How to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day

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Every year on September 26, Americans celebrate one of our favorite legendary historic figures: John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Since his birthday is in September, you can celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids for a fun way to kick off the new school year and welcome in a new season too.

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

How To Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day

Wanna discover ways to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom? Keep reading for tips on Johnny Appleseed Day activities and crafts you can do to celebrate. Iā€™ve put together lots of fun crafts, printables, and read alouds you wonā€™t want to miss!

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The Story of Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman on September 26, 1774. Unlike other tall tale heroes like Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed really existed. He was a bit eccentric, just as the legends suggest, but heā€™s also responsible for most of the apple trees planted in Ohio.Ā 

Johnny Appleseed lived a peaceful nomadic life sharing apple seeds with settlers on the American frontier. The seeds were important for settlers to have in order to make land claims on the frontier. In order to claim the land, settlers needed to show that they had ā€œimprovedā€ it in some way by planting crops or orchards. Planting Johnnyā€™s apple seeds was an easy and inexpensive way to do just that.Ā 

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

What Day Is National Johnny Appleseed Day?

Since September 26 is Johnny Appleseedā€™s birthday, itā€™s the day we celebrate National Johnny Appleseed Day here in America. It also happens to be during the harvest season for this quintessential American fruit. 

Since National, Johnny Appleseed Day falls during the Autumn season, back to school time, and apple picking season, itā€™s the perfect holiday to celebrate with kids as you return to the classroom or begin homeschool lessons.

Iā€™ve put together a list of fun ways to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day at home and in the classroom including crafts, printables, and read alouds.

Keep reading to get ideas for Johnny Appleseed Day lesson plans and field trips too.

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

Ways To Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with Your Kids

There are so many ways to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids! My favorite way is by taking a field trip. If you live near Urbana, Ohio, or Warren, Pennsylvania, you might be able to see some of the amazing apple trees Johnny planted himself.Ā 

Another fun field trip idea would be to visit a local orchard and spend the day learning about apples and apple trees. If you time it right, you can go apple picking for some hands-on learning fun while youā€™re there.

Celebrating Johnny Appleseed Day in the classroom or at home is lots of fun too. You can learn all about Johnny Appleseed with some of our favorite picture books:

There are lots of great videos and documentaries that teach kids all about Johnny Appleseed too:

  • American Legends Vol. 1: Johnny Appleseed
  • Johnny Appleseed from Disney (1948)

Learning with Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts 

For more learning fun focused on Johnny Appleseed and his apples, try some of my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day crafts with your kids:

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

Apple Stamping Craft

My kids love arts and crafts that incorporate paint, but I like to avoid the mess if Iā€™m being honest. This apple stamping art activity is a great Johnny Appleseed Day craft for young kids. Hereā€™s what youā€™ll need to create your own adorable apple stamping artwork:

  • Apples (cut in half)
  • Washable paint
  • Paper

Have kids dip their apples face down in the washable paint. Then, stamp designs or a collage on the paper youā€™ve provided. Itā€™s a great way to learn about art stamping techniques and have some fun with apples this Fall.

Johnny Appleseedā€™s Hat

I love this cute craft idea because it encourages dramatic play. Experimenting with dramatic play and pretend play helps kids explore social and emotional roles while teaching empathy. Plus, itā€™s a lot of fun!

Johnny Appleseed is known for wearing a tin pot as a hat. With this cute craft, your kids will get to make their very own Johnny Appleseed Hat. Hereā€™s what youā€™ll need:

  • Aluminum foil
  • Construction paper
  • Stapler with staples
  • Scissors

First, measure your childā€™s head to make the correct size cylinder from construction paper. Use staples to create a cylinder from the construction paper. Then, cover the cylinder in aluminum foil. 

Next, create a construction paper tube to serve as the pot handle. Attach the ā€œhandleā€ using staples to the side of the ā€œpotā€ and cover in aluminum foil. Voila! Itā€™s time to test out your Johnny Appleseed hat with some fun pretend play.

Apple Tear Art

Tear art is great for young children. It encourages kids to build strong finger muscles and develop dexterity. Plus, this cute apple tear art activity uses items you probably have on hand. 

In fact, all youā€™ll need to get started with this apple tear art for Johnny Appleseed Day is construction paper and a glue stick.

Give your kids a piece of construction paper to use as the background. Then, have them tear another piece of construction paper. Use red, green, or yellow depending on what color you want your apple to be. Have kids arrange the torn bits of construction paper to form an apple and glue them down.Ā 

Johnny Appleseed Paper Bag Puppet

For even more dramatic play, make puppets. This cute Johnny Appleseed Day craft will have your kids making their very own puppet characters to act out the legend of Johnny Appleseed for themselves.

Check out my easy-to-follow instructions for this Johnny Appleseed Puppet.

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

Johnny Appleseed Day ActivitiesĀ 

Looking for even more fun Johnny Appleseed Day activities to celebrate with your kids this September?

Check out these fun printables for celebrating Johnny Appleseedā€™s birthday:

Are you planning to celebrate National Johnny Appleseed Day with some fun apple themed lessons and activities this year?

Share your favorite Johnny Appleseed activities in the comments. I canā€™t wait to read them!

100+ Apple Theme Activities and Lessons

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children

The Best Johnny Appleseed Activities and Lesson Plans for Kids

Discover the BEST ways to Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day with your kids at home and in the classroom, over 40 Johnny Appleseed Day activities, and Johnny Appleseed Day Crafts for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children