Thank you for coming back another day for the On This Day in American History series!
On this day in American History, February 2, 1887, the first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
If you would like more details on how to use these On This Day in American History posts, please see this page: On This Day in American History in Your Homeschool
You can click here to see all of the posts in this series: On This Day in American History Series
February 2 – First Groundhog Day is Observed
On February 2, 1887, the first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The tradition of the groundhog predicting the beginning of spring weather grew out of the German customs of Pennsylvania in the 18th century.
To do:
1.) You or your younger siblings might enjoy this set of Groundhog Day Worksheets and coloring pages. Also, there is a Color by Code set of Groundhog Day pages that include addition and subtraction with sums to 10.
2.) Download the map of Pennsylvania, cut it out, and glue it in your Notebook of Knowledge. Draw a red box around the town of Punxsutawney. Draw a green circle around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital. If you are traveling from Punxsutawney to Harrisburg, would you travel east or west?
3.) What happened with the groundhog in Punxsutawney this morning? Did he see his shadow? Write what happened in your notebook, and what the custom says will happen with spring!
(Hint: If the groundhog does see his shadow, custom says he will go back in the ground because there will be six more weeks of wintry weather. If he does not see his shadow, tradition says it will be an early spring!)
If you are new to On This Day in American History
If you are new to On This Day in American History, Welcome!
Each day, I share an interesting event that occurred in our nation’s past. You will learn about famous Americans, interesting inventions and their patents, American art and music, and more.
You will also find suggested activities – labeled “To do” – if you would like to research this during your homeschool’s group time in the morning, or you can assign the activities for your children to work on independently.
If you think you will do more than one day of On This Day in American History, I would encourage you to have your child keep what I call a Notebook of Knowledge. A spiral notebook or sheets of paper stapled together is more than adequate!
Have your child write the day’s event and the date at the top of his paper. If there are writing activities, have him use his best composition, grammar, and penmanship as he completes the answers. After just a few weeks or even a month, he will have an excellent resource to read through!
If you would like to use this resource throughout the month, you might be interested in purchasing the full February Calendar. It contains:
- Access to the webpage with all of the February events listed, including all suggested activities for each daily event.
- A .pdf of the February Calendar, listed in chronological order with all suggested activities
- All necessary downloads to complete the assigned activities. These same downloads are linked on the webpage, however, they are also included here for easy access.
- The answers to any questions asked in the daily activities.
You can purchase that here:
On This Day in American History: February 1 – Lincoln Signs 13th Amendment
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