Teach the kids about the origin of the tradition by telling them about Candlemas Day and how clergy would bless candles and distribute them to people in Europe. The day was a milestone in the winter, and the weather played an important role. As the old English song goes:
"If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again."
The Romans brought the tradition to the Germans, who took it to mean that if the sun appeared on Candlemas Day, an animal would cast a shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. In America, Groundhog Day was started by Pennsylvania's earliest settlers.
Tell children about Punxsutawney Phil, the famed groundhog, who made his first prediction on February 2, 1886. It took place privately in a wooded area just outside Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The next year, people began trekking to Gobbler's Knob to hear Punxsutawney Phil's prediction. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, there has been only one Punxsutawney Phil, and he's been making predictions every year since on February 2. The club claims that Phil gets his longevity from a secret potion called the "elixir of life."
Show the children how Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow by turning off all the lights in the room. Have one of the kids turn on a flashlight and shine it against the wall. Use your hand or a stuffed animal to slowly rise into the flashlight's beam, turn the animal or your hand toward the shadow and declare, "Six more weeks of winter!"
Have the children draw both versions of Punxsutawney Phil's predictions. Tell them that one takes place on a cloudy day and the other when the sun is full and bright, which casts Punxsutawney Phil's shadow along the earth. Teach them about the angle of the sun and how it affects the shadow. If it is high overhead, the shadow won't be very long; but if it is low in the sky, the shadow will stretch long because Punxsutawney Phil is blocking the beams from the ground.
Give a few fun facts to the children. Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long -- making him about 5 pounds heavier and 2 inches longer than the average groundhog. Groundhogs can whistle when alarmed or when they are courting. They eat greens, fruits and vegetables, and they need very little water because they get most of their water from moist leaves. And in 2001, the JumboTron at Times Square broadcasted Punxsutawney Phil's prediction to the people of New York.