Pumpkin themed lesson plans: free printable pumpkin stencils, STEAM activities, recipes and reading games

Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi of the Omschool Tree Fort here with a whole harvest of pumpkin-themed fall lesson plans, craft projects, recipes and activities with pumpkins! I've got pumpkin math games, free printable pumpkin carving stencils for STEAM lessons, pumpkin snack crafts and science activities and more! 

🌍 A Message From Our Earth:

Pumpkin carving is lots of fun. But it also creates an enormous amount of food waste. In the US, around 1.5 billion pumpkins and gourds go in the trash. So keep reading for ways to enjoy pumpkin carving in more sustainable ways!

Pumpkin Carving STEAM Lesson Plans 

Carving pumpkins addresses a plethora of learning objectives, particularly for pre-K students. In a hands-on Montessori way, children learn eye-hand coordination, measurement, design, fine motor skills and even some basic drafting skills. Here are top websites offering extensive collections of free printable pumpkin carving stencils and patterns which you can use in the more sustainable carving alternatives, too. 

• The Pumpkin Lady: Features a library of nearly 1,000 free, handcrafted PDF stencils sorted across 16 categories, including classic jack-o'-lanterns, pop culture/celebrity portraits, animals, and faith-based designs.

• HGTV: Offers over 100 beginner- and kid-friendly templates, including dinosaurs, unicorns, haunted houses, and classic spooky shapes.

• Monday Mandala: Provides high-resolution PDF printables ranging from popular characters (like Bluey, Minecraft, and superheroes) to classic horror themes and simple shapes.

• Woman's Day: Includes a curated gallery of 60 free printable stencils with options ranging from simple faces to intricate fall-themed patterns like sunflowers and ravens.

• Homemade Gifts Made Easy: Features 75 printable PDF patterns organized by difficulty level, covering fairies, zombies, witches, and classic jack-o'-lantern expressions. 

Pumpkin carving tools you'll need

Check Amazon and Walmart for kid-friendly versions of cooking utensils. 

• Grapefruit knife. This is a paring knife with serrated edges on both sides. 
• Serrated grapefruit spoon. This spoon has a jagged edge along the top and makes gutting pumpkins easier.
• Vegetable peeler set. This is for paring down parts of the pumpkin skin to make contrasting color patterns. Look for parers/peelers with multiple functions. You might also use vegetable "stripers" such as those used in sushi prep. 
• Metal cookie cutters--the outline kind that are hollow in the middle. Flat plastic cookie cutters won't work to cut but can be used as templates. 
• hammer or wooden mallet (lightweight)
• large metal spoons for scraping insides and gutting pumpkin
• sturdy plastic knife for trimming off ragged edges. 
• medium pumpkin or gourd, one per person. 
• paper to design pumpkin pattern
• printable pumpkin patterns
• permanent marker or paint pen to draw designs 

To carve pumpkins with cookie cutters:

You can do this as a group project but it works better if each student has her own pumpkin. 

• Clean pumpkin.
• wipe outside and dry
• cut a circle around the stem to remove stem and slice off pithy part. Save this piece.
• gut pumpkin using grapefruit spoons and large metal spoons. 
• Have students design their pumpkin patterns or choose from one of the printable pumpkin stencils. 
• Align metal cookie cutter on pumpkin exterior.
• Gently tap edges of cookie cutter with hammer to press into pumpkin.
• Remove cutout piece.
• If cookie cutter doesn't go all the way through, use plastic knife to finish cutting along pattern lines, through to the inside. 
• Save pumpkin membrane and carved out pieces. 

To carve pumpkins with grapefruit knife and/or potato peeler:

• Print pumpkin stencil and cut out black parts (this is what you'll carve away)
• Trace printable pumpkin pattern on pumpkin using paint pen or permanent marker. 
• Use grapefruit knife to carefully carve out design.
• Or peel off top orange layer of pumpkin skin along design pattern. Yellow rind will show through.
• Use curved end to dig out small areas of pumpkin rind. The deeper you pare, the thinner the rind and the more light will show through.

🎃

Teacher Omi's Jack-o'-Lantern Carving Pro-Tips

Place a wax votive or battery-operated candle in your pumpkin and display!

