Winter? Spring? What will it be?! Groundhog Day is just around the corner, and I’m excited to include this mini unit of Groundhog Day Preschool activities in our Preschool curriculum! If you’re looking for ways to incorporate this festive event into your learning time, this theme is for you!
Table of Contents – JUMP to click ahead!
Rainbow Theme Sensory Bin
One of the easiest ways to add excitement and hands-on learning to your preschool week is with a themed sensory bin. So many of the activities in our Groundhog Day Preschool pack incorporate a sensory bin, so it’s best to knock out the preparation early on! Our rainbow sensory bin is always a hit—it’s simple to put together and offers tons of playful learning opportunities! Here’s how I like to set ours up!
FIRST, gather your materials. I like to use a plastic storage bin with a lid so I can cover and store the bin once it’s prepared. Choose your filler, like the dry black beans we use in ours. Something about the black beans really makes all the rainbow colors in our Groundhog Day theme POP and gives children a very unique texture to experience. Once you’ve chosen your filler, fill your storage bin as much as you feel comfortable with (knowing each individual child can handle working with different amounts of materials).
NEXT, grab some extra rainbow colored items like mini erasers, cut up straws, colorful pompoms, etc. These items make the perfect backdrop for the printable items in our Groundhog Day Preschool pack! Scatter them throughout your sensory bin filler and watch the theme really come to life!
FINALLY, choose a space that you feel comfortable using the sensory bin with your child. I tuck ours away in our homeschool room with the rest of our Preschool manipulatives, and keep our sensory bin blanket nearby for when it’s time to get to work. The rule with our bins – everything stays on the blanket! This makes clean up SO much easier.
READY, SET, PLAY!!! When your sensory bin is not being used for the printable activities in our Groundhog Day Preschool theme, allow children to explore freely! Watch them scoop, pour, dig, and more! I love taking our bin our when I need a little extra quiet time for homeschooling an older child, or honestly if I just need an extra minute to sip my hot coffee!
Groundhog Day Theme Overview
This Groundhog Day Preschool theme is sure to give your little learners TONS of fun practice! Children will have 6 center-style activities to choose from – 2 Math, 2 Literacy and 2 Fine Motor centers. In addition, I’ve included book recommendations for 5 Groundhog Day theme picture books and links to their read aloud videos on YouTube!
We love using a Preschool mini theme like this when we have some extra time in our learning time or are looking for an extra special addition to our regular themes! They’re perfect for fitting in as you can.
PS See how we use this theme in our Preschool scope and sequence by grabbing our FREE Preschool Curriculum Map below!
Counting Mat
Counting mats are super fun additions to sensory bins! To use this activity, children choose a 10 Frame card and count the number of suns on their card. Then they’ll use the printable groundhog shadows to build the matching number of shadows their groundhog saw! To move on, simply remove the shadows and choose a new card!
Shape Puzzles
These Groundhog Day shape puzzles are just so sweet! To use, children complete the shape puzzles by building the cutie little groundhogs! To make this activity even more fun, try laminating the pieces and adding this make-your-own magnet strip tape. Then have kiddos build magnet puzzles!
Alphabet Building
I absolutely love activities that can be used a bunch of difference ways, and these alphabet cards are no exceptions! We start off by using them as alphabet building cards – using manipulatives from our sensory bin to build the letters or by tracing inside the lines. Then we use them in a variety of ways! Practice ABC order by placing the cards in the correct alphabetical order, review the sounds each letter makes, or even use them as flash cards letter identification practice!
Alphabet Clip Cards
We LOVE clip cards! To use this set of cards, children identify the letter on the left side of the card. Then they’ll find and clip the matching letter on the right side of the card. This is one of my favorite activities for the littlest learners because it strengthens fine motor skills while helping them practice letter identification, something that takes lots and lots of practice!
Groundhog Patterns
Pattern building is another great way to combine fine motor skills practice with academics. And because pattern building is a gentle academic skill, these strips are a wonderful introduction activity for even the youngest learners. We use these strips in several ways! First, we identify the colors we see on the strips. Then we choose manipulatives from our sensory bin to COVER the groundhogs. From here, we EXTEND the patterns by adding manipulatives beyond the strips.
Groundhog Matching
Matching mats are some of our favorite sensory bin activities! To use this mat, children choose adorable Groundhog Day themed cards from their sensory bin and place them on top of the matching pictures on the matching mat.
Ready to learn with your toddlers or Preschoolers ALL MONTH LONG?! You can save TONS when you grab this set of centers in our February Preschool Curriculum! The bundle includes 4 engaging February themes (like Valentine’s Day, dinosaurs, and more!), complete with a week of lesson plans for each! You’ll also get 25 NO PREP Valentine’s Day theme fine motor skills worksheets and crafts, and 38 NO PREP Math and Literacy worksheets for extended practice!
Let’s hang out!
I hope this post helped you get a better look at our Groundhog Day Preschool activities! Got questions? Let me know! I’d love to chat and get to know you better! You can find us below in some of our favorite places to hang out. Can’t wait to chat with you about your Preschooler’s learning journey!
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