To See or not to See (his Shadow that it is) - Punxsatawney Phil and Groundhog Day

photo © 2005 Silvers Family | more info (via: Wylio)
It's the age old question: Will we have 6 more weeks of winter? The only one that truly is equipped to deal with that is Punxsatawney Phil the Groundhog from Pennsylvania... !

Every February 2nd before sunrise Phil is brought out from his home at Gobblers Knob in Punxsatawney PA, to determine if he 'sees' his shadow. If he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. No shadow means ...Spring is around the corner.


Groundhog Day - February 2nd - holds fascination for many... especially children. Here is some information and activities for those interested in Groundhogs and Groundhog Day!

The Official Groundhog Club Site: Here you can find information about the history of Phil, past predictions and fun facts.


Hoghaven: Here you can listen to sounds of groundhogs.

Kaboose: This page gives craft directions to make a felt portrait of Phil.


Primary Games: Interactive games such as a Word Search, Puzzles, and Jumble can be found at this site.


Groundhog Day & Possum Nights: A talking storybook by Tom Tittle


Surfnet: This site has a fun concentration game for kids.

Treats: To celebrate Groundhog's Day perhaps you could make some fun treats like these cupcakes:

photo © 2009 Mark Levisay | more info (via: Wylio)


I'll let you discover if Punxsatawney Phil declares more winter or spring. One thing I will tell you....he predicted the Pittsburgh Steelers will WIN the Superbowl!


Please take a moment to share how you like to celebrate Groundhog's Day by placing your answer in the AnswerGarden.



How do you like to celebrate Groundhog's Day?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Media Frenzy!

The newest assignment in the 30 Day Teacher Blog Challenge is adding different media to your blog. Although I am new to the blogging scene, I have often inserted different media types into my classroom website. Items ranging from student created VoiceThreads and Xtranormal Videos, homemade Youtube Videos and Animoto and PhotoPeach Slide Shows have become regular visitors to our classroom website. (By clicking on the links you will see how these sites have been used in a fourth grade class.)

I'm sure that many people have embedded the media mentioned above. So I decided I would try to find something different to embed. Recently I discovered Blabberize . I also decided that I would try it in combination with my Avatar assignment. The 'Welcome Message' at the beginning of my blog was created using Blabberize and Build Your Wild Self. (Sometimes it takes a while for Blabberize to load - I was having trouble replaying my creation - hope it works for you.)

Also, via the Techie Lab Teacher Blog Post I was introduced to this site and have decided I'd like to try this with my class as a way to get feedback on certain topics. So I thought before I use it with my students perhaps you could answer this question for me with Answer Garden : What is your favorite media type to embed in your blog?



What is your favorite media type to embed?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Since posting this last night - I decided to try and find some different media...thinking about easy Web2.0 tools my students could use. I found this: Dvolver Moviemaker....its very simple and not real looking, but it's easy to use. I made this in about 3 minutes with some prompting.  (I have removed my Dvolver. I found that it would play as soon as the page was opened up.  There was no pause button or no way to stop it from playing.  I felt this conflicted with the embedded Blabber at the top).