The apple market is one of the highlights of the PreK year at Giving Tree. The children plan, prepare, and conduct an apple market for the early childhood classes. This year, the Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade HHAI classes will also shop at the apple market. The children discover that there is a great deal of work that goes into running a business. Bags are decorated, labels are written, signs are created, apples are sorted and counted.
The apple market brings joy to the many early childhood students, but it also allows for a lot of learning experiences for the Oak children. The process of preparing for the apple market provides meaningful opportunities for authentic learning. The Oak children were working on letters, phonics, and handwriting, while creating the labels for the market. The children were learning symbolic and creative representation while painting and drawing apple market signs and shopping bags. Numbers and economics were discussed while children created the pretend money to be given to the children to buy their apples. Math was a focus of the activity as children sorted, weighed, and counted apples while preparing the stand. Both manners and language skills were addressed as children practiced how to greet and thank customers at the market.
