Easy Needle Felted Food

Every fall I make a number of handmade items to be sold at our school's winter fair. The proceeds benefit the school's financial aid reserves. My children always get the itch to play with wool too. So this year, for the first time, I let them try needle felting. I was sure my kindergartener would stab himself with the felting needle but he didn't. Neither did my 8 year-old.
Guess who stabbed herself three times? Yes, that would be me. And I chose a difficult project and it isn't close to being finished. Kids: 2. Me: 0.
My younger son chose the apple, which is a bit simpler to make than the pumpkin. Both begin as balls. Each one takes some shaping attention on the top and bottom. The pumpkin gets felted ridges, too.
To my surprise, it was my younger child who had more patience for felting, not the older. While his older brother was content to call the work done, my 6yo was content to sit and stab the apple for as long as it took to get the shape just right.
Who knew?