Groundhog Day Crafts & Activities

Make a groundhog's home
Find a box large enough for a child to crawl in & let them decorate it like a groundhog's home. Paint it , draw trees on it, etc.. Then let them pretend to be groundhog's crawling in & out of their "hole".

Groundhog Puppets
Using brown construction paper, cut groundhog faces about 1 1/2 in across. Spread glue on face and attach thin whisps of cotton to represent fur. Glue on paper eyes, nose and mouth. Attach to a popsicle stick. Cut a slit in the bottom of a small paper cup & have the children push the bottom of the stick into it. Show the children how to make the groundhog appear & disappear. Using these puppets, sing this song & have the children act out the movements.

Imagine!
Let a child pretend to be a groundhog and "pop" out of a cardboard box. Light directed at the "groundhog" will produce his shadow. One time the child can see his shadow & "pop" back down & another time he will not see it so the "groundhog" stays up to "play".

Groundhog Puppets
Use felt-tip markers to draw groundhog faces on the top halves of tongue depressors. Give them each a small paper cup with a slit in the bottom. Have them push the bottoms of their tongue depressors through the slits in their cups. Show them how to move their sticks up & down to make their groundhogs appear & disappear.

If I Were A Groundhog
Have the children draw pictures of what they would do if they were groundhogs & saw their shadows. Ask them to describe their pictures as you write down their stories on their papers.

Groundhog Mask
Have children color a paper plate brown & then cut out holes for the children's eyes. Cut a nose & mouth from construction paper & glue on plate. Punch a hole on each side of the plate & attach yarn. Tie around child's head.

Brown Playdough
Mix up a batch of brown playdough & sculpt groundhogs.

Groundhog Tunnel Game
Have the children line up in a row. To form a tunnel, have them stand close together with their legs apart. Let the last person in the row be the groundhog. Have the first groundhog crawl through the tunnel on his or her stomach. When the groundhog reaches the end of the tunnel, have him or her stand up & become a part of the tunnel while a new groundhog starts wiggling through.

Shadow Tag
Let the children play shadow tag on a sunny day. Choose a child to be "it". Have "it" try to step on another child's shadow. Then "it" steps on someone's shadow, that child becomes the next "it".

Shadow making
Explain to the children that shadows are caused by objects that get in the way of the sun or a bright light. Shine the light from a film projector, a slide projector or a lamp on a bare wall. Turn off the lights in the room. Let the children stand in front of the bright light & experiment with making their own shadows. Ask them to make big shadows, little shadows, animal shadows and moving shadows.

Mr. Groundhog
Let the children take turns being Mr. Groundhog popping out of his hole (a larger cardboard box). Arrange room so that you can create or take away a shadow. Overhead lights would eliminate a shadow & a low light aimed directly at the "groundhog" would create a shadow.

Groundhog Tunnel
Cut a hole in each end of a large cardboard box. Have children crawl in one end & out the other end.

Groundhog Maze
Set up a maze in room by using tables & chairs. Kids can pretend they are groundhogs crawling through their tunnels.

Shadow Project
Have the children make their own "shadows" out of black bulletin board paper. I send each "shadow" home with the children with the following letter:

Daycare Parents:

Let me introduce myself, I am ____________'s Shadow. My name is Flat

_________________. I would really enjoy it if you would send me through the mail, to one of your family members or friends that live out of town. Please ask them to take me to two or three points of interest around their town and take a picture of me. (They can use tape and tape me up or prop me up against something. Get creative!!) I would also appreciate a picture of me with them and one with __________________ and their family. I also have a mini- journal that I would like someone to write about where I've gone and all of my adventures.

You can send this letter with me, so it can help explain.After that, please have them fold me up and send me, the journal, and the pictures back to ____________________ by March 10th. At that time, I will get with ______________________ and their class and talk about my adventures, read my journal and look at my pictures.

Other Flat Kids are going to other places and getting their pictures taken, I can't wait to find out where I'm going!!!

Thanks for taking care of me!

Signed,

Flat _________________________

 

PS: If you have any questions about this fun project, please let Sharon (____________'s teacher) know! She'll be more than happy to help!