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Remember when carving pumpkins:

• Work outside for easier cleanup and mess containment
• Supervise children using sharp tools
• Wear old clothing
• Leave pumpkin guts for squirrels

Sustainable Halloween Fun

The science behind Halloween unsustainability

In the United States alone, approximately 1 to 1.5 billion individual pumpkins and decorative gourds are grown each year specifically for carving, fall displays, and ornamental decoration. And most all go into landfills on Nov. 1. 

Key USDA & Agricultural Statistics:

• Total Annual Production: According to the USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. farmers harvest 1.44 to 1.58 billion pounds of pumpkins annually across nearly 69,000 acres. This translates to over 1.5 to 2 billion individual pumpkins.

• Fresh Market (Decorative) pumpkins vs. Processing (Canned):

  • Over 15,000 U.S. farms grow fresh-market decorative pumpkins, compared to fewer than 1,000 farms that grow processing pumpkins for food.

  • Outside of Illinois (which produces the majority of canned pumpkin puree), top-producing states like Indiana, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York produce almost exclusively fresh-market decorative pumpkins and ornamental gourds.

• Jack-o'-Lantern Specialties: Over 500 million pounds of Howden pumpkins—the standard orange jack-o'-lantern variety—are harvested every year solely for carving and decoration.

• Post-Holiday Waste: Because most decorative pumpkins are carved or left outside as porch decor, the vast majority end up in municipal waste streams or composting programs after Halloween rather than being eaten. 

  
  
  

Reusable Edible Alternative Carve-ables

In my world, food is grown to eat, not to decorate and discard. Here are some pumpkin and gourd alternatives to carve and then use in recipes! 

• Pie Pumpkins: these are smaller and can be carved using the peeler method. Or use removable  pumpkin stickers. Then after Trick-or-Treat, fully pare them and cook to make your own pumpkin pie ready puree. 
• Apple-lanterns: Using an apple corer, remove core and insert a solar candle. Solar is the way to go in sustainable outdoor lighting. Add little faces. After Halloween, rinse, cook down and make yummy Happylesauce! 
  🍏🎃

  Sugar-Free Halloween Happylesauce

  Naturally sweet, warm-spiced homemade applesauce—no added sugar needed! Perfect hands-on Omschool fall activity for all ages! 

  ⏱️ Prep: 15 mins🔥 Cook: 20 mins🥣 Yield: 4–6 servings

  🎃 Zero-Waste Halloween Tip: Perfect for turning post-Halloween "Apple-Lanterns" into a delicious treat! Just trim away any charred or candle-exposed bits, rinse well, and cook them down into fresh Happylesauce.

  Ingredients

  • 3 lbs sweet-tart to tart apples (such as Macintosh, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonamac), cored (from life as a Halloween decoration!) 
  • 1 cup water (or unsweetened apple juice)
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ⅛ tsp ground allspice
  • Optional: fresh cranberries or raisins

  Instructions

  1. Prep Apples: Core and cut apples into 1-inch pieces. (Peeling is optional; leaving skins on adds extra color, fiber, and nutrients).
  2. Combine Ingredients: In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Stir well.
  3. Simmer: Cover and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft and tender.
  4. Mill and mash: Remove from heat.
     • For Chunky Happylesauce: Press through an apple mill to remove skins
     • For smooth, blend till chunks are broken down. 
  5. Serve & Store: Enjoy warm or chill in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
  6. Bonus Happy: Package in resealable containers decorated with pine cones or cinnamon sticks. Share with the neighbors! 
  
  
• Squash. Not all gourds are decorative. Most squash can be eaten. Look for butternut, buttercup, sweet dumpling and acorn squash. If you use for decorating, wipe them with a coating of oil to preserve. Acorn squash make the cutest little heart shaped jack-o-lanterns, carved with a tea light inside.  And then they make a yummy  dinner stuffed with sausage, apples and spices. 
• Turk's Turban Squash. Listing these separately because they actually look already like a face with a hat. All you have to do is carve out a little tope, insert your tea light, add some features and you have your jack-o-lantern. 
  
  
  
• Potatoes and sweet potatoes.
• Daikon radish. These long tubular radishes can be carved to look like ghosts and then eaten like mashed  potatoes. 
• Watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe.  Not just for summer, melons can be cut down to the rind, to remove (and eat) the fruit, then carved as you would a pumpkin. 

