You may have observed an overabundance of observances these days. There is a day for everything: National Onion Ring Day, National Farm Animal Day and for goodness sakes, Tuesday is National Microwave Oven Day! Doughnuts have not one, but two Nationally proclaimed days in their honor. With so many things to honor day after day, it’s nice to get back to something that’s been around for a while.
The first Groundhog Day dates back to February 2, 1887, and honors a rodent meteorologist named Punxsutawney Phil. We all brace ourselves, hoping that Phil will not see his shadow and run back into his burrow. Especially for our friends in the North! Shadow = winter, or so Phil forecasts. It’s a fun tradition and come Tuesday, we will have another fun literary source to help us celebrate.
The first Groundhog Day dates back to February 2, 1887, and honors a rodent meteorologist named Punxsutawney Phil. We all brace ourselves, hoping that Phil will not see his shadow and run back into his burrow. Especially for our friends in the North! Shadow = winter, or so Phil forecasts. It’s a fun tradition and come Tuesday, we will have another fun literary source to help us celebrate.
Lovingly titled, Ground(hug) Day mashes up four long-time holidays, one of them being Valentine’s Day. Nestled in beautiful scenery by New York Times bestselling illustrator, Christopher Denise, our animal friends show tons of heart. Anne Marie Pace pins the ‘tale’ on Moose’s Valentine party, where everyone important must come to join him. But when you have a friend who retreats at the sight of his shadow right before Valentine’s Day, perfect attendance becomes impossible.
As the animals work their way through possible solutions, Groundhog emerges to see his shadow. This is where the story launches into an inquiry-based learning sequence that models many activities for preschool-2nd grade students. Alongside Moose, children can explore how to make shadows dance. They’ll enjoy exploring Bunny’s silhouette drawing segment, Squirrel’s cloud study, and Porcupine’s shadow puppets. With the four-holiday mash-up, students might also internalize a unique sense of time by creating a holiday timeline for each season.
The story addresses the whole child by highlighting social disagreements between friends, the value of listening to all ideas, and communicating to solve problems. Speaking to so many different areas of child development, this story ranks high on the useful meter.
As the animals work their way through possible solutions, Groundhog emerges to see his shadow. This is where the story launches into an inquiry-based learning sequence that models many activities for preschool-2nd grade students. Alongside Moose, children can explore how to make shadows dance. They’ll enjoy exploring Bunny’s silhouette drawing segment, Squirrel’s cloud study, and Porcupine’s shadow puppets. With the four-holiday mash-up, students might also internalize a unique sense of time by creating a holiday timeline for each season.
The story addresses the whole child by highlighting social disagreements between friends, the value of listening to all ideas, and communicating to solve problems. Speaking to so many different areas of child development, this story ranks high on the useful meter.
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