Four Seasons of the Apple Tree

One thing I missed when we lived in Texas was the changing of the seasons. We made this “Seasons of the Apple Tree” craft last year and the children requested that we do it again this year!

We used slightly different materials but the process is very similar.

Materials:

• blue sheet of construction paper (larger is better)
• glue
• scissors
• tree: brown paint
• spring and summer leaves: green paper
• buds: pink tissue paper for buds
• apples: red paint or red hole punches
• autumn leaves: orange and yellow paper
• snow: white paint and/or glitter

Instructions:

1. Prepare your materials ahead of time, cutting or tearing up green paper for leaves and cutting up orange and yellow paper for leaves.

2. Fold the blue paper twice, length-wise and then width-wise, to form quadrants.

3. Place the hand into the brown paint and then make four “tree prints”, one in each of the four quadrants. Add four “trunks” with your paint brush.

4. In the first “Spring” quadrant, paste crumpled up pieces of green paper. Then, roll up small pieces of pink tissue paper into little “flower buds” and glue onto the tree.

5. In the second “Summer” quadrant, paste crumpled up pieces of green paper. Then, add your apples. We used red finger prints but hole-punches from red construction paper would be perfect, too!

6. In the third “Fall” quadrant, spread glue along the branches and at the base of the “tree”. Sprinkle the orange and yellow “leaf” confetti onto the areas with glue and shake off. You can also add a few apples to the tree and on the ground.

7. In the fourth “Winter” quadrant, add snow.  We’ve used bubble wrap and puffy paint before. This time we just used a glue/white paint mixture.  Sprinkle on glitter, if desired.

8. Cut a strip of green paper, about 1/2 inch wide. Fringe cut it and paste it along the horizontal divider. This is your grass.

Four Seasons of the Apple Tree

Educational Connections:

• Arts / Photography: Take a photograph of a favorite outdoor spot during the height of each of the four seasons.
• Science: How does the apple tree change with the seasons? Discuss the role light, warmth, weather, and pollinators play.
• Science / Geography: What causes the seasons? Are the seasons the same everywhere on the planet? Study how the Earth’s orbit around the sun and your latitude affect the seasons.
• English Language Arts / Literature: Read and write nature haiku or other poetry about each season.
• History: Visit local historic properties and farms and find out how what the change in seasons meant to people in earlier centuries.
• History / Global Studies / Cultural Studies: Which of your family or cultural traditions mark the change of the seasons? How do other cultures throughout the world celebrate the change of the seasons?