Groundhog Day

 Kate's little foot and hands make this groundhog popping up to let us know that he has seen his shadow and we will have six more weeks of winter.  That's no surprise since it's snowing like crazy outside, certainly no signs of spring around here.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day happened to fall on a day when we also had tennis, the Superbowl, and our Fourteen Days of Love.  We still made a little time for tradition.  We didn't actually watch any of the news coverage, but we did google the results to find out that Phil saw his shadow and forecasted six more weeks of winter - no surprise there.

After lunch, I whipped up a very quick groundhog pudding treat.

Happy Groundhog Day

This special Groundhog Day cocoa has become a tradition in our house.  This is the third year we have made this in the morning.  Just like Punxsutawney Phil, our groundhogs saw their shadows.

The directions for Groundhog Day cocoa can be found at Gourmet Mom on the Go.

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.

Groundhog Day

If you are looking for a cute Groundhog Day idea, check out my post from last year featuring these super cute pancakes:

You can also check out the Groundhog Day hot cocoa we made last year:

They are both on the menu for this year too!  Groundhog Day is so much fun!

Happy Groundhog Day

When I saw this Groundhog Day hot cocoa, I knew I had to make it!  You can see that these groundhogs saw their shadows.

You can find directions to make some Groundhog Day hot cocoa for yourself at Gourmet Mom on the Go.

Punxsutawney Phil Comes to Breakfast

Tuesday, February 2, is Groundhog Day.  Last year, I saw these groundhog day pancakes at Gourmet Mom on the Go and bookmarked them with the intention of making them this year.  Well, believe it or not, I remembered and actually made them this year.  I think they came out great.  This is how you make them:

First, cut an apple in half and take out the core and seeds.  Then fill the hole with a scoop of peanut butter.  The peanut butter is not necessary, but it adds some protein and tastes yummy.

Then, place each half of the apple cut side down on a plate.  This will provide the base for two groundhog day pancakes. 

Next, make some pancakes (any recipe will do) and cut a small circle in the center of your pancakes.  Lay the pancake on top of the apple and place a doughnut hole ("munchkin" in this neck of the woods) on top of the opening.

The munchkin is the groundhog's head.  Cut a mini marshmallow in half and use some icing to stick both halves on as the whites of the eyes.  Then use more icing to stick some m&m's on for the eye color.  Stick a red m&m on for the nose, and two peanut butter chips for ears.

We used some green icing to look like grass and pink icing for some spring flowers. 

Now, let's just hope that Phil does not see his shadow.  We are ready for some spring weather here in the northeast.

Have a happy Groundhog Day!

February

On the one mild day we had this week, we played outside with our puppy, Kelly. We also made some Hugging Valentines (this idea came from No Time for Flashcards). C & R enjoyed reading about Groundhog Day and making this groundhog that pops up out of the cup and looks for his shadow.

With more snow on the ground and freezing temperatures this week, we stayed inside and made paper plate snowmen. I think this craft idea came from a Montessori blog.

We also made the letter "J" out of jelly beans and played the Arthur jelly bean game (this is on the back cover of the book, "Arthur's Jelly Beans" by Marc Brown). Finally, we did a lot of jumping - forward, sideways, and backwards, as well as jumping jacks.

We didn't get to our bear activities this week, maybe next week.