Yes, there were apples in America before Johnny Appleseed! The story begins with the only apples native to North America and continues through the orchards of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and William Fitzhugh.
There are lots of “apple” books and unit studies, but older kids need to enjoy the apple fun, too. It is amazing how quickly apples became a major crop in the early United States. It wasn’t long after the European colonists began arriving that apple orchards became a significant part of every farm!
In addition to the beautifully illustrated story, this eBook mini-course on apples looks at the taxonomy of apples for some science fun. The section on weights and measures combines math story problems (mostly addition and multiplication) with some great Fun Facts. There are 11 great activities that accommodate a wide range of learning styles and ages (including an easy recipe).
After you have read this book, let me know what you enjoyed the most. My favorite section is called Connections and talks about the multiple and very unexpected ways the Washingtons, Jeffersons and Fitzhughs were linked.
Want to know more? Here’s the eBook Quick Look.