How To Stage Your Own Groundhog Day

Create a den outside. Cover a table with a blanket or tablecloth that reaches the ground and put your groundhog’s cage, carrier, or a cardboard box underneath it so one side peeks out from under the cloth. Then, make a decorative sign with the groundhog’s name and tape it over the entrance.

Write two ceremonial scripts, each on a piece of white construction paper. For both scripts, state the date and various weather predicting titles of your groundhog. Finish one with a short rhyming proclamation about early spring, and the other about six more weeks of winter.

Turn each script into a scroll. Wrap one end of a script around a pencil, and roll it to the center of the page tightly so the paper stays coiled when you remove the pencil. Then, roll the other end of the sheet to the center of the page. Repeat the process with the other script.

Stash your critter in its den, gather your audience, and welcome them to the Groundhog Day festivities. Then, knock three times on the groundhog’s home and coax them out.

Using your fluency in Groundhog-ese, listen to whether the groundhog sees its shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter, or sees no shadow and spring is on the way. Once you have the little oracle’s prediction, thank it, place it back in its den and read the appropriate scroll to your eager audience. That beats a TV weather report any day!