Pumpkin themed snack crafts and treats

1. Clementine "Little Jack" Oranges

• Ingredients: Clementines or mandarins, black edible food marker (or permanent marker if peeling before eating).

• How to Make:

  1. Hand kids a clementine and an edible ink marker.

  2. Let them draw jack-o'-lantern faces—triangle eyes, toothy grins, or silly expressions—directly on the peel.

  3. Optionally, insert a tiny piece of celery stick into the top center to act as a pumpkin stem.

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2. Rice Krispie Treat Jack-o'-Lanterns

• Ingredients: Premade Rice Krispie treats (or a homemade batch dyed orange with food coloring), green M&Ms or green pull-and-peel licorice, mini chocolate chips or black decorating gel.

• How to Make:

  1. Have kids gently roll and shape a pre-made Rice Krispie treat into a round ball.

  2. Press a green M&M or a small piece of green licorice into the top for the stem.

  3. Use mini chocolate chips (pressed tip-down into the treat) or black decorating gel to construct eyes, nose, and a smile.

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3. Jack-o'-Lantern Rice Cake / Toast Smiles

• Ingredients: Rice cakes or toasted bread slices, orange spread (such as cheddar cheese spread, pumpkin butter, or cream cheese tinted with orange food dye), raisins, chocolate chips, or sliced olives.

• How to Make:

  1. Spread the orange topping evenly across the rice cake or toast to create a blank pumpkin canvas.

  2. Provide small bowls of toppings like raisins, chocolate chips, or olive slices.

  3. Let children arrange the toppings onto the spread to build custom jack-o'-lantern face features.

Free printable Halloween Puzzles and Word Games

🎃 Halloween Word Scramble 🎃

Unscramble the letters to reveal the Halloween words!

1. P M U P N I K — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. S T O H G — _ _ _ _ _

3. C T W I H — _ _ _ _ _

4. Y A C D N — _ _ _ _ _

5. A C U L A R D — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6. O S O P Y K — _ _ _ _ _ _

7. L A N T E R N — _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8. T C I R K — _ _ _ _ _

9. T A R E T — _ _ _ _ _

10. A C D O R U L N — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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🔑 Answer Key

1. PUMPKIN

2. GHOST

3. WITCH

4. CANDY

5. DRACULA

6. SPOOKY

7. LANTERN

8. TRICK

9. TREAT

10. CAULDRON

Printable Fall Harvest Word Search

H  A  R  V  E  S  T  P  U  M  P  K  I  N

O  B  O  U  N  T  Y  A  P  P  L  E  S  M

S  C  A  R  E  C  R  O  W  G  S  F  E  A

U  F  A  L  L  S  Q  U  A  S  H  O  A  I

N  I  S  C  O  R  N  U  C  O  P  I  A  Z

F  E  P  I  E  I  C  I  D  E  R  T  O  E

L  L  A  E  Q  U  I  N  O  X  K  Y  S  L

O  D  R  A  K  E  L  E  A  V  E  S  U  E

W  E  T  C  A  R  T  R  I  D  E  B  N  A

E  R  O  R  C  H  A  R  D  P  I  C  K  S

R  S  O  U  R  A  K  E  T  R  E  E  S  T

Words to find: 

1. Trees
2. Rake
3. Wet
4. Orchard
5. Pick
6. Apples
7. Scarecrow
8. Bounty
9. Fall
10. Squash
11. Leaves
12. Cornucopia
13. Cider
14. Pie
15. Harvest
16. Bounty
17. Flower
18. Pumpkin
19. Field
20. Cart Ride

1. Pumpkin Chemical Eruption (Acid-Base Reaction)

Objective: Explore chemical reactions, gas production, and pressure by creating a foaming eruption inside a pumpkin shell.

Materials:

• 1 small to medium hollowed-out pumpkin (or carved jack-o'-lantern)

• ½ cup baking soda

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

• 5–10 drops food coloring (orange, green, or red)

• Shallow tray or baking dish (to catch overflow)

Steps:

1. Prepare the Base: Place the hollowed pumpkin on a tray. Add ½ cup of baking soda directly to the bottom of the pumpkin.

