Fall is in the air, and fun autumn rituals—from apple picking to pumpkin decorating—are underway.
When my own family heads out to the farm, I often hear, "Are we there yet?" from my kids. There's something about the anticipation of the destination that makes the drive seem even longer. Having something to do on the drive can make the time pass faster.
To keep kids entertained and learning, all you need is a print-out of this All About Apples Word Search, a clipboard, and a writing utensil. Your kids can find 20 apple-themed words in the puzzle. Let them know that the words can be found vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.
As your word sleuths search, they'll be practicing reading (as they decode words), spelling (through repeating and searching for letter patterns), and vocabulary (as they learn new words about apples). You can even engage your kids with the following activities related to their word searches:
- Talk about any words on the list that they might not be familiar with. Encourage them to use each of those words in a sentence.
- Ask your kids to categorize the words. Let them create their own categories and explain why they chose the words for each group.
- For younger children, you can ask them to name all the words that fit into a category you declare, such as parts of an apple, things you can make with apples, words that describe apples, and varieties of apples.
- Brainstorm other varieties of apples beside the ones on the word search. Did you know that there are over 100 commercially grown apple varieties in the United States?
Before you know it, you'll be at your destination and the kids will be filled with delicious apple knowledge!
When you get home and have made your homemade applesauce, pies, or one of our 10 easy apple recipes, cozy up with some festive fall-themed books for the season.
To connect with Jodie Rodriguez visit Growing Book by Book.
