10 Apples Up On Top! Relay Race

Ten Apples Up on Top! was one of the first longer picture books I read Quinn when his attention span grew as a two year old and he craved more and more books. The classic story by Theo LeSieg (you may know him as Dr. Seuss) combines the rhythmic nature that is familiar with Seuss books and counting from 1-10 as the animals attempt to balance 10 apples on their heads. For this week’s Preschool Book Club we got our bodies moving while practicing counting with out Ten Apples Up on Top! Relay Race.

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WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE 10 APPLES UP ON TOP! RELAY RACE

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Copy of Ten Apples Up On Top- Click here to purchase via Amazon
10 red ping pong balls- click here to purchase via Amazon
small velcro circles- click here to purchase via Amazon
craft sticks
hot glue gun- click here to purchase via Amazon
headband

AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT

literacy development
language development
counting
1-to-1 correspondence
addition
gross motor development
teamwork
patience
fine motor development

HOW TO CREATE THE 10 APPLES UP ON TOP! RELAY RACE

Prior to introducing the game you will need to create the Ten Apples Up on Top! headband. With the hot glue gun attach a craft stick to the top of the headband. Glue another stick to the other side of the headband. Glue an additional craft stick to one side of the headband for added support.

Next glue two more craft sticks one on top of the other to create a long stick on top of the headband. For added stability you can add 2 additional craft sticks to make it double layered.

Next attach 10 velcro dots evenly spaced on the craft sticks.

Using the opposite side of velcro glue 10 dots to 10 red ping pong balls.

Each ping pong ball with now have a spot on the headband.

HOW TO PLAY THE 10 APPLES UP ON TOP! RELAY RACE

Now that you have your headband it’s time to play. We started by reading Ten Apples up on Top. This really helped get my kids in the mood for the game.

Divide the children evenly in groups and have the groups line up about 10 feet apart from each other. Place 5 ping pong balls on one side and 5 on the other. The first person puts the headband on and a teammate puts one ping pong ball on the headband. This player has to walk over to the other team. This will require a lot of balance! When the player reaches the other side another ping pong ball is added to the headband and the headband is put on the next player’s head.

Keep going back and forth between the two sides adding one ping ball each time. Such a silly game!

My children found that as we added more “apples” it became harder to balance so they held on to the sides of the headband. Look at that serious face concentrating!

We played this as a cooperative game, but you could also make an additional headband and have two teams racing each other to see who can get to ten apples first! Our game’s pace was slow as my children stopped to count how many apples they had on the headband and how many more they needed to get. Real life addition happening all while playing. Exactly how early childhood education should be!

Want to check out more ways to explore the book 10 Apples Up on Top? Click on the links below from the other members of the Preschool Book Club!

Baked Cotton Ball Apples Sugar Aunts
Ten Apples Up On Top! Playdough Activity Buggy & Buddy
Apple Sensory Bag Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
10 Apples Up on Top! Math Game Mama Papa Bubba