February 2nd is Groundhog Day, a holiday originated in the late 18th century from the custom of early German-speaking Pennsylvanian immigrants.
According to the legend, if Groundhog emerges from his burrow on February 2nd and sees his shadow because it is sunnyโ๏ธ๏ธ and fearfully retreats back into his burrow to keep hibernating, then Winter๐จ will last six more weeks. If, on the other hand, the weather is cloudy ๐ฅ๏ธ and Groundhog is not scared away by his shadow, but rather remains outside, then Spring ๐ธ will come early that year. We read this Groundhog Day book to learn more about the holiday.
To discuss the holiday, I made a pdf describing the legend as well as some fun facts about groundhogs.
FUN FACTS for KIDS:
- Groundhogs are rodents and are the largest animal in the squirrel ๐ฟ๏ธ family.
- Groundhogs live in the Eastern part of ๐บ๐ธNorth America.
- They are omnivores ~ meaning they eat both: meet and plants. Their favorite food is, however, plants like grass, berries, and vegetables. But they will also eat grasshoppers, insects, and snails. Groundhogs can swim and are excellent tree climbers, which they climb to get fruit.
- Groundhogs hibernate ๐ค from October to late March, meaning they spend their winters sleeping.
- Groundhogs have a littler of 4-9 babies, called a kit or cub, who are born hairless, helpless and blind.
- Groundhogs can live up to 6 years old, escaping predators like foxes, raccoons, coyotes and farm dogs.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/202312783
I then offered Adrian to compose the word "groundhog" using Montessori Small Wooden Movable Alphabet (buy here). Movable Alphabet is used for "writing" or composing words, as well as for familiarizing with the letters and their sound after learning the letter sounds with the Sandpaper Letters (lower case buy here). Below, Adrian is composing the word "groundhog" from preselected letters.
The largest Groundhog Day Celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
At Gobblerโs Knob on Groundhog Day
We celebrate a world-wide Holiday
Itโs mighty cold weather, youโve been braving
Is it more winter or is it spring that youโre craving?
Since youโve been up all night and starting to tottle
I, Punxsutawney Phil, shall not dawdle
My faithful followers, I could clearly see
A beautiful, perfect shadow of me
Six more Weeks of ๐ฌโ๏ธWinter, it shall be! โ๏ธ
HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!
We shall enjoy six more weeks of Winter ๐ฌโ๏ธ๐จโ๏ธ!
p.s. See a live stream of Phil predicting on Feb 2nd 2018 here ~ Six more Weeks of๐ฌโ๏ธ๐จโ๏ธWinter, it shall be!
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