So. Do groundhogs chuck wood?

I'm really hoping that Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his little burrow tomorrow and doesn't see his shadow. I'm gonna need winter to be over. Work it on out, Phil.

And y'all. This is embarrassing...I guess. I didn't know until tonight that a groundhog and a woodchuck are one in the same. They're apparently also called land-beavers or whistlepigs too. Huh? Where have I been? Maybe this is common knowledge, but I had no clue. I learn something new every day. I probably wouldn't have added this extra wrinkle to my brain if I hadn't been researching some new groundhog activities for my students. Some people have the impression that we just "play" all day in kindergarten. Sure, we have our play and a whole lotta fun, but we learn a heck of a lot. I've learned so much just by preparing my theme units (science/social studies) for my kids.

All the groundhogs/woodchucks/whistlepigs/land-beavers around these parts would be too scared to come out of their burrows tomorrow. It is so windy here that it sounds like a locomotive is rollin' through my backyard. We're going to have 40-50 mph wind gusts tomorrow. That's so much fun. Especially for the hair. Glad tomorrow is a jean day at school. Definitely going to wear jeans and a hoodie.

I'm a firm believer that kids and animals are great weather predictors. They start acting all sorts of crazy when cold fronts move in, if snow is in the air, if it rains, if there's a full moon. You get the point. My Assistant and I also use kids hair styles as predictors as to what kind of day we're going to have in my classroom. If this particular child walks in with her hair like this...

We know it's gonna be one heck of a day. Holds true every time. Crazy hair=crazy day.

I hope everyone has a Happy Groundhog's Day!