Preschool Theme Groundhog Day

Groundhog's Day

In 1793 the Delaware Indians settled in the area now known as Punxsutawney. The name Punxsutawney in Indian means "town of sandflies". Phil lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and he is believed to be over a century old.

Every year on February 2nd the Punxsutawney club hikes up to Phil's burrow on Gobbler's Knoll and waits for him to emerge. Phil lives in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump in a staged area.

Goundhog Day is February 2nd and is also known as Candlemas, which goes back in history to biblical times.

There was a medieval superstition that all hibernating animals came out of their caves and dens on Candlemas to check on the weather. If they could see their shadow it meant that winter would go on for 6 more weeks and they could go back to sleep. A cloudy day meant spring was just around the corner.

The early German settlers brought this custom to the United States, choosing the groundhog as their animal to watch as a sign of spring.

Gross Motor:	Make a Groundhog's Burrow - find a box large enough for your child to fit in (the supermarket usually has them to spare) then have your child decorate it like a groundhog's home, paint it brown then draw trees & flowers on it. Have your child pretend to be a Grounghog crawling in & out of their "hole".
Fine Motor:	Groundhog Maze - get Phil out of his burrow.
Visual Perception:	Explain to your child that shadows are caused by objects that get in the way of the sun or a bright light. On a sunny day go outside and have your child find their shadow. At night shine the light from a film projector or lamp on a bare wall. Turn off the lights in the room. Let the children stand in front of the light & make their own shadows. Ask them to make big shadows, little shadows, animal shadows and moving shadows.
Language:	Talk about the seasons:- summer, winter, spring & autumn. Do you get snow in winter where you live? Is it steamy hot in summer?
Suggested reading:	Gretchen Groundhog, It's Your Day!	It's Up to You, Griffin!

HERE'S A LITTLE GROUNDHOG sung to "I'm A Little Teapot"

Here's a little groundhog,
furry and brown,
He's popping up
to look around.
If he sees his shadow,
down he'll go.
Then six more weeks of winter
- oh, no!

When using the Groundhog worksheets make sure your child uses the correct:

Pencil Grip
Did he or she manage the Visual Perception task?

To learn how to teach these skills correctly, improve your child's abilities and help prepare your child for school use the Get Ready For School program.

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