**Note: This page is not officially affiliated with the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, who launched World Elephant Day. For official information about elephant conservation efforts, please visit reputable organisations such as the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation (www.elephantreintroduction.org), World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org), or Save the Elephants (www.savetheelephants.org).
Understanding World Elephant Day in EYFS & KS1
World Elephant Day, celebrated annually on August 12th, is a significant global event dedicated to raising awareness about the urgent plight of elephants worldwide. It was launched in 2012 by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand to highlight the critical need for their protection.
For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a powerful and engaging theme for exploring wild animals, conservation, and biodiversity. It's about inspiring awe and wonder for these magnificent creatures, fostering empathy for endangered species, and understanding the vital role we all play in protecting our planet's wildlife. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about global conservation both impactful and accessible.
Why Is Teaching About Elephants & Conservation Important for Young Children?
Integrating lessons about elephants and other wild animals into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is incredibly important for fostering scientific curiosity, ecological understanding, and a deep appreciation for the natural world. During their early years, children are often captivated by the sheer size and unique features of elephants.
Biodiversity and Habitats: Learning about elephants introduces children to different animal species and their diverse habitats (African savannas, Asian forests), highlighting the vast array of life on Earth.
Conservation Awareness: It presents a tangible example of an endangered species, helping children grasp the concept that some animals face threats and need our protection. This fosters an early sense of environmental responsibility.
Empathy and Respect: Understanding the challenges elephants face in the wild cultivates empathy for animals and encourages respectful attitudes towards all living creatures.
Scientific Inquiry: Exploring elephant characteristics (their trunks, tusks, ears, social behaviour) can spark curiosity about animal biology, adaptations, and behaviour. Our 'Elephant Pack' is a great starting point for this.
Literacy and Numeracy: Animal themes naturally lend themselves to learning new vocabulary, counting, and data representation, as seen in many of our animal and zoo animal resources.
Engaging Elephant & Animal Activities for World Elephant Day (0-7 Year Olds)
Making World Elephant Day a truly memorable experience is easy with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on discovery, creativity, and celebrating the gentle giants and other wild animals! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by the extensive range of printable resources we have available.
Here's some inspiration for bringing the power of the elephant and the importance of conservation into your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)
Elephant Trumpet & Movement: Encourage children to make elephant trumpeting sounds and move like elephants – walking slowly, swaying their "trunks," or stomping. Use our 'Wild Animal Sounds Mat - Phase 1 Phonics' to explore different animal sounds, including an elephant's.
Elephant Art & Mindfulness Colouring: Provide opportunities for children to draw or paint elephants. Focus on their large ears and long trunks. Our 'Elephant - Colouring (Mindfulness)' is perfect for calm, focused activity. You can also find elephants in our 'Animals of the World Mega Colouring Pack'.
Elephant Body Parts Exploration: Discuss the different parts of an elephant's body, especially their unique trunk and tusks. Use our 'Elephant - Body Parts (Free Sample)' and 'Elephant Body Parts - Poster & Writing Sheets' to guide this learning.
Decorate Elephant Masks: Get creative with our 'Animals - Decorate an Elephant Mask' and 'Animals - Decorate the Elephants' to design colourful elephants and masks. You can also use 'Zoo Animal Masks' and 'Zoo Animal Masks - Colouring'.
Zoo Role-Play: Set up a 'Zoo Dramatic Role Play Pack' area! Children can pretend to be zookeepers or visitors. Provide animal masks or puppets (our 'Zoo Animal Lollipop Puppets' and 'Zoo Animal Lollipop Puppets - Colouring') for imaginative play. Explore concepts like 'Match the Feeding Times - Puzzle' within the role-play.
Animal Sorting & Classification: Provide pictures of various animals and ask children to sort them into categories (e.g., wild animals, farm animals).
Favourite Animal Pictogram: Have children choose their favourite animal (or favourite large animal!) and create a simple pictogram using our 'Our Favourite Animals' Pictogram' or 'My Favourite/Favorite Zoo Animal Sheets'.
Animal Word & Alphabet Games: Expand vocabulary using our 'Zoo Animal Word Cards'. Explore the alphabet with our 'Animal Alphabet Horizontal Flashcards/Posters - Upper & Lower Case' or 'Animal Alphabet/Initial Sound Puzzles'. Our 'Animal Alphabet Multimats - Playdough, Whiteboard & Pen or Loose Parts' offer versatile learning. Try 'Animal Initial Sound Match Game' for phonics fun.
Numeracy with Animals: Our 'Animal Number Multimats - Playdough, Whiteboard & Pen or Loose Parts', 'Zoo Animal Counting Display Posters/Flashcards', and 'Colour & Count Zoo Animal Posters (1-20)' provide diverse ways to practice counting and number recognition. Our 'Zoo Animal Number Slice Puzzles (1-5, 1-10, 0-20) - Full Colour and Colouring Versions' offer puzzles for different age groups.
Zoo Animal Puzzles & Matching: Use 'Zoo Animal 2-Piece Puzzles' and 'Zoo Animals and Their Footprints Puzzle Matching Game/Activity' for problem-solving and recognition. Also try 'Zoo Animal Snap Cards'.
Conservation Discussion: Talk about why elephants are endangered and what we can do to help protect them (e.g. protecting their habitat). Use 'Zoo Animal Fact Cards' to learn more about elephants and other animals.
Zoo Trip Planning: If a real zoo trip isn't possible, plan a pretend one! Use our 'Zoo (Animal) Checklist' and 'Zoo Trip Pack' to guide the experience.
Animal Challenges: Engage in physical activities with our 'Zoo Animal Activity Challenge Cards'.
Display Ideas: Enhance your learning environment with 'Animals of the World' Display Banner & Headings', 'Animal Border Sheets (Horizontal)', 'Animal Border Sheets (Vertical)', and 'Zoo Animal Border Sheets'.
Planning Support: Don't forget to check out our 'Planning - Topic Plan Ideas - Animals' for broader context and more ideas.
These activities offer great inspiration for making World Elephant Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering a sense of wonder for wild animals and the urgent need for their conservation.
To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.
Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘World Elephant Day’
Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes
More Early Years Event Pages for August
Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children
Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!
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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'World Elephant Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this day. For official information, please refer to reputable online sources, and for broader elephant conservation efforts, consider exploring organisations such as the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation at www.elephantreintroduction.org, World Wildlife Fund at www.worldwildlife.org, or Save the Elephants at www.savetheelephants.org.
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