Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Apple theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A apple theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole apple week

A day of the apple theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Oranges and Lemons” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (apple), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of rainbow fruit cup (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for seed.
  6. Read Meg and the Seed on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Apple circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Oranges and Lemons.
  5. Read: Meg and the Seed (level 3).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

Apple theme books

  • Meg and the Seed (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A seed goes in the ground and takes its time: the apple's whole story in a few lines.
  • Jen and the Jam (level 1, free on peabody.kids): Fruit turned into food, and a silly mess to talk about.
  • A Bun for Fran (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Sharing food with a friend, for the snack-time talk.
  • Johnny Appleseed (read aloud, level 5): A tall tale to read aloud: a man who planted apple seeds wherever he walked.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

Apple craft: Paper-plate apple

You need (6): paper plates, red or green paint, brown paper strip, green paper leaf, glue stick, a brown crayon.

  1. Paint the plate red or green and let it dry.
  2. Glue on the brown stem and the green leaf.
  3. Draw three seeds in the middle and count them together.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

Apple song: Oranges and Lemons

The words

Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's. You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin's. When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey. When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch. When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney. I do not know, Says the great bell of Bow. Here comes a candle to light you to bed, And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Apple snack

Rainbow Fruit Cup from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter A activities

AaA is for apple. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

Outside activity: Apple roll relay

Roll a ball (the apple) along the grass to a partner and back. Count the rolls.

Apple theme for 2 year oldsApple theme for 3 and 4 year oldsApple theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30