Elephant Art Projects for Preschool

Elephants are great subjects for preschool art projects.

You and your preschool students can watch a "Babar" movie or read a book from the "Babar" series and then enjoy elephant art projects. The projects include working with your students on activities like baking and decorating circus elephant cookies. You and your class can also make a circus elephant puppet and be a part of a circus parade.

Bake Circus Elephant Cookies

To make the circus elephant cookies, you will need elephant cookie cutters and butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla and flour. This recipe will make about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size of cookie cutters.

Oven should be preheated to 400 degrees.

2 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

2 egg

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

5 1/2 c. flour

Let the children help to place the cream butter and sugar in large bowl then mix with a hand mixer. Mix in egg and vanilla then add baking powder and flour, 1 cup at a time. Next mix the dough well by hand then roll it out 1/8 inch thick.

Let each child cut a cookie out with the elephant cookie cutter. Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake on top rack of the oven for 6 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

Decorate Circus Elephant Cookies

To decorate your cookies, you will need two to three cans of white icing and blue food coloring, five to 10 ready-to-use icing tubes, assorted sprinkles in plastic containers and small candy eyes (one for each elephant cookie). Mix white icing and a few drops of food coloring with a spoon for the elephant's body. Let each child spread blue icing onto their elephant with a plastic knife then place one eye on the side of the elephants head. Then let each child sprinkle on the candy toppings to decorate their circus elephant.

Color and Cut Out Elephant Puppet

Your students will need elephant body part worksheets, scissors, glue sticks and paper bags to make their circus elephant puppets. You will also need beads, feathers, etc. to give your elephant puppet that circus look. Each child will color and cut out the body parts for their elephant puppets. They will next use their glue sticks to glue the head, body and legs of their circus elephant onto their paper bag. Finally they will glue on the beads and feathers.

Assemble Elephant Puppet and Preform Elephant Chant or Song

Teach the "Circus Elephant" chant to your students using your circus elephant puppet:

"Circus Elephant"

A circus elephant I went to see

He had four legs and was bigger than me.

He had two ears big and round

And one long nose that made a sound (Ahrrrrr!, Ahrrrrr!)

Then let everyone stand in a circle with their puppets and repeat the chant as you march around the circle in your circus elephant parade.

References

• Cooks: EASY COOKIE DOUGH
• Everything Preschool: Preschool Elephant Songs and Music
• First School: Bag Elephant (Head)
• First School: Bag Elephant (Body)