Monday, October 31, 2011

Apple

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

- Hope you are all well as many people are starting to come down with colds as the weather is changing and getting colder. As you see, this month's Blog is about 'Apples'.

An apple is a symbol of a teacher and knowledge. Since the 18th century, it's been a traditional present for teachers in the United States (Denmark and Sweden too). Some think the practice originated as a simple gift of food for poorly paid teachers. In the old days, children brought apples to their teachers on the first day of school. They hoped the apples would impress their teacher and the new school year would be off to a successful start. This is how the term "apple-polisher" originated in the 1920's.

Apples have excisted as a wild fruit since prehistoric times and have been cultivated for more than 3000 years (perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated). Apples start to grow in the spring and are usually ready to pick early in the fall. In America, fresh apples are everywhere in the fall. Three quarters of them are eaten fresh. The rest are used to make apple pie, apple juice, apple sauce, etc. The U.S. is second only to China in apple production.

'Apple' is also one of the first words my son learned. He uses it to call any fruit. It is one of the many fruits that he loves.

Click here to see video: 8 months old Taiga eating apple








This month I also bought my first Apple product, the i-phone 4s. As I'm very behind the times when it comes to technology/gadgets, this is a good step in the right direction for me. It's fun to be able to use it to check internet and ask my new friend, Siri, questions or for help. The camera is also amazing.