September 22nd is Elephant Appreciation Day.
Materials
- white tagboard
- scissors
- gray construction paper
- white glue
- stapler
- black marker
- 25 mm wiggle eyes
What to Do
- Make tagboard patterns for an elephant head, trunk, tusks, and ears (see page 70).
- Help children trace the head, ears, and trunk on gray paper. Cut out.
- Help children trace the inside of the ears on pink paper. Cut out.
- Let the children glue wiggle eyes, ears, tusks, and trunk to their elephant's head.
- When dry, make a headband the size of each child's head.
- Help the children staple the headband to the elephant head.
- Demonstrate how to curl up the end of the trunk.
- Encourage the children to put on their elephant headbands and play. If desired, have the children walk like elephants with their arms hanging low.
More to Do
Geography: Find Africa and India on a map or globe.
Group or Circle Time: Discuss the differences between African and Indian elephants. Explain that African elephants have larger ears and tusks than Indian elephants. They also have two finger-like extensions on the ends of their trunks. Indian elephants have just one finger-like extension, and more of a hump in their backs.
Language: Talk about elephant terminology. The mother is a "cow," the father is a "bull," and the baby is a "calf."
Related Book
The Saggy Baggy Elephant by Kathryn Jackson
Submitted by Mary Brehm, Aurora, OH.
