JUST FOR KIDS
AN APPLE A DAY
by Lucretia Voigt
Fall is apple time. If we lived on the mainland, we could take our kids apple picking, letting them climb up rickety ladders, stretching the full lengths of their bodies in search of that one elusive perfect apple just out of reach. That scenario makes most mothers break out in a cold sweat, grab the first aid kit and rock gently in the corner, scenes of emergency room visits playing in their minds.

For those of us who prefer the non-emergency room visit apple picking, the grocery stores and produce shops on island are stocked with fall apples. Apples can make a mom's job a lot easier in many ways. Even when my son Holbrook will not eat anything on his plate, I can always get him to eat an apple. I'm not sure why, but I definitely don't question it. Because he is enamored with apples, I push that love affair as far as I can.

Kids of all ages love to cook, and making applesauce is an easy way to get them involved in making their own food. My kids are more likely to eat something if they have a hand in preparing it. Of course, that could have something to do with my lack of cooking skills, but let's not go there.

Holbrook mixes it up in the pot. PHOTO BY LUCRETIA VOIGT

As preparation before you enlist the help of your toddler, peel three to four pounds of apples. You can use one kind or a combination. I like using some fuji and some granny smith - it makes for a nice combination of sweet and tart. After the apples are peeled, put your toddler to work slicing and coring the apples. Now, don't give your toddler a knife and set him loose. There are products on the market that makes slicing and coring apples easy and safe enough for even the most daredevil toddler. You can buy one at the grocery store when you stock up on apples, or you can order one off the Internet. If you decide you don't want to take that route, core and slice the apples when you peel them.

When the apples are peeled, cored and sliced, have your toddler put them in a large pot. Let your toddler use a vegetable peeler to extract four strips of lemon peel from a lemon. Add the lemon peel strips to the apples. Cut the lemon in half and wrap each half in cheesecloth and let you toddler juice the lemon over the pot. Both of these steps are toddler favorites!

Have your toddler measure and add to the pot 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and one cinnamon stick. Cover the pot and place it on the stove on high. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the apples from the stove. Remove the lemon wedges and cinnamon stick from the pot. Let the apples cool until they are just warm. Now comes the fun part! Let your toddler mash the apples with a potato masher to make applesauce.

One of my favorite toddler books that introduces apples and numbers is "Ten Apples Up On Top" by Theo LeSieg (which is Geisel spelled backwards, aka Dr. Seuss). Toddlers love the slapstick element of the balancing acts and the falling apples. They don't realize they are learning to count to 10.

For kindergarten and early elementary school kids, "Apple" by Angela Royston tells the life story of a red delicious apple, from a blossom on an apple tree to the harvest in the fall. It teaches one of those lessons I constantly harp on: food comes from the earth, not from the grocery store. If your child is beginning to read on his own, both the Ready to Read series and the All Aboard Reading series have stories about Johnny Appleseed.

While you're waiting for the apples to cool before your toddler can mash them, your child can flex his creative muscles with the aid of apples. Lay out some paper either on the table or another flat surface. Computer paper is too thin, so try to use cardstock or poster board. Laying a plastic table cloth on the floor as a play area makes clean up easy - and makes tiny toddlers feel right at home. Cut an apple lengthwise through the core, and another apple horizontally through the middle. Fold a paper towel and place it in the middle of a plastic lid or shallow plate. Pour finger paint onto the center of the paper towel. If you want multiple colors you will need to prepare a plate for each color. Dab the apple onto the paper towel, then make a print on the paper. Let your child be as creative as he can be by using different colors and patterns, or by taking a foray into the world of modern art.

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but I've always been a little skeptical of that saying. I do know it can keep your child's boredom away, though, and as a mom I'll take that over being a stranger to

the doctor any day of the week! I