Elephant Activities for Kids

Easy Crafts

• Print elephant coloring pages for the children to color with crayons, markers and paint. For added decoration, give them gray felt to cut and glue to the body of the elephant. Another easy elephant craft is an elephant mask. Print your own elephant head or the mask template from the Artists Helping Children website (artistshelpingchildren.org). Children can color and decorate their own masks. Help them to cut out the mouth, eyes and nose of the mask.Poke a hole on both sides of the mask and attach an elastic string so the children can wear the mask.

Relay Games

• Divide the children into two teams and have each team line up in a single file line. Mark a starting line and a finish line 30 feet apart. The first child in each team line will stick his arm out in front of him like the elephant's trunk and the last player will stick his arm out behind him like the elephant's tail. All players (except the last player) must stick one hand behind him and have the player behind him hold on to it. Both teams must race to the finish line without anyone letting go of each other's hand. The first team to cross the finish line wins the race. For individual races, give each child a circus peanut or unshelled peanut. Have them place the peanut on the ground at the starting line and push it with their nose to the finish line. The first player across the finish line wins the race.

Other Crafts

• Make an elephant pencil holder with a clean coffee can. Place tape around any sharp edges. Have the children cover the can with gray construction paper, as noted on the Kaboose website (crafts.kaboose.com/elephant.html). Have the children cut elephant ears and a trunk out of the construction paper to glue to the can. Give each child a set of googly eyes to glue on the can. For another elephant craft, give the children gray Play-doh to create their own elephant. Place pictures of elephants on the table for them to use as a guide. Let them use self-hardening clay to create a long-lasting elephant. After they create the elephant with clay, allow it time to dry overnight.

Hunt Games

• Find pictures of elephants online and in magazines. Cut out the pictures and place double-sided tape on the back of each picture. Hide the pictures all over the play area and see who can find the most elephant pictures. For another variation, hide unshelled peanuts or circus peanuts instead of the elephant pictures. Mix it up by hiding the pictures and the peanuts together. Award prizes to the children who find the most elephant pictures and peanuts.