Happy Groundhog Day!

C and R get very excited about Groundhog Day.  Even though I have explained that Phil does not really predict the weather accurately, they still think the whole thing is fantastic.  C was angry that he has to go to school on Groundhog Day!  If we had snow, instead of this awful freezing rain, he would have had the day off.  We did have a ninety minute school delay this morning, which gave us just enough time to make a little groundhog hot cocoa to go with our groundhog books.

You can see that our groundhogs saw their shadows despite how dark and gray it was this morning!

We have been reading:

Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller - In this very cute book, Groundhog has the flu and posts an ad for a substitute groundhog to fill in for him on Groundhog Day.  Several animals apply, but they just aren't right for the job.  Finally, Armadillo, who is in town from Texas visiting his cousin, Badger, offers to do the job.  When Armadillo sees his shadow, he invites Groundhog to return to Texas with him where there is already nice spring weather.  We read this book last year when we were studying the state of Texas, and we made this very cute armadillo craft.

Go To Sleep, Groundhog! by Judy Cox - Groundhog tosses and turns, but he just can't get to sleep.  He decides to go for a walk each time he wakes and sees wonderful things like jack-o'-lanterns, turkeys, and holiday lights.  Each walk ends with a different holiday character (witch, turkey, and Santa) bringing him home and tucking him in to bed.  When he finally wakes up at the right time, he is happy to see that he has six more weeks to sleep because he is exhausted!  There is a nice description of the Groundhog Day tradition at the end of the book.

I'm not surprised that Phil didn't see his shadow seeing as though the entire country seems to be gray and snowy right now, but as I look out my window, there is absolutely no sign of spring.