In this apple stacking game, preschoolers and kindergarten students can learn the basics of balance and design by playing this apple stacking game! When I was planning our apple STEM activities, I had a hard time coming up with original ideas for engineering.There are tons of amazing apple activity ideas online as well apple STEM challenges, but I wanted something that was somewhat new but still easy to do for preschoolers.
When I was thinking about what to do, my preschooler just started stacking apples, and that made me realize that our apple engineering activities don’t have to be so complicated!
So, for this apple engineering activity, we played a simple apple stacking game.
Table of Contents
How to Set up the Apple Stacking Game
Keep reading to learn how to use the apple stacking game in your own preschool or kindergarten class.
I love this apple stacking game because it took zero prep and it held the attention of my kids for almost an hour!
It was fun and the girls were able to come up with a surprising number of apple stacking creations using just apples.
Apple-Themed Decorations
Here are some fun apple-themed decorations you can use to decorate your classroom or home when playing apple games or just for some fall flair!
Materials for the Apple Stacking Game
You don’t really need anything else for this apple stacking game other than apples! You could use fake apples if you didn’t want to bruise real apples.
Another option is to include toothpicks to help hold the apples together as the students learn how to stack apples.
And playdough also works well to help make apple towers stronger!
Apple-Themed Teaching Resources
Apples and teaching go hand-in-hand!
Add these fun apple-themed teaching supplies to your classroom (or your house, if you just love apples that much!).
How to Make Your Own Apple Stacking STEM Activity
For this apple stacking game, I challenged my students to see if they could get the apples to stack.
Before we started, I wasn’t sure if the balance of the apples would work out so that more than two or three apples could sit on top of each other.
But as the students experimented, they found out that in order to get the apples to stack, they had to align them in a specific order.
The bumps on some apples fit into the dips on others, which is how the kids were able to make up to six apples together in a stack!
Apple Life Cycle for Preschool
Here are some facts about an apple’s life cycle that you can discuss with your students while doing this apple stacking game.
Apple Seed Planting
- An apple tree begins from a tiny seed, just like when you plant a seed to grow a flower.
- The seed is placed in the ground, where it gets sunlight, water, and love from the earth.
Growing an Apple Tree Seedling
- The seed turns into a little plant, called a seedling.
- It grows taller and starts to sprout leaves.
Blooming Apple Flowers
- When the seedling gets older, it grows beautiful flowers in the spring.
- These flowers are like the tree’s way of saying hello to the world.
Buzzing Bees and Apple Trees
- Bees come to visit the flowers. They carry pollen from one flower to another.
- Pollen helps the flowers make tiny baby apples.
Growing Apples
- After the bees visit, the flowers turn into tiny apples. They start to grow bigger and bigger.
Ripe Apples
- When the apples are big and colorful, they’re ripe and ready to be picked.
- People and animals like to eat them because they taste sweet and yummy!
Falling Apple Fruit
- Sometimes apples fall from the tree when they’re ready.
- The apples make a soft landing on the ground.
Apple Seeds Inside
- When you cut open an apple, you’ll find tiny seeds inside.
- These seeds can be planted to grow new apple trees!
Apple Leaves Change Colors in the Fall
- As the weather gets colder, the leaves on the tree change colors.
- They become red, orange, and yellow, like a beautiful rainbow.
Apple Tree Resting in Winter
- In the wintertime, the apple tree takes a long nap. It rests and gets ready for spring again.
You can also use our free apple life cycle worksheet to teach about the life cycle of an apple tree while completing this apple engineering challenge.
Apple Books for Kids
Here are some colorful books children will enjoy reading to learn more about apples!
Let’s Go to the Apple Orchard Book
How to Play the Apple Stacking Game
After making stacks of single apples, try building a larger structure with a base of four or more apples.
This will be harder to do than the single stack, because the roundness of the apples will push the base apples apart from one another.
Eventually, students will be able to construct somewhat elaborate structures and make things like apple towers, apple houses, and apple walls!
The apples will get bruised during this activity, but you can take them home and make them into baked apples or allow the students to wash the apples and eat them for snack after the activity is completed.
Apple-Themed Shirts and Accessories
If you love to celebrate a theme as much as I do, you’ll love these apple-themed shirts and accessories!
Mini Apple Customizable Teacher Shirt
Barbie Style Apple Teacher Shirt
Customizable Apple Teacher Tumbler
Apple Word Cloud Tote for Teachers
Apple Stacking STEM Activity Lesson Plan
Get a complete lesson plan for this apple engineering activity and transform this simple apple stacking game into a complete STEM lesson!
Don’t forget to grab the apple life cycle worksheet to use alongside this apple engineering activity.
Apple Stack Engineering Lesson Plan
Step into the world of engineering with this apple stacking game, ideal for
preschool and kindergarten students. Through this apple engineering challenge, primary students can understand the fundamentals of STEM skills while having fun.
Materials
- Apples (ensure they are clean and firm, or use plastic apples)
- Napkins or paper towels
Tools
- Measuring tape or ruler for discussing height
- Optional: Toothpicks or playdough for making it easier to stack apples
Instructions
Here is a simple lesson plan that you can use for preschool or kindergarten STEM activities to go along with the apple stacking game.
Lesson Objective
Preschoolers will engage in a hands-on STEM activity by stacking apples to create towers.
They will practice basic engineering skills, enhance hand-eye coordination, and explore concepts of balance and stability.
Introduction (5 minutes)
Gather the preschoolers and discuss what engineers do. Explain that engineers design and build things, just like when they build with blocks or play with toys.
Tell your students that today's activity is to become apple engineers and build apple towers!
Apple Stack Game Directions (5 minutes)
Here is how to do the apple stacking game with preschoolers.
Show the preschoolers how to stack the apples to create a tower.
Encourage them to try different ways of stacking, such as placing them in a straight line, in a pyramid shape, or any creative arrangement they come up with.
Let them know they can build as tall as they want, but remind them to be careful not to knock over the tower!
Exploration and Experimentation (10 minutes)
Encourage the children to experiment with different stacking techniques and see what works best for them.
Can they make a tower with a wobbly base?
What about a really tall tower?
Wrap-up and Discussion (5 minutes)
Have the preschoolers gather together to share their apple towers.
Ask questions: "How did you decide to stack your apples?" "Was it easy or hard to balance them?"
Measure the height of some of the taller towers with a ruler or measuring tape and discuss the results.
STEM Extensions (15 minutes)
Discuss the concept of balance. Can they balance a smaller apple on top of a larger one?
Introduce the idea of patterns by alternating different types of apples in their towers. 
Explore the idea of cause and effect. What happens when you add another apple to the tower?
Student Assessment
- Observe student engagement and creativity during the activity.
- Listen to their explanations about their apple towers during the discussion.
- Monitor student understanding of the basics of tower engineering and correct as necessary.
What are some of your other favorite preschool engineering activities or engineering challenges for kindergarten?