It’s never too early to start teaching your child about fractions. They can be really confusing if you wait to explain them until they come up in a math book, so start talking about them early on. This lesson is a great way to introduce fractions, even to a preschooler!
Apple Fractions
Fractions aren’t exactly the most fun thing to teach, so why not make it more enjoyable with a few apples and a knife?! This activity is so simple and since it is multi-sensory, it will help your children retain the information they learn even better!
Grade Level
Typically, children begin learning fractions around 3rd or 4th grade, but I’m a believer that you can never introduce them too early as long as it is done in a fun way. My preschoolers really enjoyed this activity.
Supplies for Apple Fractions
Apples
Knife
Plate or Cutting Board
Caramel Apple Dip (optional)
Directions for Apple Fractions
Take one apple and ask your children how many apples you have. Obviously, they’ll answer “one”. Then, cut the apple in half. Ask again how many apples there are. It’s likely that if you’re just introducing fractions that your child will say there are two apples. Mine did! To remedy this, I held the apple together so you couldn’t see the pieces and asked again. When they still said there were two, I said, “reeeeeeeeally???” Eventually, they realized that no, there was still just one apple! So we talked about halves and I showed them how 1/2 was written and they understood why there was a 2!
Cut those slices again to make 4ths, then 8ths if you’d like!
If you want to extend this activity, use another apple to cut 3rds, 6ths, and 12ths.
For a bit of extra fun, serve the apple slices with caramel apple dip!
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