Free Apple Printable Number Activity for 1:1 Correspondence

This free apple printable is perfect for exploring one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills.

Are you following my Apple Theme Pinterest board?

Related: Apple Taste Test and Graphing

The students and I had a blast with our scented “tiny apples”! I decided they’d be a great item to use for a simple apple number activity.

It was perfect for our preschool apple theme, and I bet the kids would love it at any point in the year.

What You'll Find in This Post

Apple Printable to Explore Early Math Skills

Be sure to get your free apple printable numbers at the end of this post!

One-to-One Correspondence

An important early math skill is one-to-one correspondence. Basically, it’s being able to match one object with one corresponding object.

While this can be done different ways, we decided to focus on matching quantities of “apples” to numerals printed on apple cards. You can also use pompoms, buttons, beans, acrylic apples, or other small items with this number activity.

The Set Up

I set up a simple invitation to explore numbers. I placed a tray on one of our classroom tables, then put a bowl full of “tiny apples” on top.

Printable apple number cards were added next, followed by some child tweezers. I didn’t even have to invite any children over – they came right over to see what I was doing.

What We Did

To start, I explained that the kiddos would be helping me pick apples. The apple printable cards were there to tell them how many apples to pick out of the bowl.

Almost all of the children used the tweezers, simply because the tweezers were out! This gave their fine motor skills a good workout. The kiddos who just used their fingers did, too, as they were all focused on adding apples just one at a time.

We went through one card at a time, at first. This helped me to see which numbers the children knew, and it allowed me to help as needed.

After a handful of children worked with me one-on-one, a group descended on the table. They decided to work together on the apple cards. The kiddos chose cards one through ten and placed them on the table. One child would call out the number, while others worked together to grab enough apples from the bowl.

Learning Together

As you can see in the pictures, some of the amounts weren’t quite right. Once the children were done with the apple numbers, I encouraged them to go back and check each one. They did so, as a group, and were able to fix the cards that weren’t spot-on the first time. I loved seeing the teamwork, and I really enjoyed observing their process!

All in all, this was a very successful preschool number activity! In addition to the math and fine motor work, it allowed me to assess what each child knew in terms of basic numbers, counting, and pincer grasp.

You can grab your own set of apple printable cards, one through twenty, at the bottom of this post. In doing so, you agree to my terms of use.

Have you tried an apple number activity like this one before?

More Apple Printable Learning Ideas

Save time and get right to the playful learning with done-for-you lesson plans and educational activities for preschoolers. Click on the photos below for more information on our apple preschool lesson plans, 10 apples on top plans, and apple ten-frame task cards:

: Ten Apples Lesson Plans

Get Your Apple Printable Here

These apple number cards are available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If you’re already a member, click on the button below and enter your information. You’ll get the apple printable numbers sent to your inbox (and you won’t be signed up twice).

If you’re not a member and want to join, we’d love to have you. Click on the button below to sign up, and you’ll get the printable number cards as a welcome gift.