One of our favorite Fall activities is to go apple picking and then making an apple pie! Our oldest wanted to keep making apple pies after we made our first real one, so an apple pie sensory bin was the perfect solution to allow her to keep making them over and over again! I’ve also included FREE recipe card printables for your little one to “make” different apple pies. This is a great learning and counting activity to go along with the bin!
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Materials needed:
- Wood tray or scrapbook case – if you use wood tray, make sure to tape over handles on the side.
- Green and red pom poms
- Mini pie pans
- Tan felt – 3 sheets
- Jumbo popsicle stick
- Old fashioned oats
- Alphabet cookie cutters
- Dried black beans
- Cinnamon sticks
- Spoon – Hobby Lobby
- Mini rolling pin (optional) – Hobby Lobby
- Mini apple basket – Hobby Lobby
- Barn – Target Bullseye’s Playground
- Scissors
- Pinking shears
- Free printables – linked below
Prep:
I made enough pie pieces for two pies. Start by tracing the bottom of mini pie pan on felt and cut out x2 (this will be the bottom of pie). Turn the pan upside down and trace perimeter and cut out x2 (this will be the top of pie).
Use a jumbo popsicle stick as a guide to draw lines horizontally down each large felt circle (top piece). Use pinking shears to cut along lines. You could also use regular scissors, but I like the pattern the pinking shears make for the pie! 🙂
On a new piece of felt, trace a scalloped edge around the top edge of the pie pan. Turn the pan over and trace around the bottom. Cut out the middle circle (this will form the pie crust edge).
Assembly:
Place the “A and P” cookie cutters in tray and fill with black beans. Place oats around the letters, remove the “P” and place beside the filled letter to form the next letter in the word.
Finish placing and filling the letters with black beans and fill the tray with oats. Carefully remove the letters.
Place your sensory items in bin. I premade an apple pie and had another one available for my daughter to make!
Free printables:
Play:
My daughter really enjoyed making her own apple pies and using the different recipe cards to create different varieties. This also helped with her counting! You can check out my Instagram reel for a quick video tutorial as well! Let me know if you make this for your little one to enjoy!
