PS 159 Goes Apple Picking and Makes Apple Cider!

What an amazing fall day PS 159 students had! We arrived at Stuarts Fruit Farm bright and early before the crazy rush of apple pickers. Students were so excited to pick apples- big and small, sweet and tart. There was a ton of variety to choose from! After picking, owner Betsy Stuart gave us our own tour and showed us the apple sorter from the 1940s- that still worked! We saw the apples go up the conveyor belt and get sorted into small, medium, and large apples. Once sorted, the apples went through horse hair, where they became very shiny, and then went down a chute. Students then picked a super shiny, juicy apple to eat! After a great apple picking experience, we went to Westmoreland Sanctuary where outdoor guide Josh taught us all about how to make apple cider! We saw some apple trees, learned how apple trees are male and female, and then made apple cider. Students put their apples into the cider press where the apples first were they were cut up and then smooched down to have all the juice to come out. When doing the closing circle, when students were saying their favorite part of the day and something they learned, one student said, "One thing I learned was that apple cider comes from apples!"