Monday, February 2nd marks the 128th Groundhog Day. The first one was celebrated back in 1887 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The tradition says that if the groundhog comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see he shadow it means there will be an early spring.
Whether or not you buy into the whole idea of a rodent predicting the weather, there are fun activities you can do with your family that center on this quirky holiday.
Fun with Shadows
A shadow is the key element to this Groundhog Day. Why not have fun with your own shadows or shadows you create. Jean Van’t Hul over at the Artful Parent has a great idea that combines creating grape sculptures and tracing the shadows. Sarah at, How Wee Learn, also shares fun creations to build and then the kids trace the shadows. Rebekah at Just for Daisy shows how interacting with and playing with shadows is a fun activity for toddlers.
Shadow Book
A shadow book starring your children is a fun idea from Erin Wing at Small Types. On a bright sunny day, Erin, armed with a camera, took her two-year-old outside. She had her son do a variety of actions; run, jump, squat, while she took a photo of the shadow. She then compiled the photos and sentence about each one into a wonderful keepsake book for them to read together.
Groundhog Day Snack
Here is fun snack to make and have your kids eat while you are reading a Groundhog Day book to them. It's made with pudding, chocolate cookies (or Teddy Grahams) and a vanilla wafer.
Groundhog Day Books
Here are some fun books about Groundhog Day to read with your family.
Grumpy Groundhog by Maureen Wright and Amanda Haley
Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons
Punsxutawney Phyllis by Sysanna Leonard Hill and Jeffrey Ebbeler
10 Grouchy Groundhogs by Kathryn Heling
Groundhog Day by Michelle Aki Becker
Meet the other Groundhogs
The History Channel has fun article about other groundhogs besides Punxsutawney Phil.
http://www.history.com/news/beyond-punxsutawney-meet-the-other-groundhogs
Happy Groundhog Day!
