At Oak Knoll School, the journey of childhood development is sweetened by the simple yet profound exploration of apples.

Oak Knoll’s Little Acorns early childhood program is for 4- and 5-year-olds in Pre-K and Kindergarten who explore independently and collaborate across grade levels, fostering an environment where curiosity thrives.

This particular comprehensive fall unit introduces our youngest learners to the wonders of the world around them while laying the foundational skills they need.

In the initial weeks of school, children dive into apple-focused activities that satisfy their natural inquisitiveness through engaging play and tactile learning. This multidisciplinary approach not only enhances fine motor skills vital for growth and literacy but also nurtures creativity and social abilities — key elements in early childhood development. Students learn about the life cycle of apples, characterizing them by color and understanding their various parts.

As they progress, our Little Acorns embrace basic math and science concepts through experiments that test buoyancy with apples and graphing the class’s apple preferences. Art and craft projects involving apples provide additional layers of learning. By crafting apple-themed art, students not only enhance motor skills but also enrich their vocabulary with terms related to farming and apple harvesting.

One apple arts and crafts project involved students cutting out a large apple and then finding the letters of their names inscribed on various green circles. Students turned their names into caterpillars crawling across their apples. Another project saw students crinkling and pasting inventive tissue paper shapes and placing them inside the larger volume of an apple shape.

Oak Knoll Pre-K Teacher Lynn Sharp said the project is such a success because her students are naturally curious and learn best through hands-on activities.

“I love teaching units of study that allow for more in-depth learning, where students are able to bring their prior knowledge of things like apples, apple picking experiences, and growing plants to their current learning,” said Sharp. “It’s so much fun listening and watching students get excited about learning and enjoying these hands-on experiences.

“We are developing skills that are critical to hone at this age,” Sharp explained. “We are always planning activities, experiments, group projects, individual study, and reflection to build on these skills as the year progresses.”

This apple-themed unit and our collaborative pre-K and K program embody Oak Knoll’s commitment to nurturing confident, joyful learners ready to take on new challenges. Our children engage deeply with both group projects and individual explorations, creating a rich tapestry of development that carries them through their formative years. Young learners at Oak Knoll grow not just in knowledge but in purpose, grounded in the values of curiosity and discovery inherent to our Holy Child philosophy.