...and has its very own day of appreciation?
The elephant, of course! (What - or who - were you thinking of??)
Elephant Appreciation Day has been celebrated every year on September 22, ever since the first one was declared back in 1996 by a company called Mission Media. Why elephant appreciation, you might ask. Well, why not? According to the Official Home Page for Elephant Appreciation Day, this most gigantic of days was declared for many reasons (which you may read if you click on the link in this paragraph), and because the company's founder, Wayne Hepburn, has quite a fondness for elephants.
There is no official central celebration - just have fun with it:
- If you have preschoolers, let them help you make some baked elephant heads. You can find a recipe at Child Fun Family Website - scroll down until you see "Recipes & Snacks," then "Elephant Heads." This page also has games, crafts, activities and songs for Elephant Appreciation Day.
- Teachers and parents can find Elephant Appreciation Day activities, lesson plans, coloring sheets, games and more at Crayola.com.
- Send your family and friends a painting done by a real live elephant - no lie - on elephant dung paper! (Seriously! Check it out: Elephant Dung Paper website.)
- Go to a zoo near you and visit the elephants.
- Watch Disney's Dumbo, and when it gets to the part about pink elephants, sing out nice and loud - and don't forget to act out your best elephant imitation! (You can find the lyrics and the video clip from the movie at the Disney Lyrics website.)
