know it is a cross between Kidd’s Orange Red apple and Golden Delicious apple? It is commonly used in snacking, salads, juicing, baking, and freezing. It is grown in Washington, New York, and Michigan. It is harvested beginning in mid-July and is available year-round.
Red Delicious. Although the Red Delicious apple is one of the most famous apples, it has lost some of its popularity over the last few years due to all the new varieties being introduced to the market. The Red Delicious is the vision of the perfect apple, however, ironically, it has very little flavor.
Granny Smith. This apple is a firm, tart apple with light green skin. It is very popular for baking and cooking. It is harvested beginning in August and is available year-round. There really was a Granny Smith (Maria Ann Smith of Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia) who discovered this chance seedling.
Fuji. The Fuji apple is one of the sweetest and juiciest apples and its popularity is growing rapidly because of it. This apple was developed in Fujisaki, Japan. This apple is a cross between Ralls Janet and Red Delicious. It is primarily grown in Washington State but can be found in all apple-growing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and California.
Honeycrisp (my favorite). The Honeycrisp apple is growing in popularity with a sweet and balanced flavor, sometimes with a hint of pear-drop flavors. These apples store extremely well, keeping for up to seven months! This apple was developed by the University of Minnesota and is great for snacking, salads and sauce making.
STEM apple experiments
The Homeschool Village has a great apple oxidation science experiment using Vitamin C (an antioxidant). When an apple is cut it releases an enzyme that causes the apple to turn brown. You could test the above varieties of apples to determine their levels of oxidation!
The Homeschool Scientist has a very detailed enzyme experiment with more detailed information about what is happening with oxidation.
Life Cycle of an Apple Unit Study
Our unit study is 18 pages of fun worksheets that focus on the life cycle of an apple. Pages include parts of the apple, the apple tree life cycle, coloring pages, and even an apple journal for tracking the planting of your own apple seeds. Because I have multiple kids, I love it when I can use my worksheet packs with all ages, and this one qualifies!
Check out a couple of the preview pages, then click the banner below to download your own copy in the OPC store:
We love when can do a unit study that also includes a snack to go with it! Here is one that fits perfectly with the life cycle of an apple study!
Apple Tree Cupcakes Recipe
Cooking is a great way to show how math, and especially fractions, is used in real life! So be sure to get your children in the kitchen with you to make these super cute apple tree cupcakes from Love These Recipes!! These apple tree cupcakes are easy to create! Use chocolate-dipped Oreos, Tootsie Rolls, and red M & M’s to create gorgeous, edible apple trees for the tops of your favorite cupcakes (or muffins). These would be perfect for autumn events, the first day of school, or family reunions! Grab the full (and free) recipe HERE!
Making Math Fun with Apples
Speaking of math and apples, here is another great idea for making math more fun with apple-related activities! On the Hip Homeschool Moms site, you’ll find an article all about How to Make Math Fun (and Tasty). It incorporates the apple tree cupcakes recipe (above) with some simple-but-fun math activities! Again, these activities can be adjusted to make them work for younger or older children. Have fun!
other life cycle unit studies
If your children love life cycle unit studies like my children do, you will want to know about all the other studies we have!! You can simply type “life cycle” in the search bar, or you can start by taking a look at some of these life cycle unit studies!
