Johnny Appleseed lessons

In September everyone starts thinking of back to school, apples, and in my case apples make me think of Johnny Appleseed. The funny thing is when I first started to write this post back in the beginning of August I had great plans of making this big huge Johnny Appleseed unit, and then I started thinking about who he was. I changed the intent of my post, I’m still going to share some Johnny Appleseed resources. He’s a fun person to study as a history lesson or as part of an apple unit for a science lesson.

(I’m going to throw a few affiliate links in here, just so you know)

What comes to mind with Johnny Appleseed

See I look at Johnny Appleseed and I see a man who loved nature and loved God.  He traveled throughout the United States planting apple trees and taking care of the world.

This got me to thinking, and I reread Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”  God put man into the garden to work it and take care of it, in other verses God tells us to be fruitful, subdue the earth, and rule over the animals (Genesis 1:28).

Then I started thinking more and thinking more about Johnny Appleseed’s life.  I’ve heard many people recently crying out “There are too many people, we need to move back to nature, get away from things,” and I think that reaction is too extreme.  Johnny Appleseed gets me to thinking about taking care of things, not fighting about things.

I got to thinking, how can I be more like Johnny Appleseed?

I don’t have a green thumb, as a matter of fact, there are very few plants I can successfully grow. That picture is the closest I really get to a garden.

I don’t particularly want to go exploring and wandering far away from other people, while I’m an introvert, I still like people, sometimes.

I realized the thing I admire most about him is how Johnny Appleseed did what he thought was right regardless of what others thought or how they responded.  I’d like to think I do that.  Maybe not always, but I’m trying to.

How does this relate to science?

Well, I’ve been realizing some areas I’ve been slacking in lately, was one of Johnny Appleseed’s greatest loves (I tried just writing Johnny, but it looked weird).  He loved nature and wanted to care for it.

I’ve been slacking in that area recently because it’s hot right now.  I don’t really want to spend time outside when it’s 100.  Not unless I’m in a swimming pool.

So, this is my statement that I’m getting back into it, because I want my kids to value nature, and God’s creation.

I’m going to work at being better with nature studies. I’m going to work at looking for opportunities to care for this world (one thing I consistently still do is pick up trash I see in the road and put it in the nearest trash can).

A quick look at my suggestions:

• Nature Study for preschoolers
• 5 Quick Nature Study Tips
• More Easy Nature Study Ideas
• Identifying Rocks using a guide

This post is in conjunction with other bloggers from iHomeschool Network to let you know about famous birthdays in the month of September.

Johnny Appleseed books

For obvious reasons, these are pretty much all going to be the same story told over and over again. I recommend picking a couple of different ones, to compare how the story is told and what details each book focuses on.

• Johnny Appleseed by Rosemary Benet– A nice look at his life
• Johnny Appleseed by James Kunstler– Apparently you can get this narrated by Garrison Keillor…
• Johnny Appleseed: a tall tale by Steven Kellogg- I love Steven Kellog’s illustrations, they’re always fun
• Johnny Appleseed by Madeline Olsen (looks to be out of print and not even on Amazon, but it’s at my library)
• Johnny Appleseed: the legend and the truth by Jane Yolen- I have to admit, the author’s name alone made me want to get this book. I enjoy her How Does a Dinosaur books, and Devil’s Arithmetic, but this is a great way to compare the history and the legend
• Johnny Appleseed by Jane Kurtz– Jane Kurtz does some amazing easy readers, that I highly recommend
• Johnny Appleseed by M.J. York
• The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed– This is a fun and older version with lovely watercolor illustrations
• Seed by Seed: the legend and legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman– a fun pseudo time travel book where a pair of children wander back in time to see what the country was like at his time

But if you actually want Johnny Appleseed Resources

I put a call out to my online friends and here are the great resources they gave me (along with a few I found on my own):

• Johnny Appleseed lapbook
• Johnny Appleseed unit
• Johnny Appleseed unit study
• History of Johnny Appleseed

And because Future Ticia 2023 likes to have videos, and I’m updating this post now, here is a good summary of the history of the man who I believed for the longest time was just a tall tale.

More Apple Ideas that aren’t about a person

• Preschool Apple Unit
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World lesson
• Homemade Applesauce
• Apple Muffin Recipe
• Applesauce Ornaments

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