Kid's Craft- Number Apple Tree; A Printmaking Lesson for Preschoolers

In this lesson, your preschooler will learn about the art of printmaking, numbers 1-10 and colors red, brown and green.

Printmaking is the art of reproduction, or making multiple copies from an original source such as wood blocks or metal plates. Printmaking artists would number their prints (i.e. 1 of 1 or 1/1, 2 of 8 or 2/8, etc.) and then destroy the printing source to keep its authenticity.

Classified: Medium. There are several steps, and some dry time in between.

What you need:

• A cut apple (needs to be dried out before printing)
• Sponge
• 
• Brayer or sponge brush
• Red, green and brown printing ink or acrylic paint
• Styrofoam meat tray
• Scissors
• Fork
• White Paper
• Palette
• Marker

What to do:

1. Preparation- Cut an apple and set it aside to dry it out. Tip! Place the cut side down onto a piece of paper towel to soak up the juice. Cut a Styrofoam meat tray into a tree trunk and lightly run a fork through it to create a textured look. See photo for example.
2. Teach your preschooler how to roll the brayer into the brown ink/paint and apply it to the Styrofoam tree trunk. Print onto the center bottom of the white paper. (You can use a sponge brush for this as well.)
3. Have your preschooler dip the sponge into green paint and dab it around the top of the tree to form leaves.
4. Allow to dry.
5. Once dry,  use the same rolling technique with the brayer and print 10 apples onto the leaves of the tree.

6. After the apples dry, write the numbers 1-10 onto the apples.

Good apple counting books to go with this lesson?