World Giraffe Day | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with World Giraffe Day. World Giraffe Day is an annual celebration initiated by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF). It is observed on June 21st, the longest day or night of the year, to recognise the giraffe as the world's tallest land mammal. The day aims to raise global awareness about the challenges giraffes face in the wild and to raise funds for conservation efforts. The GCF works tirelessly to ensure a future for wild giraffes in Africa. For official information and details, please visit the Giraffe Conservation Foundation website: www.giraffeconservation.org/world-giraffe-day.

Understanding World Giraffe Day in EYFS & KS1

Let's look up to the tallest animal on Earth for World Giraffe Day! 🦒🌍🌿

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully exciting and crucial theme for exploring animals, habitats, conservation, height and measurement, and understanding the world. It's about inspiring children with a love for wildlife, teaching them about the importance of protecting endangered animals, and helping them understand the role of organisations like the GCF. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about nature, science, and empathy both essential and wonderfully fun!

Why Is Learning About Giraffes Important for Young Children?

Integrating World Giraffe Day and themes of wildlife and conservation into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) is a fun way to build a connection to the natural world and promoting a sense of global citizenship.

• Fosters Empathy for Animals: Helps children connect with a specific, beloved animal and understand its unique needs.

• Introduces Conservation Concepts: Explains, in an age-appropriate way, the importance of protecting animals and their habitats.

• Develops Awareness of Biodiversity: Highlights the variety of life on Earth and the reasons why some species are at risk.

• Enhances Observational Skills: Encourages children to look closely at animal features, patterns, and behaviour.

• Sparks Creativity and Curiosity: Giraffes are visually unique, inspiring children to explore art, movement, and imaginative play.

Engaging Giraffe & Animal Activities for World Giraffe Day (EYFS & KS1)

Let's get ready for a giraffe-themed adventure for World Giraffe Day with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on discovery, creativity, and learning how we can help! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated ‘Zoo’, ‘Animals’, and ‘Endangered Animals’ resources.

Here's some inspiration for celebrating World Giraffe Day in 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. Emphasise positive messages about trying your best and being a good teammate.)

Learning About Giraffes

• Giraffe Fact-Finding: Use our 'Zoo Animal Fact Cards' and other resources to learn fun facts about giraffes. You can also research why they have such long necks and tongues and what they eat.

• Measuring Giraffe Height: Use a long piece of paper or string and measure how tall a giraffe is (around 5 metres!). Let children lie down on the floor to see how many of them it takes to equal a giraffe's height.

• Giraffe Role Play: Use our 'Zoo Dramatic Role Play Pack' to set up a zoo in your setting. Children can be zookeepers, zoo visitors, or giraffes! Use our 'Zoo Animal Lollipop Puppets' or the colouring version to act out stories.

Creative Giraffe Crafts & Play

• Design a Giraffe: Use our 'Design Your Own Zoo Animal Sheets' to let children draw and design their own giraffe with unique patterns.

• Giraffe Spot Painting: Give children a piece of yellow paper and some brown paint. They can use their fingers or a sponge to create the unique spot patterns of a giraffe.

• Giraffe Puppets: Use our 'Zoo Animal Lollipop Puppets' to create a giraffe puppet and put on a show.

• Giraffe-Themed (and other animals) Colouring: Use our 'Animals Of The World Mega Colouring Pack' or the specific 'Zoo Animal Colouring - With Name & Footprint'.

Literacy & Numeracy

• Counting & Numbers: Use our 'Zoo Animal Counting Display Posters/Flashcards' or the full set to count the spots on a giraffe or count how many giraffes you can see in the pictures. You could also play a counting game with 'Colour & Count Zoo Animal Posters (1-20)'.

• Giraffe Story Time: Read stories about giraffes, such as "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae. Discuss the themes of the story and how the giraffe feels.

• Alphabet Fun: Use our 'Zoo Animal Alphabet Display Cards' or the full set to learn the letters in the word 'giraffe'.

• Matching Game: Use our 'Animal Sorting Game/Activity' or 'Zoo Animals And Their Footprints Puzzle Matching Game/Activity' to match giraffes with other animals or their footprints.

Understanding Conservation

• Giraffe Talk: Have a group discussion about why giraffes might need our help. Talk about the importance of keeping their homes (habitats) clean and safe.

• Zoo Visit Role Play: Use our 'Zoo Trip Pack' to pretend to visit a zoo and learn about the animals. Discuss how zoos and organisations like the GCF help to protect giraffes.

• Animal Snap: Play a fun game of snap using our 'Zoo Animal Snap Cards' or 'Animal Picture Snap Cards'.

• Explore Our Extensive Animal Resources: Due to the vast number of animal-themed printables, narrow your search using our dedicated pages:

  • Animals

  • Beach School

  • Birds

  • Endangered Animals

  • Fish

  • Forest School

  • Habitats

  • Invertebrates

  • Life Cycles

  • Mammals

  • Minibeasts

  • Ocean

  • On the Farm

  • Pets

  • Polar

  • Reptiles

  • The Environment

  • The Enormous Turnip (for a story with farm animals)

  • The Little Red Hen (for a story with farm animals)

  • Under the Sea

  • Wetlands

  • Wildlife

  • Woodland

  • Zoo

• Planning Support: Use our ‘Planning - topic plan ideas - animals’ for comprehensive planning.

These activities offer great inspiration for making World Giraffe Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering animal awareness, conservation ethics, and a lifelong love for wildlife.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘World Giraffe Day’

(For additional resources please visit the topic pages listed above.)

Free EYFS & KS1 ‘Giraffe’ activities and printable resources:

EYFS & KS1 ‘Giraffe’ activities and printable resources from our ‘Zoo’ collection:

EYFS & KS1 ‘Giraffe’ activities and printable resources from our ‘Animals’ collection:

Looking for additional ‘Animal’ Themed activities and printable resources for EYFS & KS1?

Due to the vast number of ‘Animal’ themed printables we have on Little Owls Resources, you may wish to narrow your search by using the buttons below:

More Early Years Event Pages for June

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 Giraffe Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), which organises this annual initiative. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information and details, please visit the Giraffe Conservation Foundation website: www.giraffeconservation.org.