What is Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day is an American tradition celebrated on February 2nd in Punxsutawney, Philadelphia. During the celebration the emergence of Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog, is said predict the coming of spring. If Phil sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter is forecasted. If Phil has no shadow it is said there will be an early spring.
Why February 2nd?
Candlemas takes place on February 2nd and is the approximate midpoint of winter. European old wives’ tales and folk rhymes prognosticated that a sunny Candlemas predict cold weather. When Germans immigrated to American they brought the tradition that if a hedgehog saw their shadow on Candlemas, a long winter was ahead of them. This tradition was changed to groundhogs in American because there were no hedgehogs.
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
How accurate is Phil?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found Phil to be right about 30% of the time over the last 10 years.
Read More About Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day! – Gail Gibbons
Groundhog Weather School – Joan Holub
Groundhog Day – Lisa M. Herrington
Videos About Groundhogs
Groundhog Day Activities
Color by Numbers Groundhog Day Worksheet – I give worksheets like these to my preschoolers while I work individually with my middle schooler
Pretend to be Groundhogs – I will send my preschoolers outside to pretend to be groundhogs and they will circle whether it is sunny or cloudy out
Chalk Shadow Illustration – If it is sunny out, I will trace my preschoolers’ shadows and let them color them in
Wonder Question – I will ask my kids if they have questions about any of the phenomena we have read about or delve deeper in a topic we read about. My middles schooler will research information about at least one of our “wonder questions” and will present it to his siblings and me.
Groundhog Day Sample Schedule
Introduction (10 mins): I will ask the kids what day it is and will have them recite the Candlemas poem.
Reading (30 mins): Read Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons and take time to answer questions Watching a video about Groundhog Day is a good stand in to this.
Activity (15 mins): My kids will pretend to be groundhogs. They will go outside to see if they have a shadow. Observations will be recorded on groundhog weather prediction worksheet. If they see their shadow, I will have them take turns tracing each other’s shadow and coloring it in.
Concluding Activity Preschool (15 mins): Kids will go inside and follow the groundhog drawing tutorial and will take inspiration from outside for their background.
Concluding Activity Middle School (30 mins): My oldest will research and write a short answer response to his wonder question. He will then give the preschoolers a short oral narration of the answer to his younger siblings.
Bonus Activity: I will leave groundhog color by number worksheets out for the younger kids to color throughout the day.
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