Each child needs a whole plate and a half plate. Color and decorate the top of the whole plate with an outdoor scene. Color the back of the half plate brown. Staple the half plate to the bottom of the whole plate, creating a pouch. This is the groundhog’s burrow. Leave a hole at the bottom large enough for a craft stick. Cut a groundhog image from card stock and glue it to the craft stick. Children place the groundhog inside the plates and slide the stick up and down to move the groundhog in and out of its burrow.
Turn a paper plate upside down and color or paint the surface brown. Draw a groundhog’s face—large eyes and a mouth—and cut them out. Make small, curved ears from construction paper and glue them high on the plate. Glue on a small pink pom pom for the nose and pipe cleaners for whiskers. Punch holes in the sides of the plate and add pieces of yarn to tie the mask in place.
Provide a picture of a groundhog as a reference. Children turn over two paper plates and color them brown. They create the face of a groundhog on one paper plate, using colored construction paper—brown, black, red, pink, blue and white—to make the eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears and whiskers. Younger children may need precut pieces. Glue the pieces to one of the plates. Staple the plates together, leaving an opening at the bottom wide enough for the child’s hand.
Cut out a large circle in the center of a paper plate, leaving only the outside rim. Color or paint the rim. Give each child a small pattern of a groundhog. They trace, color and cut out several groundhogs to glue around the rim. Decorate remaining parts of the rim. Punch a hole in the top of the plate and tie ribbon through the hole to hang the groundhog wreath.
Print copies of a groundhog pattern. Give each student two patterns. They draw and color the groundhog’s features on one pattern. They color the second pattern black and use it for the groundhog’s shadow. Glue the colored groundhog onto a paper plate that has been decorated. Glue the shadow to the bottom so the feet of the patterns touch, and the shadow hangs off the plate.