It’s fall! Cooler weather is here, and so is pumpkin spice everything! In the North Hemisphere, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter. Daylight becomes noticeably shorter, and the temperature cools considerably as the leaves change and fall from the trees.

It’s time to use the bounty of this season to further your homeschool teaching!

Apples and Adjectives!

Using apples, help your children practice their adjectives. Purchase many different types of apples. Using the internet, look up the names of the apples you purchased and their attributes. Create a casual matching game of the apples and their characteristics. Parents cut up the apples for sampling. Have each child sample a slice and describe it. Is it sour? Sweet? Crunchy? Soft? Juicy? Afterward, have them see if they can correctly guess the name of the apple.

Make your own mummy!

You don’t have to live in Ancient Egypt to enjoy this experiment! After enjoying all your apple slices, how about mummifying apples?

You will need apples, 1/3 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup salt, and plastic cups. Using your leftover apple slices, place each piece in a separate cup. Mixing the baking soda and salt together, pour this mixture on top of one of the apple slices. Make sure the apple is covered completely. Next, put the cups directly in sunlight for one week. After the week is over, pour out the salt and baking soda mixture and notice the apple’s changes.

Why did this happen?
Looking at your apple slices, you can see that one has become rotten. However, the slice that was covered in the salt and baking soda has not rotted away. It’s turned into a mummified apple!
Both salt and baking soda are called desiccants. Desiccants are substances that remove water from other materials they make contact with. Without the water, the bacteria that rot the food cannot grow.

In Ancient Egypt, this similar method was used to preserve bodies after death. Instead of using baking soda and salt, they used a substance called natron.

For extra fun, you could try mummifying a whole apple. Peel the apple, and draw a picture with a marker. Placing the apple in a cup, cover it entirely with the baking soda and salt mixture. Leave undisturbed for a week. When you empty the baking soda and salt mixture, you’re left with your very own apple mummy head!

Check out the homeschooling resources at Rainbow Resource Center.