Groundhog's Day

I am a little surprised that Noah did not learn about Groundhog's Day at school. Not because I think it has any historical value (I have no idea why the idea started) or he would be better off for knowing about it - I just thought it was something you talked about at school. We did.

And then I had a conversation about it with him. I got a better understanding as to why a kindergarten teacher might not broach the subject. Our conversation went something like this:

M - February 2nd is Groundhog's Day.

N - Like his birthday?

M - Ummm... no.... It's his day to predict the weather.

N - What?

M - He comes out of hibernation to tell us if we will have more winter or if spring is coming. If he sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, that means spring in right around the corner.

N - How does he know?

M - Well, there are some men that watch him when he comes out to see if he has a shadow.

N - What day is that?

M - February 2nd.

N - How does he know what day it is?

M - I'm not sure. Maybe he has a calendar.

N - Can groundhog's read?

M - I'm not sure.

N - If he's sleeping, how can he see his calendar?

M - That's a good question. Maybe he has an alarm clock.

N - What if it doesn't go off? What if he doesn't get up? Will it be winter forever?

And it just went on and on... Add another 19 innocent 5-year-olds to the conversation and a headache is almost guaranteed. Hence, the teacher not bringing it up, I suppose. (Of course, the whole week off due to snow days probably helps, too.)

Oh, and in case you didn't hear, Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow. Noah actually jumped up and gave me a high-five. Oh, please let the flowers start growing by February 13 (that's the day he keeps telling everyone) because I can only imagine what that conversation is going to be like.