# Watercolor Apple Tree Craft
> Squirt green and yellow liquid watercolors onto coffee filters to make leafy treetops, glue on red pom pom apples, and stand them in brown-painted paper roll trunks. Arrange the trees in a tray of green lentils for an orchard pretend-play scene.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/watercolor-apple-tree-craft/
- Ages: 3–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 20 min, activity 45 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: fine-motor, color-mixing, absorption-science, counting, pretend-play, language, creativity
- Cautions: ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Liquid watercolor paints (dark green and yellow)
- 2 piece Coffee filters
- Plastic transfer pipettes
- Red pom poms
- Glue
- Thin cardboard (cereal box) or paper bag (household)
- 1 piece Paper rolls (e.g. toilet paper rolls) (household)
- Brown paint
- Paintbrushes (household)
- Scissors (household)
- Paper towels (household)
- 1 piece Large plate or shallow container (optional) (household)
- Green lentils (optional) (household)
- Tiny toys or figurines (optional) (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of cardboard: Paper bag (The author used paper bags for the backing and they worked just fine.)
- Instead of green lentils: Any non-food filler (The author says any non-food item works for the orchard ground.)
- Instead of large plate: Shallow container

## Safety
- Pom poms, dried lentils and tiny toys are small parts and a choking hazard. Supervise closely, especially with children under 3 or kids who still mouth things.
- Liquid watercolors and paint can stain hands, clothes and surfaces. Cover the table and use smocks.
- An adult cuts the cardboard circles and the slits in the paper rolls, or supervises scissor use.

## Before you start
- Collect paper rolls (one per tree) and thin cardboard or paper bags.
- Cover the table with paper towels.

## Steps
1. Set coffee filters on paper towels. Squirt dark green and yellow liquid watercolors onto them with a pipette to mix a leafy green.
2. Let the coffee filters dry.
3. Cut circles from cereal-box cardboard or a paper bag and glue them behind the dry filters.
4. Dab glue on the leaves and stick on red pom pom apples. Count them as you go.
5. Paint the paper rolls brown for tree trunks and let them dry.
6. Cut a couple of slits in the top of each roll and slide a leafy circle in.
7. Optional: fill a large plate or shallow container with green lentils and arrange the trees into an orchard.
8. Add tiny toys and tell stories about the orchard.

## Tips
- Squirting the vibrant watercolors on the coffee filters is the most fun part for most of the kids.
- The coffee filters do a great job of absorbing the liquids, and this may be a good lesson by itself.
- Cereal boxes work for the backing. We actually used paper bags and they worked just fine.
- Gluing on the pom pom apples is great for fine motor skills and for counting.
- You can stop at the trees and keep it as a craft. My children used the trees for a long session of pretend play.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2015)

T Turn a fun apple craft into props for pretend play. While engaging their creativity and their finger muscles children can create an end product and use them for pretend play. With apple season around the corner, we are exploring more kids activities with an apple theme. Today we share creating apple trees with coffee filters and liquid watercolors.

**[Want more apple crafts for kids?](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/apples/)** Materials

- [Liquid Watercolor Paints](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042SR5R2/?tag=blmemo-20)
- [Coffee Filters](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NEWA1Q/?tag=blmemo-20)
- [Plastic Transfer Pipettes](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IQTSE0/?tag=blmemo-20)
- [Pom Poms](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00114Q4KO/?tag=blmemo-20)
- Glue
- Paper Bag/thin cardboard

 The first of this apple craft is the most fun for most of the kids. Squirting our vibrant watercolors on coffee filters to create the leaves. The kids used both dark green and yellow to mix the color to give the leaves a nice leafy green color. The coffee filters does a great job of absorbing the liquids and this may be a good lesson by itself. { We have had fun with a couple of **[absorption science activities](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/absorption/)** before}



We let the coffee filters dry for a while. Once they are dry cut out circular cardboard { cereal boxes work} and glue them behind the coffee filters. We actually used paper bags for this purpose and they worked just fine. Now you have liquid watercolored apple tree leaves.



Next step is a great for developing fine motor skills and for counting. Set out red pompoms and glue. The children glue "apples" to the leaves.



A simple apple tree craft with a healthy dose of fine motor exercise.



Next step is to create the apple tree trunks. We used paper rolls and painted them brown. { We have created apple tree trunks in a super sensorial way earlier. Try our **[apple tree craft for toddlers}](https://www.funlittles.com/make-an-apple-tree-the-toddler-way/)**



Make a couple of slits and insert the coffee filter apple tree leaves. You can leave the trees at this and keep the activity as a apple tree craft. But my children used the trees for a long session of pretend play. They used a large plate { you can use a shallow container} and filled it up with green lentils { you can use any non-food item } and arranged the trees to create an orchard. Then they added tiny toys and wove long stories about the orchard. What a great way to develop language, fine motor skills, creativity, imaginative skills and counting skills - all through a simple hands on apple tree craft activity!



Thanks for reading