My child wants to grow an apple tree from apples picked in a local orchard. Are there any special steps to prepare the seeds or do you just sprout them in wet towels and then plant?

try some of them fresh from the apple using the wet towel method,but also try some that have dried for a few days then put them in the fridge as some seeds need a period of cold to sprout. at any rate,if you do get a seed to sprout,don't expect it to produce good fruit as most apples are from hybrid trees and will not produce fruit or the fruit will not be edible. good luck.i have tried everything to get some pear seeds to sprout. no luck so far. wish me luck also.hope this helps