THE FURRY LITTLE GROUNDHOG
(To the tune of "The Itsy-bitsy Spider")

MR. GROUNDHOG
(To the tune of "London Bridges")

GROUNDHOG DAY
(To the tune of "Where is Thumbkin? / Frere Jacques")

NINE LITTLE GROUNDHOGS
(To the tune of "Ten Little Indians")

DOWN IN HIS BURROW
(To the tune of "I’m a Little Teapot")

CLOCK SONG
(To the tune of  "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")

THE HOUR OF THE CLOCK
(To the tune of "Hickory Dickory Dock")

HAND WASHING TIME
(To the tune of "London Bridge")

GERMS ARE REALLY MEAN
(To the tune of "Hokey-Pokey")

GOT MY TOOTHPASTE
(To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")

Got my toothpaste, got my brush,
I won't hurry, I won't rush.
Making sure my teeth are clean,
Front and back and in between.
When I brush for quite a while,
I will have a happy smile.

ARE YOUR TEETH CLEAN AND WHITE
(To the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low!")

Are your teeth clean and white?
Do you always brush them right?

Do you brush them every morning?

Do you brush them every night?
Do you brush them side to side

so your smile is really wide?
Are your teeth clean and white?

Do you floss them good
To remove the bits of food?
Do you floss them every day?
Like you know you really should?
Do you take good care of
The teeth that you have there?
Do you floss them good?

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, Dear ____(child's name)
Happy birthday to you

(Chinese)
Zhu4 ni3 sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le4
Zhu4 ni3 sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le4
Zhu4 ni3 sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le4
Zhu4 ni3 sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le4

See the dragons dance and prance,
Dance and prance, dance and prance.
See the dragons dance and prance
On Chinese New Year's Day.

See the dragons hop, hop, hop,
Hop, hop, hop, Hop, hop, hop.
See the dragons hop, hop, hop
On Chinese New Year's Day.

See the dragons shake their tails,
Shake their tails, Shake their tails.
See the dragons shake their tails
On Chinese New Year's Day.

See the dragons turn around,
Turn around, Turn around.
See the dragons turn around
On Chinese New Year's Day.

See the dragons go to sleep,
Go to sleep, Go to sleep.
See the dragons go to sleep
On Chinese New Year's Day.

Beaded Necklace

Skill Level: Easiest
Cost: Under $5
Craft Time: 20 minutes

Materials:
string
beads in green, purple and gold

Instruction:
String beads in a pattern or create three strands of different lengths each one for a different color.  Tie off the end.

 

Mardi Gras Masks by Sarah Fairchild in Towanda, PA

Skill Level: Medium
Cost: $5-$20 (Approx. $10 dollars, depending on the items you purchase.)
Craft Time: 1 hour

Materials:
paper plate
acrylic paints (assorted colors)
glitter
Popsicle stick
glue
feathers

Instruction:
Cut the shape of a mask from the paper plate and paint the color of your choice.
Decorate.
Glue Popsicle stick to bottom of mask as handle.

 

Activities

Child Silhouette

• Have your child sit in a chair in front of a blank wall, facing sideways.
• Hang a piece of white paper on the wall behind your child’s head.
• Place a light source, so that your child is between the wall and the light source.
• A shadow of the side of your child’s head should appear on the paper.
• Use a pencil and draw an outline of your child’s profile onto the paper.
• Finally, remove the paper from the wall and cut out around the lines you have drawn.
• Use the white pattern to cut out a black paper silhouette of your child’s head.
• Let your child help you glue the black silhouette onto a piece of white paper.

Variation: Hang a large sheet of paper on a wall. Have your child stand in front of the paper while you draw around the shape of your child. Cut out the shape and have your child paint it black. Now your child will have a life-sized picture of their shadow to hang on the wall.

Variation: Place simple objects in front of a light source and let your child draw around the shadow onto a piece of paper.

 

Shadow Pictures

• Have your child take a sheet of white construction paper to an outside area.
• Have him/her hold their papers behind leaves or grass to create shadow pictures with the help of the sun.
• The pictures will last only a moment, but your child will enjoy sharing them with you.

 

Shadow Puppets

• Put up a light source and have your child stand between it and a blank wall.
• Have your child use his fingers, hands or whole body to create shapes on the wall.