2. Add the Foaming Agents: Stir in 1 tablespoon of dish soap and a few drops of food coloring into the baking soda.

3. Trigger the Eruption: Pour 1 cup of white vinegar directly into the pumpkin and watch the foam erupt out of the top and carved face features.

The Science:

This experiment demonstrates an acid-base reaction. Vinegar (acetic acid) reacts with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to create carbon dioxide gas ($CO_2$). The dish soap traps the escaping $CO_2$ gas, converting the rapid gas release into a thick, foaming eruption.

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2. Pumpkin-in-a-Pumpkin Germination (Plant Life Cycles & Decomposition)

Objective: Study seed germination and natural composting by transforming a fresh pumpkin into a self-sustaining pot.

Materials:

• 1 small pumpkin

• Potting soil

• Water

• Knife and spoon (for adult setup)

• Spray bottle

Steps:

1. Prep the Shell: Slice off the top off the pumpkin. Leave the seeds, pulp, and guts fully intact inside.

2. Fill with Soil: Fill the interior of the pumpkin with potting soil until it reaches about 1 inch below the rim, lightly covering the loose seeds inside.

3. Moisten and Place: Water the soil thoroughly until damp. Place the pumpkin in a sunny location indoors or outdoors.

4. Observe Growth: Water every 1–2 days with a spray bottle to keep the soil moist. Within 7 to 10 days, pumpkin seeds will begin sprouting through the soil.

The Science:

As the seeds absorb moisture and germinate, the inner flesh of the pumpkin gradually breaks down. Microorganisms decompose the organic pumpkin flesh, releasing essential nutrients (like nitrogen and potassium) directly into the soil to nourish the growing seedlings. Once the outer shell weakens, the entire pumpkin can be planted straight into a garden bed as a biodegradable pot.

Pumpkin Recycling and Composting

Here at the Omschool, we're all about sustainability, recycling and reducing food waste. I'd prefer we not carve them at all, or carve something reusable to eat. If you do carve a jack-o-lantern, consider doing it in such a way that it can be recycled or composted. Or, keep reading for pumpkin-alternative carve-ables. 

• Zoos, Wildlife Sanctuaries, & Nature Centers: Many local zoos, petting farms, and wildlife rehabilitation centers accept leftover pumpkins as nutritional treats or enrichment toys for animals like bears, tortoises, pigs, and deer. For example, institutions like the Detroit Zoo feature annual animal enrichment events, and smaller regional facilities often setup seasonal drop-off bins.

• Livestock Farms & Animal Sanctuaries: Local farms with pigs, goats, cows, sheep, or chickens frequently welcome pumpkin donations. Organizations like Pumpkins for Pigs maintain searchable national directories connecting residents with nearby farms and rescues.

• Municipal & Community Composting Programs: Many city public works departments, county conservation districts, and waste management authorities host post-Halloween drop-off sites or "Pumpkin Smash" collection events to keep organic waste out of landfills.

• Community Gardens & Urban Farms: Local community gardening groups and neighborhood urban agriculture projects accept whole or broken-down pumpkins to enrich their compost bins for spring soil preparation.

• Food Pantries & Food Rescues: If pumpkins are completely uncarved, undamaged, and of an edible culinary variety (such as pie pumpkins or sweet squash), local food banks and organizations like Pumpkins for the People redirect them to feed families in need.

Essential Drop-off Guidelines

• Remove All Non-Organic Materials: Ensure candles, wax, tea lights, toothpick structures, stickers, glitter, and plastic decorations are fully removed.

• Avoid Painted or Treated Pumpkins: Do not donate pumpkins decorated with paint, sealer, bleach, petroleum jelly, or chemicals, as these are toxic to animals and disrupt soil composting.

• Check Acceptability: Most animal organizations strictly accept uncarved pumpkins or only freshly carved jack-o'-lanterns without mold. Always confirm requirements or call ahead before dropping off.

Pumpkin STEAM activities

Pumpkin Counting Board Game

🎃 🌾

Pumpkin Patch Counting Adventure

Count your way from the Barn to the Harvest House! (Spaces 1 to 40)

START

2

3

4 🌾

5

6

7

8

16 🎃

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

17

18 🌾

19

20

21

22

23

24

32

31

30

29

28 🎃

27

26

25

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

FINISH

🌾 Scarecrow Spaces (4 & 18): Stop and count to 10 out loud! | 🎃 Seed Spaces (16 & 28): Take an extra bonus step!

Objective: Be the first player to travel from the Pumpkin Patch Entrance to the Harvest Barn while practicing counting and number recognition.

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Setup & Materials Needed

• Game Board: Print out the game board above.

• Game Tokens: Small pumpkin erasers, buttons, pennies or colored beads (one for each player).

• Dice / Spinner: 1 standard six-sided die (or a 1–3 number spinner for younger children).

• Counting Cards (Optional): Small cards with numbers 1 through 10 or dot patterns for extra practice.

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How to Play

1. Start: Each player places their token at the START space (Pumpkin Patch Entrance).

2. Take Turns: Players take turns rolling the die and counting out loud as they move their token forward that many spaces along the numbered track.

3. Special Spaces:

   • Pumpkin Tile (🎃): Count the total number of seeds on the space and take that many extra steps forward!

   • Scarecrow Tile (🌾): Stop and count to 10 out loud to keep the crows away.

   • Mud Puddle (🌧️): Lose 1 turn while washing off your boots.

4. Winning the Game: The first player to reach the FINISH (Harvest Barn) wins!

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Print & Play Variations

• Pre-K / Kindergarten: Use a 1–3 die or number cards so children focus on one-to-one correspondence for smaller numbers.

• Math Addition Challenge: Have players roll 2 dice, add the numbers together, and move that total number of spaces.

• Print and use this game board which has the numbers out of order. Children must identify which number should be next. This boosts higher order thinking skills of evaluation. 

Fall Harvest Story Time in the Omschool Tree Fort Book Corner

No Omschool lesson plans are complete without a bushel basket of books for story time! And no story time is complete without book-themed snacks. So here are fall and pumpkin themed books to share plus harvest-licious pumpkin cream cheese muffins kids can make themselves. 

🎃

Healthy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Moist, spiced, and naturally sweetened using applesauce or banana!

⏱️ Prep: 15 mins 🔥 Bake: 20 mins 🧁 Yield: 12 muffins

💡 Healthy Oil Swap: Replace traditional vegetable oil with an equal amount (½ cup) of unsweetened applesauce for a classic pumpkin spice taste, or mashed ripe banana for extra natural sweetness and moisture. 

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Swirl: 

• two 8 oz cream cheese packages, softened
• 1 cup sugar (or 1/2 c. maple syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 stick softened butter
• dash of salt

Pumpkin Muffin Batter:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp nutmeg + ¼ tsp cloves)
• 2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling) set aside 1/4 cup for frosting)
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce OR mashed ripe banana
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
2. Make Cream Cheese Filling: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Divide in half and set two bowls aside.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, applesauce (or mashed banana), brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fully combined.
5. Combine: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined (do not overmix).
6. Assemble & Swirl: Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (about ¾ full). Spoon 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top of each. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the cream cheese into the batter.
7. Bake: Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin portion comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.
8. Decorate to look like pumpkin face. Color reserved half of cream cheese filling with canned pumpkin or orange food coloring. Arrange candy corn for eyes and nose and a smile of raisins or chocolate chips.  Use a Rollo candy for pumpkin stem. 

Kids Literature to enjoy with your muffins!

🎃 Pumpkins & Science

• Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell (Ages 4–8) — A young boy watches his carved jack-o'-lantern rot in the garden, sprout seeds in the spring, and grow brand new pumpkins by autumn. Ideal for science lessons on decomposition and plant life cycles.

• How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara (Ages 4–8) — A primary school class estimates and counts pumpkin seeds using skip-counting, estimation, and grouping. Great for STEAM and math activities.

• Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano (Ages 3–7) — A unique square pumpkin embraces his differences and saves the patch during an autumn storm.

• The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll (Ages 4–8) — Two mice secretly tend to the exact same pumpkin, learning to work together to raise a record-breaking giant.

• Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White (Ages 4–8) — When a truck spills pumpkins all over her yard, Rebecca transforms an accidental harvest into a festive community feast.

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🍂 Fall & Harvest

• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (Ages 3–7) — Illustrated with real autumn leaf collages, this book follows the wind blowing leaf critters across fields, orchards, and pumpkin patches.

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak (Ages 4–8) — A young child walks through the woods and town, greeting the subtle signs of nature shifting from late summer into cool fall.

• The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger (Ages 4–8) — A gentle story about a lone yellow leaf finding the courage to let go of its branch as the season turns.

• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson (Ages 3–7) — Fletcher the fox gets worried as his favorite tree loses its leaves, until winter brings a sparkling surprise.

• Apple Harvest by Calvin Harris (Ages 4–7) — A simple non-fiction book introducing young readers to how apples grow, get picked in the fall, and get turned into treats like cider and applesauce.

• Stick Man by Julia Donaldson (Ages 3–7) — Stick Man lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children, but gets blown away and carried off on a long autumn journey as dogs, swans, and humans try to use him as a twig. 

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👻 Halloween & Trick-or-Treating

• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams (Ages 3–7) — A classic cumulative read-aloud with interactive sound effects (CLOMP, SHAKE, CLAP) as spooky clothing items follow a brave woman through the woods.

• Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman (Ages 3–8) — A witch grows a pumpkin so massive she can't pull it off the vine, requiring teamwork with a ghost, vampire, mummy, and a clever bat.

• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson (Ages 3–7) — A friendly witch invites a dog, bird, and frog onto her broomstick, and her new friends band together when a dragon appears.

• Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds (Ages 4–8) — A humorous, mildly spooky tale about Jasper Rabbit, who suspects the carrots he's been harvesting from Crackenhopper Field are following him around.

• Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell (Ages 3–6) — A playful countdown book where a witch tries to scare ten ghosts out of her haunted house, but the ghosts figure out a trick of their own.

© Omschool Tree Fort

All lesson plans and activities are property of the Omschool and lovingly shared for non-profit educational use and homeschool families. Thank you for respecting that.  💞🥰 Teacher Omi

Apple Activities Unit: snack crafts, recipes, apple themed lesson plans and printables

Hello my Omschooligans! In Michigan, autumn means one thing most of all: apples! Here at the Omschool Tree Fort, we're off to a tasty school start with an Apple Activities Unit! Teacher Omi has cross-curricular apple-themed activities, recipes, printables, lesson plans, snack crafts, craft projects, books on apples and more. 

Free Printable Apple themed Lesson Plans

Let's begin our apple adventures with a big lollapalooza of cross-curricular apple activities, including coloring pages, apple math lesson plans, apple science and history and more. 

Michigan Apple Resources for Teachers offers you a free printable 166-page booklets loaded with all kinds of free printables. Scroll down to find the link Michigan Apple Educational Kit PDF. Download and print your apple activities guide from there. There are fall harvest lesson plans for all ages!

Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch! Michigan State University celebrates apple harvest season and healthy eating by offering a Michigan Crunch Guide for K-12. MSU's extension program participates with local food pantries and food sustainability programs to promote nutrition in schools. These activities are part of National Farm to School Month in October. There are loads of apple recipes included. 

A to Z Teacher Stuff has free printable apple themed cut and paste paper crafts and worksheets. There are preschool apple alphabet, math, reading and writing lesson plans. 

Recipes for Apple snack craft projects

Animal Apple Buddies 

• Cut apple in half and remove seeds and little hulls (this is great fine motor skills practice). 
• Sprinkle with lemon juice to keep it from browning. 
• Now create animal faces on the cut side of the apple, using the star shape as a nose! 
• Make ears with pretzels, cheese slices, fruit leather cut in triangles. The image shows the bat ears and wings made from a pretzels but it can be difficult to cut like that. So just attach whole pretzel twists but cutting slits in side of apple. 
• Make eyes with raisins, olive slices, hoop cereal like Froot Loops or Cheerios, or chocolate chips. You can also cut a candy necklace and use those round candy pieces. 
• Make teeth from raisins, sunflower seeds or pepitas. 
• Make an elephant nose or tails using neon gummy worms. 
• Make whiskers and/or antennae using pretzels. 
• Make fur face using shredded cheese, carrots or purple cabbage. 
• Attach pieces with cream cheese or almond butter. 
• (I love the little beard AI made for this craft!) 

