Weekly Update October 24, 2025 -Wrapping Up Our Apple Study with a Global Twist

We wrapped up our apple study in the most delicious way—using the apples donated from Ms. Liz’s farm! The children explored the journey of apples from tree to table while reading How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman. This engaging story inspired us to connect our hands-on apple activities to a broader world view, learning about where ingredients come from and how they travel across the globe. Using Ms. Liz’s farm-fresh apples, we baked, tasted, measured, and observed, bringing our apple exploration full circle with a real-world farm-to-table experience.

Apple Juice vs. Apple Cider Taste Test: Exploring Our Sense of Taste

We conducted our very own taste test with apple juice and apple cider. This led us to talk about one of our five senses, taste. We expanded our vocabulary using descriptive words such as sweet, sour, and bitter to describe the taste of the drinks. We also observed and discussed the similarities and differences between the two drinks. Apple juice was the more preferred drink!

Measuring Height with Apples: A Fun Preschool Math Activity

We measured how tall we were using apples (even the teachers)! We took turns laying down on the rug while classmates and teachers lined the apples up next to us. We then counted the apples together as a group and recorded the results. We talked about addition and subtraction by taking apples away and adding apples when needed. The results ranged from 12-25 apples!

Making Applesauce and Apple Crisp: Building Fine Motor Skills Through Cooking

We also made applesauce and apple crisp together this week! The students took turns coring, peeling, and slicing the apples using a crank apple peeler. This really worked our fine motor dexterity, hand strength, and gross motor coordination. The small, precise movements of gripping and turning the crank strengthens a child's hand and finger muscles, which are necessary for tasks like writing later on. We of course sampled both the applesauce and the apple crisp when we were done and determined we did a great job. Yum!

Painting with Pasta: Encouraging Creativity and Sensory Exploration in Preschool

In our sensory table, there was uncooked bow tie pasta with pumpkin seeds and autumn decor like pretend gourds. A couple of students wondered what it would be like to paint with the dry pasta. So, we tried it! We love encouraging all of our students to wonder, use their imaginations, ask questions, and implement their ideas. They enjoyed working their finger muscles to use a different kind of tool that they normally would not use for painting and best of all - it was their idea! The result was a masterpiece!

Our Class Promise: Learning to Be Safe, Kind, and Cooperative

In both classrooms, we made our "Class Promises" which are:

1. We can be safe

2. We can be kind

3. We can cooperate

We talked about why it is important to be safe, kind, and cooperate in our classrooms. Each student and teacher "signed" the class promises with our painted hand print.

Reminders:

• October 30 & 31 - Halloween Spooktacular Celebrations - Kids can wear costumes (not required) and go trick-or-treating at school. Please see ChildPilot calendar for details! If you would like to donate treats for our Spooktacular celebration, please bring non-food trick-or-treat items to school on Monday and Tuesday so we can organize them into trick-or-treat bowls for Thursday and Friday.

• November 2 - Daylight Saving Time ends - turn clocks back

• November 11 - Veterans' Day - NO SCHOOL

• November 14 - Tuition payment 4 scheduled

• November 26 - Early Release @ 11:30 - No "Explore More" program

• November 27 - Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL

• November 28 - Day after Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL