Me And My Shadow - It's Groundhog Day!

Wiarton Willy Statue, Ontario Canada

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
                                   ~Old English Poem


Groundhog Day is only days away. Here in the USA, we celebrate it on February second each year. While we are in the midst of a snow weary winter here in the Northeast, I like to think that when Groundhog Day is here, spring can't be far behind, whether or not he sees his shadow! Right? Plus, I love special days that give us a reason to to play! 

Here are some resources that will hopefully help you "pop out" of those winter doldrums.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• Groundhog, woodchuck or marmot are common terms for the same animal. Closely related to squirrels, woodchucks actually can climb trees and also swim.
• The name woodchuck comes from the Indian legend of "Wojak, the groundhog" considered by them to be their ancestral grandfather.
• In hibernation groundhogs greatly reducing their metabolic rate, and their body temperature drops to just a few degrees above ambient temperature. During hibernation their body temperature drops as low as 39-40 degrees F.
• Groundhogs eat succulent green plants, such as dandelion greens, clover, plantain and grasses and garden vegetables. Woodchuck's binge and purposefully put on weight in the summer. By late August prepare for hibernation in October. By February, hibernating woodchucks have lost as much as half their body weight
• The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1886, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
• The groundhog's full name is actually "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary." It was so proclaimed by the "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" in 1887
• The name Punxsutawney comes from the Indian name for the location "ponksad-uteney" which means "the town of the sandflies."

The above information was gathered from these two sites:
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/story_station03/story_station_feb03.shtml
http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/96/2.1.96/facts.html

SIMILAR CELEBRATIONS

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day  

• A similar custom is celebrated among Orthodox Christians in Serbia on February 15 (February 2 according to local Julian calendar) during the feast of celebration of Sretenje or The Meeting of the Lord. It is believed that on this day the bear will awake from winter dormancy, and if in this sleepy and confused state it sees (meets) its own shadow, it will get scared and go back to sleep for an additional 40 days, thus prolonging the winter. If it is sunny on Sretenje, it is the sign that the winter is not over yet. If it is cloudy, it is a good sign that the winter is about to end.
• In Germany, June 27 (Also known as my birthday. Okay, so that's really not in the Wikipedia article but I was sure you would want to know :)  is "Siebenschläfertag" (Seven Sleepers Day). If it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy.
• In the United Kingdom, July 15 is known as St. Swithun's day. If it rained on that day, it would rain for the next 40 days and nights.

  

STORIES

Gluscabe Traps the Animals from Earth Care – World Folktales to Talk About by Margaret Read MacDonald.  
http://tinyurl.com/69yxfuj

Groundhog Dance – You can find a fun audience participation story about groundhogs, based on the origin above in Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the beginning storyteller by Margaret Read Macdonald.
http://tinyurl.com/49ujho9

Groundhog's Tale - An adapted folktale by storyteller Brian Ellis

https://www.foxtalesint.com/index.php/17-library/stories/39-groundhog-s-tale 

How the Groundhog Lost His Tail

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2019/09/story-of-day-how-groundhog-lost-his-tail.html

How the Woodchuck Helped Menabozho – Chippewa Legend
http://tinyurl.com/46k73go

Origin of the Groundhog Dance 
http://tinyurl.com/4suzjnm


BOOKS

The Best Groundhog Day Books for Kids
https://alittlelibrary.com/the-best-groundhog-day-books-for-kids/

CD OF STORIES PERFECT FOR THIS SPECIAL DAY

Groundhog Meets Grimm – Award winning Storyteller Megan Hicks adds her own flair to these well-known tales. You will definitely come out of hibernation to hear these stories again and again. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7147441

CRAFTS

Enchanted Learning - Ground Hog Day Puppet
http://tinyurl.com/33n3ndj

Enchanted Learning - There are also printables, crafts and curriculum ideas here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/groundhogday/

Groundhog Day Door Hangers - Want to make sure you get enough sleep? Make this fun door hangers and maybe you won't be disturbed. http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/groundhogprint_6.htm  

Ground Hog Day Finger Puppet
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/groundhog_day_finger_puppet.htm

CURRICULUM

Groundhog Day Activities! – Poetry, songs, art and more.
http://www.artisjoy.com/ghactivities.pdf

How Did the Groundhog Get a Day of His Own?
http://wilstar.com/holidays/grndhog.htm

Student Activity – Ground Hog Day Map
http://tinyurl.com/34z7vxo

Groundhog Day Crossword Puzzle http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/groundhogprint_3.htm

Ground Hog Day Word Search
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/groundhogprint.htm

Natures Big Sleep by Gardner Soule – An article from Popular Science magazine on the science of hibernation.
http://tinyurl.com/69a9d3u

Hinterland Who’s Who – Interesting fact sheet on woodchucks.
http://www.hww.ca/assets/pdfs/factsheets/woodchuck-en.pdf

FINGERPLAYS AND SONGS

Storybug.net: Seeking His Shadow: It's Groundhog Day!
This is a blog post I wrote to complement a toddler's lapsit program.
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/01/seeking-his-shadow-its-groundhog-day.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2011 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.