Johnny Appleseed Day!

Today is Johnny Appleseed Day! Getting into the spirit of the Fall Season, we took the kids apple picking at our local farm yesterday. The kids had a blast!


It was amazing walking down the rows of apple filled trees, and made us feel closer to our food now that we were seeing it right on the tree. We just decided to make this a tradition. We are looking forward to the baked items we are now going to make with all our fresh apples!
 
Lauren: "Eating all the different kinds of apples at the orchard"

Matthew: "picking the first apple and my dad getting the really big apples".

Here are a few ways you can celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day:

Stamp an Apple-Picking Bag

From Family Fun

You can make apple prints on T-shirts. On wrapping paper. On tablecloths. On backs and bellies. Heck, you can stamp them just about anywhere (including walls, as my three-year-old has joyfully pointed out). Even the youngest children can make this aptly apple-y sack to use on your next excursion to a pick-your-own orchard.

MATERIALS

• Fabric bag (cloth grocery sacks work well)
• Newspaper
• Fabric paint (green, red and brown)
• Paintbrush
• Apple

HOW IT'S MADE: Fold over some newspaper and insert it into the fabric bag, laying it flat so that the paint will not seep through. With a brush, use brown paint to fashion a tree trunk and let dry. Then use a horizontally cut apple to make leaves by brushing a thin layer of green fabric paint onto the apple and pressing it around the top of the trunk. Repeat several times (make sure to look for the star in the print). After the green paint dries, cut an apple in half vertically. Pick the side that still has the stem and brush with red fabric paint. Then "hang" juicy apples on the tree.



Make a Paper Bag Apple Tree

I love this version of the paper bag tree - make
it into an apple tree! Details at Creative Jewish Mom.

Check out our previous posts below -----

http://www.blog.funandfactswithkids.com/2010/09/johnny-appleseed-day-with-kids.html

Happy Halloween! and its National Caramel Apple Day!

Halloween history can be a tricky thing to talk about with your kids.  The metamorphosis of Halloween form the harvest celebrations of the past to the candy and costume fun of today can get a bit confusing.  Since today, the celebration for us is totally different from the celebration of this day from centuries ago we really do not feel it is necessary to get into all the facets of the holiday with the children.  We do not believe in ignorance so a little history can go a long way. Here are the basics of the Holiday so that Children can understand it. 

Many years ago people believed in spirits, both good and bad.  They believed that the spirits did good and bad for people.  Now, a culture of people known as the Celts lived long ago in what is now known to us as Ireland, France and England.  Harvest was a huge time for these people and the fall and when all their crops came in for the winters food supply.  The Celts held a ceremony or festival called Samhain to thank the good spirits for their help in the harvest and healthy crop production. As a part of Samhain, which is pronounced as sow-en, people wore costumes and told fortunes having a great time with wonderful food.  This does sound kind of like our harvest celebrations and carnivals of today.  

Many years later other beliefs and religions spread throughout Ireland, France and England.  November 1st was a holiday that celebrated and honored martyrs, people who died for their religious beliefs, and that day became known as All Saints Day.  The night before All Saints Day was known as All-Hallows, now called Halloween.

   

Now since November 1^st was known to be a holiday for saints and martyrs ,or good spirits as the Celts believed, it was thought that the night before October 31^st was a day for bad spirits.  Halloween then turned into a scary time for the people who believed that the evil spirits would wander the earth causing trouble and bad things to happen.  In order to ward off the evil and feel safe they carved vegetables out for lanterns. 

And now onto today, Halloween is a celebration that is to celebrate the fun and food and good times of the Samhain (summers end) festival of the old Celts with the costumes and celebratory aspects and pumpkin carving for happy safe light. 

Great site that has 40 different Halloween Vectors, Fonts, Brushes and Stamps! 
http://indeziner.com/design/40-amazing-halloween-resources/

National Caramel Apple Day:

What is a caramel apple?

Caramel apples or taffy apples are created by dipping or rolling apples-on-a-stick in hot caramel, and sometimes then rolling them in nuts or other small savories or confections, and allowing them to cool.

