All Sorts of Apples

[60 Minutes]

Turn your next trip to the apple orchard, grocery store, or farm stand into a fun math activity!

You'll need:

• at least 4 apples of different varieties, sizes, shapes, and colors

What to do:

1. Take a brisk, fall walk with your child to an apple orchard or farm stand. Let him choose several different types of apples to buy.
2. Examine the apples as you wash them.
3. Suggest a category by which apples could be sorted such as color, size, variety, or weight.
4. Ask him to sort the apples by that category.
5. Invite him to think of other ways the apples might be sorted.
6. Try sorting the apples for your child; then invite him to guess the criteria you used for sorting them.

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.

• Which kind of apples do you like? Why?
• What is your favorite apple color?
• Do you think the rest of the family will be happy with the apples we picked out for them? Which ones do you think they will like the best?

Useful information:

While you are having fun together, this activity provides experiences for developing concepts related to sorting, classification, and math.