Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss: Counting Activities for Your Preschooler

Your preschooler will have so much fun while practicing counting with the book, Ten Apples Up on Top, by Dr. Seuss and these engaging, counting activities.

What is it about Dr. Seuss’ books that make them so special to children? Is it the wacky characters, the fun rhymes, or the cute illustrations? Dr. Seuss certainly had a knack for inspiring a love of reading with his books.

I’ve found that Dr. Seuss books are not only great for reading, but for extending learning as well. I love coming up with activities based on his books for my kids to do after we read the stories, usually over and over!

Lately, my preschooler has been practicing his counting skills. Right after we read Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss, I knew he’d love practicing his counting skills with these engaging activities.

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Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss is such a fun book to read again and again. It’s a perfect book anytime of the year. You could read it in March for Dr. Seuss’ birthday, as part of a study on apples in the fall, or as part of learning the letter A. It’s also a wonderful book to read when your child is learning to count. It makes a perfect addition when you’re teaching preschool at home.

Recently, my preschooler has been all about learning numbers and counting. He loves to line up objects and count them. So I knew when we read Dr. Seuss’ Ten Apples Up on Top that creating some counting activities to go with the book would be a hit.

Using Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss for Counting Activities

The absolute easiest way to use Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss for counting activities is to read the book to your preschooler. The pictures on each page of the apples on top of each animal make counting them natural and simple. My son loves to count all of the apples on every single page. Think of all the organic counting practice taking place when your child does this! How great to reinforce all of the counting you’ve been teaching your child.

Counting Activities by Stacking Objects

A very easy activity to do after reading the book is to get out some wooden alphabet blocks or other stackable toys. Your child can stack the blocks up to a certain amount that you say. Or your child could simply stack blocks and then count them. It’s such a simple activity, yet is practicing the fine motor skills of stacking, one-to-one correspondence, and counting.

To build on these skills, you could ask your little one to build a tower six block high. Then have your child add another 3 blocks to the tower. This helps your child learn how to add. You can also do subtraction with the blocks. Start with ten blocks and ask your child to remove 5. Then have your little one count what is left. Blocks are such simple and fun tools to use, but they are so educational.

Lining Objects Up to Practice Counting

Similar to stacking objects, you could also have your child line objects up to count them. Your child may be like mine and do this naturally when playing with toys. Small toys like little cars or small dolls work well for this counting activity. Another idea is to use small erasers. I love finding packages of novelty erasers in dollar areas of big box stores. You could even use apple erasers to match the Ten Apples Up on Top theme. This is also great practice at developing one-to-one correspondence as your child counts the objects.

Using Stampers or Manipulatives for Counting Activities

Another way to have your preschooler practice counting is to use stampers on a piece of paper. You could purchase a stamp set that includes an apple or apple tree stamp or simply have your child use a red bingo-type stamper. These are favorites of ours because they last for a very long time and are easy for little hands to hold.

To create an activity sheet, simply put different numbers along the bottom of a sheet of paper. Then your child can stamp that number of apples or dots above the number. A reusable alternative is to use counters, such as small plastic apples, red pom poms, or apple erasers, to stack above the numbers instead.

Use Sensory Bins for Counting Activities

If your child loves playing with sensory bins, then creating an apple-themed bin is a perfect Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss counting activity. In your bin, add toy apples, a filler, and tongs or a scoop. The apples could be larger toy apples or even smaller apple gems that are found as vase fillers in craft stores. As your filler, green or brown shredded paper, like the kind you find in the wrapping paper area of a store, is perfect.

I like to leave sensory bins as completely child-led, so I don’t tell my son how to play with them. However, if you’d like to encourage counting, you could show your child how to stack the apples and count them. Or if they aren’t stackable, just lay them out on a table. You could also add number cards or small numbers from a puzzle in the bin. Then your child could put the correct number with each stack.

Using Playdough for a Counting Activity

Red playdough can help make apples to use for another counting activity for this book. Using red store-bought or homemade playdough, have your child roll small pieces of it into balls to resemble apples. Then your child can stack it in different amounts. Playdough is a fantastic way to build the hand muscles necessary for writing, so this is another wonderful fine motor activity that is lots of fun.

Does your child love numbers? Then they’ll really enjoy coloring their own Book of Numbers. Get this free when you join the Homeschooling in Progress email community. Along with this printable booklet, you’ll also receive homeschooling tips, ideas, and activities to simplify your day.

Combining activities with literature is a fun way to encourage a love of reading while working on developmental skills for preschoolers. Your preschooler or kindergartener will love being able to snuggle up and listen to you read the amusing book, Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. Then they’ll get to practice counting skills in fun hands-on activities that also encourage fine motor skill development. It’s such a simple and inexpensive way to teach your child.

Are you looking for more Dr. Seuss books to include in math lessons for your preschooler or kindergartener? Check this post out to see how you can use The Foot Book to introduce measurement.

When your preschooler is ready to try counting without you, use these apple counting clip cards for practice. They are perfect for a math center or placed on a Montessori-style shelf for your preschooler to grab and work on while you’re busy homeschooling older siblings or making dinner.