More elaborate apples use white chocolate over the caramel to hold a variety of candies, nuts or cookies. Tart, crisp apples such as Granny Smith are preferred to contrast with the soft, sweet caramel.

Caramel apples are usually consumed as treats at autumn festivals such as Halloween, in the wake of the annual apple harvest.

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Origin of this Holiday?

Our research did not find the information of who created this holiday or why October 31 was picked. The red candy apple came first but research says Caramel apples were invented by Dan Walker, a sales representative for Kraft Foods, in the 1950s.

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Make your own Caramel Apples!

You can make them in all shapes and sizes.

31 Days of Halloween with kids! Shrunken Apple Heads - Day 13

HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN

Shrunken Apple Heads
These shrunken heads, made from peeled, carved, and dried apples, are as spooky as the scariest Halloween masks -- and just as much fun to create. Martha transforms a Granny Smith apple into a truly frightening fruit; although any variety of apple will work, Granny Smiths are ideal for this project because of their round shape.

Tools and Materials
- Firm, unbruised apple, preferably Granny Smith
- Knife
- Marker or pencil
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Stick or branch
Shrunken Apple Head How-To
1. Peel and core the apple.
2. Using a pencil or marker, draw facial features, including eyes, a nose, and a mouth, on the apple; be sure to draw the features large enough so they won't vanish when the apple shrinks.
3. Using the outlines as your guide, carve the apple to resemble a skull.
4. Combine lemon juice and salt in bowl. Soak the apple for 30 seconds. Pat dry.
5. Set the apple in a warm, dry spot; after several days, the apple will shrink, and the features will distort.
6. Insert a stick or branch into the bottom of the head and place it in a vase.

Shrunken Apple Head Punch

Ingredients
6 cups cups pasteurized apple cider
1 frozen lemonade, concentrate, thawed
Ice cubes, optional

In punch bowl, combine apple cider, undiluted lemonade concentrate, and ice cubes (if using). Float apple heads in punch. Serves 12

Apple Picking & Apple Betty Day with kids!

Today is Apple Betty Day!  To download and save our favorite Apple Betty recipe click HERE.  We have planned to take the kids Apple Picking and also having this yummy dessert as their snack!  There are actually almost a dozen long Apple themed holidays celebrated throughout the year, including National Apple Month!  Originally founded in 1904 as National Apple Week, it was expanded in 1996 to a three-month promotional window from September through November.  Here are a list of other apple days you might want to know:

 Apple Holidays At-A-Glance

    * January 1: Apple Gifting Day *

    * May 13: National Apple Pie Day *

    * June 6: National Applesauce Cake Day *

    * July 5: National Apple Turnover Day *

    * September 17: National Apple Dumpling Day *

    * September 30: National Hot Mulled Cider Day *

    * October 5: National Apple Betty Day *

    * October 21: Caramel Apple Day *

    * October 31: National Candy Apple Day *

    * December 1: Eat A Red Apple Day *

    * December 3: National Apple Pie Day *

We will come back to this blog post and post our pictures!  Here are some educational tips on Apples:

Picking tips:

Hot Mulled Apple Cider Day with kids!

We are having a very damp and rainy day here in the northeast and what a perfect day for Mulled Cider Day to fall on.  This is such a comfort drink that makes everyone feel good as it helps to counter a damp day like today.  This is so easy for the kids to make.  One of the activities that we love to do on rainy days like today is to take a walk in the rain which we will be doing today.  Coming home to such a comforting smell that will permeate the air from the warm cider and excitement that the kids feel to drink some during the Fall months is wonderful. 

There are so many version of this drink for children or adults only.  Fun and Facts is adding something new!  We are now personally our recipes and saving them in Printable recipe formats for you to share and download!  Click HERE for a Free 4x6 copy of our favor Hot Mulled Apple Cider Recipe of our favorite version.  You can download this and print out or save online in your own recipe box.

Johnny Appleseed Day with kids!

Johnny Appleseed Day honors one of America's great legends. Johnny Appleseed was a real person. John Chapman was among the American settlers who were captivated by the movement west across the continent. As Johnny Appleseed travelled west, he planted apple trees along the way, and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew.

A Little About the Legend: