Saturday is Groundhog Day!
This silly game from 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children is perfect for Groundhog Day, but children may even want to play it all year round! All you need is a blanket and a few shakers, noisemakers, or other rhythm instruments to play!
Begin by having the children all sit in a circle. Provide each child with a shaker to hold. Choose one child to be the "groundhog." The groundhog sits in the middle of the circle, hiding under a small blanket (this represents the groundhog's hole).
The children can then begin shaking their shakers very softly to the beat and sing the following song to the tune of Good Night, Ladies:
Wake up, groundhog,
Wake up, groundhog.
Wake up, groundhog,
It's Groundhog Day today!
At the end of the song, everyone should shout, "Wake up, groundhog!" and shake their shakers very loudly. Then the "groundhog" can pop out from under the blanket!
For more ideas to help every child enjoy and experience the magic of making music, check out 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children by Abigail Flesch Connors.