Variation: Cut out simple shapes (check out pattern station) and glue them to a craft stick. Have your child hold up the puppet and move it while they stand between a light and the wall in a dark room.

 

 Groundhog Tunnels

• Using blankets and chairs, build a tunnel for your children to crawl through.
• Turn down the lights and when your child comes out of the tunnel, shine the light on him so he can see his shadow.

This game is for a group of children.

Dim room lights.

Have children form two lines, across from each other.

Have them reach across and grab the hands of the person across from them, forming a tunnel.

One end of the tunnel will be the front and one end will be the back.

Choose a child from the back of the tunnel to take a turn crawling through the tunnel.

As the child crawls – everyone recites:

"One little Groundhog crawling under ground
Crawled up her tunnel on her way to town.
When she peeked out"
 

At this point you either turn on a flashlight or you do not and that determines the end of the rhyme. 

 

Version 1:  You turn on the light and children continue the rhyme with
                And saw a shadow of her head.   
                She turned right around and crawled back to her bed!

With this version, the child comes out the back of the tunnel and proceeds to take a place at the front of the line.

 

Version 2:  You do not turn on the light.
               And no shadow could be found.
               She crawled right along on her way to town.

 

 

 

Holidays & Celebrations

 Setsubun - Bean Throwing Festival
February 3

In Japan, Setsubun is the day before the beginning of each season.  The name literally means "division of season".   Usually the term refers to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun, celebrated yearly on February 3rd (associated with the Lunar New Year).

Spring Setsubun is traditionally celebrated by the head of the household throwing pan-heated soybeans out the door, while chanting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!".  The literal meaning of the words is "Demons out! Luck in!" -- the beans are thought to symbolically purify the home.   In the Heian era, a famous Buddhist monk was said to have driven away Oni (demons or evil spirits) by throwing beans.

At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun.  Priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans (some wrapped in gold or silver foil), small envelopes with money, sweets, candies, and other prizes. In some bigger shrines, even celebrities and sumo wrestlers will join. Many people will come, and the event turns wild, with everyone pushing and shoving to get the gifts tossed from above.

Families will also put up small decorations of fish heads and holly leaves on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter.

 

 

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year does not fall on the same date each year, although it is always in January or February.

The Chinese New Year is an important festivity and is celebrated all over the world. There are similar celebrations in Japan, Korea and Vietnam known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival.

Celebrations are based on Emperor Han Wu Di's almanac. It uses the first day of the first month of the Lunar Year as the start of Chinese New Year.

Legend tells of a village in China, thousands of years ago, that was ravaged by an evil monster one winter's eve. The following year the monster returned and again ravaged the village. Before it could happen a third time, the villagers devised a plan to scare the monster away. Red banners were hung everywhere; the color red has long been believed to protect against evil. Firecrackers, drums and gongs were used to create loud noises to scare the beast away. The plan worked and the celebration lasted several days during which people visited with each other, exchanged gifts, danced and ate tasty comestibles.

Celebrations today are both literal and symbolic. Spring cleaning is started about a month prior to the new year and must be completed before the celebrations begin.

Typically red packets called Lai See Hong Bao (or Hongbao) with money tucked inside are given out as a symbol of good luck. The amount is usually an even number as odd numbers are regarded as unlucky.

Lions are considered to be good omens. The lion dance is believed to repel demons. Each lion has two dancers, one to maneuver the head, the other the back.

During the New Year celebrations people do not fight or be mean to each other, as this would bring a bad, unlucky year.

Everyone celebrates their birthday this day as well and turning one year older.

Foods during the holiday hold symbolism as well. Typically red meat is not served and one is careful not to serve or eat from a chipped or cracked plate. Fish is eaten to ensure long life and good fortune. Red dates bring the hope for prosperity, melon seeds for proliferation and lotus seeds means the family will prosper through time. Oranges and tangerines symbolize wealth and good fortune. Nian gao, the New Year's Cake is always served. It is believed that the higher the cake rises the better the year will be. When company stops by a "prosperity tray" is served. The tray has eight sides (another symbol of prosperity) and is filled with goodies like red dates, melon seeds, cookies and New Year Cakes.