Apple Coloring Pages

An apple is often the first thing a child learns to draw and the first word on an alphabet chart, which makes it one of the most useful shapes to have on paper. These apple coloring pages go from a single apple, large enough for a toddler's crayon, to a whole orchard in autumn.

The simplest pages are single apples: one hanging from a leafy branch, a big apple with a curly stem and two leaves, an apple cut in half to show its seeds, apples on a windowsill, three apples lined up from big to small, an apple rolling down a hill, and a famous one with a smiling worm peeking out. Then comes the orchard. An apple tree blooms with bees buzzing around it, another stands full of fruit on a round hill, a ladder leans against a heavy tree, a girl on a stool reaches for an apple, a wheelbarrow and a basket are piled high, and a crate waits under a FARM STAND sign. A boy naps under a tree, another takes a big bite, and a grandma peels an apple in one long curl.

The kitchen pages are for anyone who loves apple season: a lattice apple pie, a caramel apple dripping with sprinkles, a pitcher of juice, a tray of muffins, a bowl of slices with the peeler, a jar of applesauce and a nibbled core on a plate. Apple bobbing and an apple hung beside an archery target bring in the games. The animals love apples too: a squirrel nibbles a piece, a hedgehog carries apples on its spines, a deer eats a fallen one, a horse takes one from a boy's hand, a bird perches on a stem, an owl sits in the tree at night and a teddy bear hugs a giant apple. The cartoon apples, one waving from a branch and one splashing in rain boots, make the youngest children laugh.

How an apple grows

An apple starts as a pink and white blossom in spring. Bees carry pollen from flower to flower, and each pollinated blossom slowly swells into a small green fruit. Over the summer the apple grows and ripens, and by late summer or autumn it is ready to pick, which is why apple picking is a fall tradition in so many places. Cut an apple across its middle rather than from top to bottom and the seeds make a five-pointed star, a nice surprise to try after coloring the apple-half page.

A few things children like to know:

• There are thousands of apple varieties around the world, in every shade from pale yellow to almost purple.
• Apples float because a good part of an apple is air, which is what makes apple bobbing possible.
• Apple trees can live and bear fruit for many decades.

Red, green or yellow?

Apples are not only red. Try:

• Bright red, with a little yellow near the stem, for a classic red apple.
• Green, a light spring green for a tart Granny Smith style apple.
• Yellow with a pink blush on one side, like many sweet eating apples.
• Red stripes over yellow, which is how many real apples look up close.

Leave a small white streak on each apple for the shine. The blossoms are soft pink and white, the caramel apple golden brown, and the pie crust a warm tan with darker edges where it baked.

From first crayon to full orchard

Apple pages are ideal for preschool: a single apple is one big shape with a stem and a leaf. Quick to color, above the grid, begins with:

• Big apple
• Apple core
• Big bite

Older children will prefer the orchard scenes, full of leaves, fruit and animals. Lots of detail begins with:

Apple activities for school and home

Apple pages are a favorite in September, for back to school and for the letter A. Color an apple in each color and sort them into a chart, count the apples in the basket or on the tree, or cut out the finished apples to make an autumn garland. An apple on a desk with a pencil makes a thank-you card for a teacher, and the apple-half page is a good start to a simple science lesson: cut a real apple, find the seeds and compare them with the drawing.

Printing

Every page is a free A4 PDF drawn at 300 dpi. A4 prints at full size, and on US Letter "fit to page" shrinks the drawing by about six percent so nothing is cut off. The printing guide shows the setting. Add to pack prints a whole basket at once. More fruit is in the fruit coloring pages, more autumn in the fall coloring pages, and more to eat in the food coloring pages, with the orchard animals' friends in the farm coloring pages.