Preparing Children for an Apple Orchard Visit
Facts and Rules Kids Need to Know Before Picking Apples on a Farm
Oct 11, 2008
Parents and children can enjoy a fun and successful outing together if parents prepare children ahead of time. Share and discuss books with children to provide them with background information about why people grow apple orchards and what people do on this kind of farm. This will prepare children to learn from the experience of picking apples. Then explain proper behavior and rules to follow in an apple orchard. This will let children know what will be expected of them during the outing.
Recommended Books to Read Before Visiting a Pick-Your-Own Apple Orchard
Use trade books to provide information about the following topics:
- Introduce younger children to apple picking and what people do with apples: the board book Apples, Apples! by Salina Yoon [Price Stern Sloan, 2007] and the trade book Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell [Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989].
- How apples grow: the trade books How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro [HarperCollins Publishers, 1992], The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons [Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984], and The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall [The Blue Sky Press, 1996].
- How people make a living by growing, picking, and selling apples: the trade books Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington [Dutton Children's Books, 2001], Up, Up, Up! It's Apple Picking Time by Jody Fickes Shapiro [Holiday House, 2003], Apple Cider Making Days by Ann Purmell [The Millbrook Press, 2002], and Apple Picking Time by Michele Benoit Slawson [Crown Publishers, Inc., 1994].
- What happens during a visit to a pick-your-own apple orchard: the trade books Tucker's Apple-Dandy Day! by Susan Winget [HarperCollins, 2006] and Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace [Marshall Cavendish, 2000].
- General information about the history of apples: the trade books Apples by Gail Gibbons [Holiday House, 2000], Apples by Jacqueline Farmer [Charlesbridge, 2007], and The Life and Times of the Apple by Charles Micucci [Orchard Books, 1992].
Rules for Picking Apples
- Read and follow any rules posted by the owners of the apple orchard farm.
- Do not climb, swing on, pull leaves off of, break the branches of, or damage in any way any of the apple trees.
- To pick an apple without damaging it or the tree, lift it gently and then twist and pluck it.
- Do not be wasteful and pick more apples than you plan to take with you.
- Do not throw or play with apples.
- Do not eat apples without paying for them.
- Do not pick up apples from the ground. (These apples may not be safe to eat because they might have bad bacteria growing inside them from breaks in their skin.)
- Do not throw trash on the ground or leave anything behind in the fields of apple trees.
Children enjoy new experiences more if they understand why an experience is important. Knowing how and why people grow apples will help children appreciate everything they see and do at a pick-your-own apple orchard. Children, especially children who have grown up in cities and not visited a farm before, may not already know how to respect the land and things growing on a farm. Nip behavioral problems in the bud by being clear from the start about how a visitor to the farm can and should stay safe and take care not to hurt the land or the crops.
Once children are ready for a visit to an apple orchard, take a moment to plan the visit, deciding when and where to go and what to bring.
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