Happy Apple Hedgies 🦔🦔🦔

It is popular in England to make "hedgehogs" at Christmas, using various fruits or vegetables. So let's make Happy Apple Hedgies. Or call them Perky Porcupines! 

• Cut apple in half and place face down on cut side. 
• Cut various types of cheese into cubes. Velveeta would work best as it's the softest. 
• You can use fruit cubes or berries to skewer as well. 
• Gently insert stick pretzels into cheese. If this is too frustrating due to breakage, use toothpicks. 
• Make small holes all over the apple with toothpick or skewer. 
• Insert skewered fruit and cheese into holes to create porcupine quills. 
• Cut out fringy bit from bottom of apple and insert your gummy worm tail (must have tail even if it's not anatomically correct!) 
• "Glue on" raisin, olive or chocolate chip eyes with dab of cream cheese. 
• Add Hershey's kisses for ears and nose. 
• Cut a little smiley face in apple. 

Teacher Omi's Apple-Saucy

No Omschool apple recipe book is complete without homemade Michigan applesauce! I included sweetener but actually don't use it in my own recipe. You can get perfectly sweet-tart applesauce just with spices like nutmeg, cloves, mace, allspice and cinnamon. Let each student take a turn milling the applesauce. Serve in paper cups or ramekin and then set out spices and let them add to their own taste. 

Flapple Jack Friends

• Blend your favorite pancake mix (mine is Aldi or Kodiak Protein pancake mix) with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and mace. 
• In separate bowl, blend vanilla, applesauce (sub for milk) and eggs according to recipe. 
• Fry in melted ghee till golden brown. 
• Make happy apple faces on top with Michigan Macintosh apples cut into smiles and ears. 
• Use spray whipped cream for eyes and nose. 
• Place raisins in eyes for pupils and in nose for nostrils.
• Arrange breakfast sausage links to look like antennae and tail. 

Apple Lighthouse

So AI is a little more complicated than mine. But you can make a simple apple lighthouse or candle with a cored apple slice based, cheese stick or banana inserted in the center and a candy corn in the top. This is a perfect craft for the youngest learners, as a high chair snack craft. It works well  is ASD classrooms as well.  

Apple Science Experiments

1. Apple Oxidation: Preventing Browning

• Question: What liquid keeps an apple slice fresh the longest?

• Materials: 1 fresh apple, 4 shallow bowls or clear cups, water, lemon juice, milk, and apple juice.

• Procedure:

  1. Label four bowls: Control (Air), Water, Lemon Juice, and Milk (or Apple Juice).

  2. Slice the apple into uniform pieces.

  3. Place one slice in each bowl. Pour enough liquid over each slice to keep it fully submerged (leave the control slice bare in the air).

  4. Observe and record the appearance of the apples at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour.

• Science Concept: Apples turn brown when exposed to oxygen because of an enzymatic reaction (polyphenol oxidase). Acidic liquids like lemon juice lower the pH, slowing down or stopping this reaction.

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2. Apple Sink or Float Density Test

• Question: Do different parts or varieties of apples float or sink in water?

• Materials: A deep bowl or bucket of water, whole apples, sliced apple quarters, apple seeds, and apple peelings.

• Procedure:

  1. Fill the container with water.

  2. Make a hypothesis: Will a whole apple float or sink? What about the seeds or peeling?

  3. Drop a whole apple into the water and observe.

  4. Test individual parts (seeds, peel, core, flesh) separately.

• Science Concept: Whole apples float because approximately 25% of their volume consists of trapped air pockets between their cells, making the apple less dense than water.

3. Apple Taste Test

• Collect a variety of apples. 
• Pass them around and encourage students to explore color, shape, smell. 
• Have students cut into pieces with apple corer. 
• Sort into colors and then graph the color differences (light to dark shades)
• Sample different types.
• Create a Tart to Sweet Scale. 
  
  
  

4. Apple Seasons and Life Cycle

    Discuss parts of the parts of an apple tree and of the apple itself. Use this printable chart. Plant apple      seeds and tend them. 

Apple Craft Projects 

• Apple Stampers Make this as instructed in the image below except that the apple is placed cut face down on the food dye stamp pad. This prints the star shape in the middle. Also use red delicious for this type of project. 

