This easy Apple Tree Craft is great for toddlers and preschoolers to make for fun or to go along with a preschool apple theme this fall. Using sandpaper, corks and tin foil, we explore stamping and printmaking and enjoy lots sensory exploration as well.Â
We’ve been having lots of fun making fall tree crafts here in my home daycare this month. We’ve also been making plenty of apple crafts what with it being peak apple season in our neck of the woods.
Today we’re combining the two and doing a fun and easy apple tree craft that offers some great sensory elements as well.
Kids love exploring textures
We’re using lots of textured materials to make our apple tree. Corks, aluminum foil and sandpaper are all fun for toddlers and preschoolers to explore, each one offering a different texture, and adding to the craft in its own way.
We’re experimenting with print-making, using the foil and the corks to paint our trees, while our sandpaper forms the rough bark of our tree trunks.
The kids had so much fun making these apples trees, and I think they turned out beautifully!
Let me show you how your kids can make some of their own.
To make our apple tree craft, you’ll need:
Supplies:
- sandpaper
- corks
- aluminum foil
- paper or cardboard
- green and red paint
- glue
Exploring the texture of sandpaper:
We used strips of sandpaper for the trunks and branches of our trees. Â The hooligans explored the texture of a few different grades of sandpaper, and we talked about how the sandpaper was rough to the touch, just like the bark on a real apple tree.
We cut the sandpaper into strips; a wide strip for the tree trunk and narrower strips for the branches, and the kids glued their strips of sandpaper onto a white sheet of cardboard.
Foil is fun for stamping
Next the children crumbled some tin foil into balls and dipped them in green paint and stamped “leaves” all around the branches of their tree.
Add some apples
For our apple tree craft last week, we used red buttons to make our apples. Today, I showed the children another way to make apples.
They dipped corks into red paint, and stamped the cork all over their trees.
Perfect!
Looks just like an apple tree, doesn’t it?
Crafting with unusual materials for art teaches kids that that you don’t have to rely on paint brushes and traditional art supplies when you’re creating art.
Today’s apple tree craft gives kids an opportunity to experiment with new techniques, explore interesting textures and strengthen fine-motor skills.
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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.
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francine
Love this craft, yes it is simple, but it’s also different! I might have to try this with my children! Thanks!
cathy@pre-schoolplay
I love these! This is a fantastic idea – wish I thought of it:))
happyhooligans
Awww…thank you! That’s a huge compliment coming from you, Cathy. I’ve bookmarked so many of your fabulous ideas! You have tons of them!
Kristi @ Creative Connections for Kids
Well these are just adorable! Love all of the textures, definitely a unique way to do an apple tree. 🙂 Kristi
ashley
I love this! My toddler would absolutely love the sandpaper…..she is very into textile books right now and this is kind of the same idea.
Rockabye Butterfly
I love this idea! comes out so funky looking! great sensory experience too.
Jill S.
Just reading this from my google search for an apple tree craft for my 1st graders. Love all the tactile supplies like sandpaper and tinfoil and corks to make the trees. I plan to do 4 trees, one for each season! Thanks so much for the idea!!!
Jill
happyhooligans
You’re welcome! Hope your little people have fun with the trees! Thanks for dropping in. 🙂
Anna@The Measured Mom
What fabulous sensory art! Thanks for sharing at the After school Linky!
dlynn
Thanks for the idea. To add to the sensory experience, I might try rubbing cinnamon sticks on the sandpaper.
happyhooligans
Great idea! We did that with some Christmas ornaments this year, and it was lovely: https://happyhooligans.ca/scented-sandpaper-gingerbread-ornaments/
Amie M
A great activity and very deserving of a Kids Co-Op feature! I am featuring this post on my Kids Co-Op post this week at Triple T Mum!
happyhooligans
Yay! So glad you loved it, Amie! Thanks so much for featuring us!!
getmovingfitness2013
I love how you used sensory play here and a good reminder that sensory play isn’t just about a bin! I featured this today and hope you will stop by and share something else
http://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/ultimate-sensory-play-party-linky-5/
happyhooligans
Thanks! It’s so true, isn’t it. When we think sensory, we think sensory bin, but there are so many other ways to explore texture through arts and crafts! So glad you enjoyed my post! Thanks so much for featuring it! Love the other ideas you’ve featured as well!