This apple stamping activity is a fun way for kids to make prints with apples and real leaves from the garden is a fun fall activity for toddlers and preschoolers.
Apple stamping is one of those classic art activities that take you right back to your childhood. It’s so simple to do, but young children just love it.
Apples are always a theme here in my daycare in the fall, and we’ve done loads of apple crafts over the years.
Apple stamping is always a favourite though so it’s one that we do year after year. Last year we stamped fall colours with apples and forks, but this time, we’re being a little more traditional. We’re stamping the good-old fashioned way with red paint, but we’re adding a bit of tactile interest to our apple prints by adding leaves from the garden.
For our apple stamping activity, you’ll need:
Supplies:
- apples, halved
- red paint
- leaves from the garden
- glue
- tray or plate to hold your paint
- white paper or cardboard
Note: if you don’t happen to have apples on hand, and your kids want to stamp, have a look at these 6 homemade stampers you can make with random household objects.
Instructions:
For this project, I poured a puddle of red paint into a styrofoam produce tray and I gave each hooligans a long, narrow piece of white cardboard to do their stamping on.
Note: Always run your styrofoam trays through the dishwasher to sterilize them before using them for kids’ craft projects.
“Star” Apple Slicing Trick:
Have the kids gather around while you cut the apples in half. My guys always love to examine the inside of the apple and see how the seeds are all tucked in there so neatly.
You can cut your apples top to bottom to make a traditional apple shape with your prints, but for fun, you may want to cut one of your apples cross-wise to surprise your kids with this star-shape arrangement of seeds. (see photo below)
The hooligans dipped their cut apples in the paint and then stamped them along their cardboard strips.
As they made their prints the learned that they could make a darker print if they loaded lots of paint on to the apple and used a lot of pressure when stamping.
To add interest to our apples, we gathered real leaves from the garden, and the hooligans glued those to the tops of the apples.
What fun! Now we have some lovely apple-stamped banners to display in our play room this fall.
You may also like:
- Paint Chip Apple Tree
- Hand Print Apple Tree with Tissue Paper and Buttons
- Foil, Cork and Button Apple Trees
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
Cortney
Thanks for the idea of adding leaves! I plan to do this with my kinder kids on Friday when they meet with their 3rd grade buddies!
happyhooligans
You’re welcome, Cortney! Have fun with it!
Anna@The Measured Mom
Thanks for the new twist on a familiar activity – and for linking up at the After School Linky!