As the leaves change color and the days get colder, I’m reminded of apple season. In years past, when we lived in an area with many apple orchards, we’d go apple picking. Now we live too far north to visit any apple orchards so I created this fun Apple Life Cycle pack for my youngest homeschooler. (You’ll find the link down at the bottom of this post.)
Instead, we drink apple cinnamon tea for our poetry tea time and read a cozy picture book like 10 Apples Up on Top or Johnny Appleseed. And I tell my youngest homeschoolers stories about fall field trips of years past when I took their older siblings apple picking.
Visit an Apple Orchard
Apple picking at an orchard that’s open to the public is a great way to get out of the house, make memories, and enjoy some fun times with the whole family. Not only that, an apple orchard trip offers an educational, healthy, and tasty experience.
Plan Your Field Trip
Before heading to the apple orchard, make a plan. Will you spend the whole day there? Or will you just go for an afternoon?
Research what your local apple orchard has to offer. Check for admissions fees, or if they require reservations beforehand. It’s also a good idea to find out if they offer any homestead or farm activities beyond apple picking.
Prepare for a Family Walk
My kids all love hayrides, petting zoos, and corn mazes. (And, oddly enough, worksheets. That’s why I knew they’d like the Apple Life Cycle Pack.)
However, they don’t always love walking. Yet most apple orchards cover a lot of land, so make sure everyone has good walking shoes and a water bottle.
5 Reasons for a Fall Apple Orchard Visit
I’m a big believer in outdoor education and teaching our children where their food comes from. And I’m also a fan of hands-on learning, which is why we incorporate activities such as forest schooling, foraging, growing vegetables and homesteading into our days now that we homeschool off the grid.
If you live in the city or the suburbs, a fall apple orchard visit offers at least five big benefits for your homeschool.
- Freshly picked apples – This is probably the most obvious reason, but it’s a good one! You get to pick your very own apples straight from the tree. Super fresh and the quality is far beyond anything you can get from a local grocery store.
- Beautiful scenery – You and your children can experience the beautiful scenery of the fall colors, especially since apple orchards are full of trees, which means beautiful colors ranging from green to red and orange to yellow.
- Support local farms – Supporting your local farms is the best thing you can do to boost your local economy.
- Science, art, language, and history lessons – turn your apple orchard visit into a full week unit study by adding in resources to support your field trip. Use my free Apple Life Cycle Pack. Then add in some free resources for learning about apples. Head to the library and learn about the history of Johnny Appleseed. You’ll find some fun printables and activities about Johnny Appleseed right here too.
- Fun Family Memories – Today my children range in age from 30 down to seven. And they all still love the idea of a family trip to an apple orchard. One of these years we’ll plan a trip down south and take all the kids (and my new grandbabies) along for a big family apple orchard visit!
Don’t Forget
Remember to bring knapsacks or strong totes for the apples you pick, as well as wet wipes for sticky hands! And when you head home, use those apples to make applesauce, apple pie, or apple sour cream coffee cake. You might even try your hand at dehydrating apple slices for a healthy snack.
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Sarita Harbour is a busy mom/step-mom, and grandmother blessed with seven kids ranging from age 32 down to seven. She lives off the grid with her family in a lakefront chalet in the beautiful wilderness of Canada’s far north. She spends her days teaching, writing, and learning the ropes of homesteading off the grid. Visit her site, Off Grid Life, for free printables and resources on homesteading, homeschooling, and self-reliance for the whole family.
