What You Need

Apples

A Sharp Knife

Construction Paper

Paper Plates

Paint

Preschool Book: Applebet by Clyde Watson

Adult Preparation

Cut the apple cleanly in half. Using a sharp knife cut the letter A into each apple half. This can be done by making two diagonal cuts in the shape of a triangle in the top of the apple, first from the side and then from the top. Remove the excess apple pieces. Cut a small triangle on the inside of the top of your original triangle to make the inside of your letter A. Cut the apple away from the bottom of your letter A to finish.

What to Do

Fill paper plates with paint and give each preschooler a piece of paper. Have preschoolers dip the apple halves into the paint and stamp the letter "A" onto their paper.

This activity can be done with different letters. "A" is one of the easier one's to carve out of an apple but templates can be made by printing block letters that fit the size of your apple and carving out the letter. You may need to use a spoon to start carving out the center of the A if you are having trouble.

Preschoolers love this activity. They are amused by the idea that they are painting with an apple and they love how easily the can create painted letter A's.

Variations

Find objects that begin with the letter "A". Write the name of the object on your preschoolers Apple Stamping page using the stamped "A" as the first letter of the word. If you have any preschoolers who have a name that starts with the letter "A" write their name on the page, using the stamped letter as the first letter of their name.

Hi! I'm Rachel Lister, the Preschool Education writer at PreschoolRock.com. I live in Utah with my husband and two beautiful boys. When my oldest son was born, I quit my teaching job and opened a home daycare and preschool. I love to help preschoolers learn about the world around them. They make life interesting and I can't imagine doing anything different. If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, feel free to contact me.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Screen learning (educational apps and videos) supplements but never replaces human interaction as a teaching medium. Learning happens most efficiently in social, conversational contexts.

• Children's questions are assessment data. The questions a child asks reveal their current conceptual level and what they're ready to learn next.

• Avoid academic pressure before age 5. Preschool children's brains are not developmentally ready for formal academic instruction, and premature pressure backfires.

• Use mathematical language all day: "more than," "less than," "half," "equal," "twice as much." Incidental math vocabulary builds the conceptual foundation formal math builds on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the role of technology in preschool education?

High-quality educational apps and programs (PBS Kids, Khan Academy Kids, Starfall) used in limited, adult-co-viewed sessions can supplement preschool learning. However, interactive human experiences (conversation, shared book reading, hands-on experimentation, social play) remain far superior as primary learning modes. Screen-based learning is most effective when it is: co-viewed with an adult, limited to 30–60 minutes per day, followed by extension activities in the real world (after a nature app, go outside), and consistently educational rather than commercial.

Should my preschooler be reading before kindergarten?

Reading before kindergarten is possible for some children and developmentally not expected of most. The literacy skills that predict reading success — phonological awareness (hearing sounds in words), letter knowledge, print awareness, and vocabulary — are the appropriate focus before age 5. These skills are built through: reading aloud daily, nursery rhymes and songs, alphabet activities, and rich conversation. A preschooler who loves books, knows their letters, and has a large vocabulary is fully reading-ready, whether or not they can decode words independently.

Related reading: See also our vocabulary building guide and our counting activities for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 📚 Pre-Reading Skills — Activities that involve letters, sounds, rhymes, and print directly build the phonological awareness and letter knowledge that are the two strongest predictors of successful reading development.
• 🤔 Critical Thinking — Being asked "why do you think that?" and forming and defending an answer develops the analytical reasoning children need for reading comprehension, mathematics, and evidence-based argumentation.
• 🌐 World Knowledge — Background knowledge about the world dramatically accelerates reading comprehension — children who know more understand more of what they read — making every content-area learning experience a literacy investment.
• 😊 Love of Learning — Positive early learning experiences build a child's identity as a learner — and children who see themselves as curious, capable learners approach school with the engagement and resilience that matter more than any specific skill.

Your preschooler will enjoy using apples to stamp the letter "A" all over their paper. This creates a fun project for preschoolers to take home to their parents or for use as part of a home preschool program. It takes a few minutes of adult preparation before hand to get started. Preschoolers will love this simple art activity and will be excited about learning their ABC's.