This sweet apple handprint poem makes for a great parent appreciation day craft. And it’s a fun idea to round out an preschool apple theme!
Let your students use their hands to create apple-themed art for their parents or caregivers. It’s a great time to talk about showing appreciation for those around us. And it allows the children to take the lead in making a little thank you for their families.
There are multiple versions of an apple hand print poem in the free printable found near the bottom of this post. Be sure to request your own copy, then get to creating with your students!
Related: Free Preschool Printables
We first made these parent appreciation gifts back in 2014. My preschool coworkers and I had been “researching” parent appreciation ideas in order to celebrate our families.
We’re a small, non-profit preschool, so our families pay tuition AND then help us out with so many things (snacks, donating materials, organizing parties, and so on). So our preschool staff wanted to say thank you! That’s how this sweet and simple handprint apple poem came to be.
Apple Handprint Poem
Read below for supplies, directions, and a few more family gift ideas. Near the bottom of the post, you can request your own copy of the printable poem, too!
Materials for the Parent Appreciation Handprint Art
If you’re a preschool teacher, you probably already have all of the materials needed for apple handprint poem art on-hand in your classroom. But if not, here’s a list of what we used (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Printer
- Copy paper
- Tempera paint (red, yellow, green, brown)
- Decorative-edge crafting scissors
- Construction paper
- Glue sticks
- Laminator
- Laminating sheets
Please keep in mind that you don’t have to use the exact same materials I did. Feel free to make adjustments based on your own preferences and items you have easy access to.
How to Make the Apple Handprint Poem
Once you have your supplies ready to go, it’s time to call the children over and get started! I prefer to call the children over individually for projects like this, but you decide what works best for you. Keep in mind, your students can help with a lot of this process. What they help with is down to their ages, their needs, their interest, and your preference.
Here are the basics:
- Start by requesting the poem at the bottom of this page.
- Print the poems and cut them apart.
- Help your students add their handprint apples to the pages.
- Add students’ name and the year.
- Back the poems on construction paper.
- Laminate.
And that’s really all there is to it! I used decorative-edged scrapbook scissors to add a little flair when I was cutting the poems apart. You don’t have to do that, nor do you have to back them on construction paper if you don’t want to. I think it looks a little nicer that way, though!
Here’s how to turn the children’s hands into apples:
- First, ask the children if they want a green, red, or yellow apple.
- Then help the kids paint the palm of their hands the color chosen.
- Next, paint the bottom half of the kids’ thumbs brown (for the apple stem).
- Help the children place their hands down on the page above the poem, gently pressing down to leave a print.
- Finally, assist the kids in adding a green thumbprint leaf to the handprint apple.
I know I’m biased, but I think the apple handprint poem turned out well for each of the children! I know their families appreciated the sentiment, too. Don’t forget to grab you copy of the printable near the bottom of this post.
What Comes with the Free Printable?
The printable has 3 pages, each with a different apple handprint poem. I wanted to give you a few options to choose from.
Version 1 reads:
Apples can be
Yellow, red, or green.
Isn’t this the best apple
You’ve ever seen?
Version 2 reads:
An apple for the teacher
Is really nothing new,
Except when you remember
Parents are teachers, too!
Version 3 reads:
An apple for the teacher
Is really nothing new,
Except when you remember
Families are teachers, too!
Each page has two of the same poem on it. So it will print two to a page unless you change your printer settings. I find the size to be just right for preschool and kindergarten kids’ hands, but you can change things up as needed.
More Parent Appreciation Day Ideas
Here are a few more parent appreciation ideas to check out:
- Fun-A-Day’s fingerprint heart magnets
- Teacher to the Core’s thank you notes and hand soaps
- Sugar Spice and Glitter’s handprint roses
- Tunstall’s Teaching’s “refreshing” parent gifts
- Sustain My Craft Habit’s colorful popsicle stick frames
I think those are some great ideas after you’ve tried the apple handprint poem gift!
Apple-Themed Resources
Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s why we created Preschool Teacher 101 – to save you time so you can be a better teacher while taking back your personal time.
We have hundreds of preschool and kindergarten resources – from lesson plans to dramatic play packs to classroom management guides, and so much more. Click on the images below to learn more about some off our apple-themed products!
Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. We have multiple membership options to suit your needs!
Get the Free Printable Apple Handprint Poem
As I mentioned earlier, the printable actually includes three poems to choose from! It’s available to members of Fun-A-Day’s (free!) email community. If that’s you, please enter your email address in the form below to request the download links be sent to your inbox. If you’re not a member, you can join us by entering your information in the same form. Then you’ll receive the apple handprint poem as a welcome gift!
Be sure to let me know how this goes if you try it with your students!
Originally published November 2014.
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