One of the best manipulatives that I have ever purchased for our hands-on activities have been the acrylic apples and leaves that I found at Michael's. We've used them for sensory bins (especially ones with water), light table activities, math activities, and so much more! They're so versatile.
Well, this color matching apple tree activity is another fun way to use the acrylic apples for play and learning.
This particular activity works on color matching, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. Plus, the use of sticky contact paper provides kids with some tactile sensory input as well.
But, most importantly, it's entertaining. Seriously, this apple tree color matching activity keep my boys busy for well over 30 minutes!
A version of this post originally appeared on B-Inspired Mama.
What You Need for this Sticky Apple Tree Activity
While there is a bit of prep required for this activity in that you will have to draw an apple tree and color some spots on the tree, the set up and prep is really quite straightforward. Here's what we used for this activity:
- Clear contact paper - I buy this at Dollarama. Although it is labeled as book protector cover or something versus contact paper, but it's what I use for all my "sticky" crafts and activities and it's worked really great.
- Acrylic apples - I found ours at Michael's and they come in two colors: red and light green. You can substitute red and green stones, red and green pom poms, red and green buttons, or foam apple shapes/stickers.
- Colored permanent markers - I used red, brown, and two shades of green. Make sure you use colors that match the color of your acrylic apples.
- Tape - Simple Scotch tape will do the trick as it's to hang up our apple tree, whether that's on a window, mirror, or wall, or to hold it still on a light table (if you prefer to try this activity that way).
Using colored permanent markers, draw an outline of a tree on the non-sticky side of the contact paper. Then draw dots throughout the tree to match the colors of the apples, which, in this case, were red and green.
Once everything is drawn, simply tape the tree, sticky side out, onto a surface for play. I highly recommend taping it to a vertical surface such as a mirror, window, or wall. Personally, I choose to do it on a mirror for a little extra sensory input, but it would also look fantastic on a light table, similar to this activity.
Here's how our tree looked once everything was drawn and it was taped to our large mirror doors:
By the way, I decided to make two trees, one for each of my boys. You know, so, I could avoid them fighting over the activity...
Toddlers & Preschoolers Love this Apple Tree Matching Activity!
The goal with this activity is to match the acrylic apples to the colored dots on the apple tree (i.e., place red apples on red dots and green apples on green dots). The contact paper will hold the apples in place (see the photo below), but the kids can easily pick the apples off and do the activity over and over if they want.
My boys spent literally 30 to 45 uninterrupted minutes playing with this apple tree activity. Sometimes they would work on their individual trees...
And, other times, they'd work collaboratively on a single tree.
Once they matched all the apples, they would remove them all and start over. It's almost like picking apples from a real tree. Almost...
Overall, this activity was a huge hit with both of my boys and I think we'll have to try it on our light table at some point as well.
Now, I wonder...how are you going to try out this color matching apple tree activity...on a light table? Mirror? Window? Somewhere else? Regardless of which surface you choose, have fun!