• Appleland Math Game

• Use an apple mini stamper or paper punch to stamp or cut little apple shapes in different colors. (full-size apple prints are too large for this activity unless you use paper from a large classroom roll).
• Students make a pattern of apple shapes to resemble a path on a game board like Candyland 
• Use the free printable Appleland cards and have students cut to make direction cards. 
  
  
  
• Use the free printable Appleland character cards as playing pieces. 
• Have students invent little "pitfalls" and "happy trails" to derail or advance them.

• Get as creative as you like or use this printable model. 

• Apple Basket Bingo Reading Challenge
• Print a list of fall, harvest or apple themed books at age level. 
• Use the APPLE bingo cards below or create your own with 12 squares. 
• Hide apple cut-outs (or play apples if you can find them) around the room. 
• When student reads a book, she finds and apple and writes her name and title on it then places apple in the Reading Harvest Basket. 

Omschool Apple Book Basket Reading List 🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏

Apple & Fall Harvest Children's Books

• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall (Illustrated by Barbara Cooney)

  • Caldecott Medal Winner

  • A quiet, poetic masterpiece that follows a 19th-century New England farmer who packs up a year's worth of his family's harvest and handcrafted goods into an ox cart, travels to town to sell them, and returns home with supplies to start the cycle all over again for the coming year.

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

  • A classic, heartwarming tale about the lifelong relationship between a young boy and an affectionate apple tree that selflessly offers its leaves, apples, branches, and trunk to keep him happy throughout every stage of his life.

• The Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen

  • Written and illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning creators Alice and Martin Provensen, this beloved picture book chronicles a full year on a New England farm month by month, detailing the changing seasons, nature's rhythms, and the humorous daily lives of the farm's many animals as autumn arrives and harvest turns into winter.

• How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro

  • An accessible non-fiction picture book explaining the life cycle of an apple tree from bud to fruit.

• Apple Picking Day! by Candice Ransom

  • An easy-to-read rhyming story following a brother and sister on a fun autumn outing to a local apple orchard.

• Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

  • A colorful, repetitive counting book featuring orchard animals taking apples from a tree until only one remains.

• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

  • Follows two sisters as they watch an apple tree change through the seasons, from spring blossoms to picking apples for a pie in autumn.

• Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway

  • A sweet story about Mac, a friendly red apple, who stands up for his friend Will, a worm, despite teasing from other apples.

• Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg

  • A lively biography detailing the legend and adventures of John Chapman as he planted apple trees across America.

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak

  • A softly illustrated picture book capturing a child walking through town and forest, greeting the signs of the changing fall season.

• Fall Harvests: Crops in the Autumn by Martha E. H. Rustad

  • A simple educational book introducing young readers to how farmers gather apples, pumpkins, corn, and other autumn crops. 
• Books by Gail Gibbons

• Apples

  • A clear, engaging dive into the history, science, and cultural tradition of apples. It details apple tree botany, pollination, harvesting, different apple varieties, and includes step-by-step guides for planting trees and baking apple pie.

• The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree

  • A picture book that follows a boy named Arnold and his favorite apple tree as it changes across all four seasons, highlighting spring blossoms, summer shade, autumn harvest, and winter branches.

• The Pumpkin Book

  • Explores autumn's most famous produce from seed to table. It covers planting, the growth cycle, harvest festivals, baking pumpkin pie, and carving jack-o'-lanterns. (A simplified board book version titled Pumpkins is also available for younger readers).

• The Reasons for Seasons

  • A colorful, educational look at Earth's orbit and tilt, explaining why seasons change, with clear visual diagrams explaining the transition into autumn and winter.

• Corn

  • Explores the history, agriculture, and harvest of corn—one of the foundational fall crops—from planting and growing to processing and eating.

Chapter Books (Ages 7-9)

• Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor by Herman Parish — A humorous look at local politics as Amelia Bedelia runs for mayor, complete with her signature misunderstandings, during a fall festival.

• Ready, Freddy! #7: Apple Orchard Race by Abby Klein — Join Freddy and his friends for a class trip to an apple orchard, complete with a fun race.

• Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat — Follow kid detective Nate the Great as he solves a mystery involving a slow-moving tortoise and some missing autumn treats.