Groundhog Day is a fun celebration that can bring up a lot of academic conversations. You can talk about seasons, shadows, traditions, predictions, Punxsutawney Phil, and more with your little learners. So, I have gathered up some of my favorite Groundhog Day centers and activities for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students. There is also a Groundhog Day FREEBIE for you!
Grab the Groundhog Day Math & Literacy Centers and the Space Science Unit for shadow resources.
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Groundhog Day Centers and Activities for Literacy
Groundhog Day Prediction Graph! Create this Groundhog Day prediction graph for a great way to talk about Groundhog Dayduring your circle time for a whole group idea to talk about predictions, most, least, and equal to with your students. It would also be the perfect way to discuss graphing in small groups. I made it the day before, and then we reviewed it on February 2nd after the groundhog made his prediction. (picture coming soon)
Groundhog Day Book List! Check out my roundup of Groundhog Day books that are appropriate for little learners. There are titles that are short in length, silly, educational, and more on this book list. There are great fiction and nonfiction book s for read-alouds during circle time.
Ten Grouchy Groundhogs Retelling! This book is so much fun and will have your little learners laughing and learning. I made some groundhog popsicle stick characters so students could act out and help retell the story. I love doing story retellings during circle time to keep my students engaged on the carpet. Tape paper strips on the back and make agroundhog finger puppet!
>>Grab these groundhog puppets by filling in your email in the box at the bottom of the post.<<
Feed Me Letters! This printable groundhog feed me game is so much fun for all levels of students in your classroom. You can differentiate this game by having students practice capital letters, lowercase letters, both sets of letters, names, and sight words. This is a fantasticway to meet your students where they are.
Shadow Letter Find! Have your students practice identifying letters with these fun shadow letter mats. I had students use black gems to cover the matching letters. This is a fun way to pass those weeks of winter by.
Groundhog Writing Center! I love how this groundhog-themed writing center turned out! I have letter tracing mats, themed paper, vocabulary words, black paper, and chalk for some of my writing table supplies.
Groundhog Writing Tray! Use black sand or dyed salt to create a shadow writing tray. Students can practice writing letters, words, names, or different kinds of lines. There are so many literacy activities with one tool! If they don’t like using their finger, you can give them a pom pom to write with.
Shadow Letters & Sounds! Use these letter and beginning sound mats to practice literacy skills with your young children. They can match letter manipulatives or laminate the mats, and students can use dry-erase markers to write the letter.
Shadow Syllables! Students identify the shadow shape and then count the number of syllables. Lastly, they build a tower with linking cubes with the corresponding number of syllables.
Shadow Letters! Create this butcher paper activity for Groundhog Day with some letter manipulatives, flashlights, and markers. I am using these letter blocks on the butcher paper. Then, students can shine a flashlight on the letter and trace the shadow or write the letter.
Groundhog Day Centers and Activities for Math
Groundhog Number Formation! Use these number formation cards to help students practice number formation, number identification, and ten frames. Students can use manipulatives or a dry-erase marker to form the numbers while they practice math skills.
Groundhog Patterns! Practice patterns with your little learners with a groundhog theme. I gave students pom poms to finish the patterns. Other manipulative ideas are buttons, glass gems, play dough, or mini erasers for pattern math activities.
Shadow Shape Light Table! Set up a light table activity for your students to practice sorting shapes. I laminated black tissue paper and cut it into shapes. I made a small and a large shape so students could also talk about size. I had students use transparent pattern blocks to sort into the shadow shapes.
Groundhog Shapes! Give students an opportunity to practice shape identification with these fun shape clip cards. Your little learners will develop fine motor skills by using the clothespins to identify shapes. Make this self-checking by placing a sticker or mark on the back of the correct answer.
Burrow Number Mats! Practice one-to-one correspondence, counting, and number identification with these groundhog burrow number mats. Add in tweezers for even more fine motor development. Some manipulative ideas are small rocks, mini erasers, glass gems, pom poms, beads, play dough, buttons, etc.
Seasons Roll & Count! Here is another butcher paper activity for a Groundhog Day theme. Students roll a die and put that many manipulatives into the cloud or sunshine. I gave students some dot stickers and stackable counters for our counting manipulatives. To make it more difficult, give students 2 dice, and they can practice informal addition skills.
Groundhog Day Centers and Activities for Fine Motor & Sensory
Groundhog Sensory Table! I dyed chickpeas with acrylic paint to create this Groundhog Day sensory table. I painted some yellow, white, and light blue and left some natural. I added in some pom poms, mini erasers, cardboard tubes, measuring cups and spoons, and black glass gems.
Groundhog Play Dough Tray! This bright play dough tray is sure to be a hit with your little learners! Grab some play dough, weather-themed cookie cutters, glass jewels, black and green glass gems, mini erasers, and play dough tools to create this fine motor play dough tray.
Groundhog Cutting Craftivity! This cutting craftivity turned out so cute and was very simple for my little learners. Precut the groundhog if that is too much for your students. Glue the groundhog on the blue paper and then add the green fringed grass over top. Get this craftivity in the Groundhog Day centers.
Groundhog Trace FREEBIE! Practice pre-writing tracing lines on these cute groundhog tracing printables. Laminate the mats to use over and over again with dry-erase markers.
>>Grab the groundhog tracing mats FREEBIE by filling in the box at the bottom of the post with your email.<<
Groundhog Day Centers and Activities for Art, Science, and Blocks and STEM
Groundhog Chalk Art! Create a shadow chalk art piece with your students. I used the outline of the tracing freebie above to create a groundhog shape template. Then, tape the groundhog to the black paper. Students will use their chalk to color around the outside of the groundhog. Lift the groundhog template off, and you are left with this fun shadow art. You can also do this activity with white paint, oil pastels, or colored pencils.
Shadow Investigation! Talk about shadows with your students for a fun learning experience. Grab some items from around your room and give students a flashlight to shine and create shadows. You can find these shadow printables and more in the Space Science Unit.
Groundhog Positional Words! These positional word cards are perfect to add to your blocks or STEM area during your Groundhog Day study. I gave students brown felt, cardboard tubes, and blocks for some of their building materials. If you don’t have groundhog figures, there are little groundhog printable ones in the Groundhog Day Centers. These positional word cards are one of my favorite Groundhog Day activities!
There are so many fun Groundhog’s Day centers and fun activities you can do in your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom. Which ones are you going to try in your lesson plans? I hope for a sunny day each year in hopes of an early spring! Remember to grab the Groundhog Day Centers for all the printables!
Get the Space Science Unit for all the shadow printables.
Check out these posts for more spring ideas!
Check out the video to see these Groundhog Day centers and activities in action.
Get the Groundhog Day centers FREEBIE below!
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