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When was the last time you stopped being curious?

Remember wondering, pondered and …?

Walt Disney quote … when you are curious, you find many interesting things to do … we keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we are curious and curiosity keeps leading us along new paths!

Spring cleaning … it’s time to empty things that haven’t been used or read in a while and then store them in the garage, donate or sell. We all have these Curious George books and the memories have started pouring in. There is no way these books will go for a dime on the garage clearance sale. We are keeping them for the next generation.

We have learned so much from George. George was our friend when the children were small. We had George’s posters, lunch boxes, DVDs, books and toys. Through George we learn:

1. Adventure. Life is an adventure. Everything is worth trying in our big world. George travels the world with his friend and is never afraid to try new things. Everything fascinates the explorer in him, the familiar and the unfamiliar. George also tried to ride a balloon on his own. It is through trying that George has learned his lesson.

2. Practical experiment and discoveries. George takes things apart; he studies them and tries to put them back together. George understands how things work after taking them apart.

3. Fun and pleasure in learning. George knows where to look for fun. He has no reservations in wanting to do things. He visited a chocolate factory and tried chocolate of all shapes, sizes and tastes. When he’s been offered more, George has had enough.

4. Helping hands. George is ready to save and help. He helped save a train for a little boy on the train tracks. The boy could have been killed and the trained toy destroyed had it not been for George’s help.

5. Kind and non-judgmental. Giorgio is friendly with everyone. He seems to create problems, but in the end, he is the one who saves the situation!

George shares his life with The Man in the Yellow Hat. This man exemplifies a best friend, mentor, comforter, teacher and provider. He is always there for him, in bad times and in good times. He teaches George life lessons after every accident and never screams or judges. He is the parent we can shape.

Every child needs a mentor like The Man in the Yellow Hat is George’s mentor. What do you think?

Along with his mentor, George has Hundley, the little adventurous dog and his owner, the friendly doorman who always has a tip for George. There is chef Pisghetti, the owner of an Italian restaurant where the man in the yellow hat loves to dine. Professor Wiseman, a good friend of the man in the yellow hat and one who likes to hear about George’s adventure. He is another great encourager for George.

Through George’s community of friends, we learn the importance of a diverse friendship. George has friends who don’t condemn his curiosity. He has friends who don’t share his passion for him but still enjoy each other’s company out of mutual respect. What about your children? Do they have friends who respect them and respect their friends?

In our traditional school world, students of all personalities and learning habits are placed in the same classroom to learn and memorize facts and figures every single day.

Do you think this form of learning has dampened the curiosity and creativity of our students over the years? Over time, they graduated from high school; most students lose their Curious George learning habits. Are they conditioned to memorize and regurgitate what they have and not know exactly what they have learned?

Where are the practices and ways of learning? For example, how balancing your checkbook may be a skill but not which of the following was the most industrialized country during the nineteenth century?

While the market has been producing an endless supply of children’s books over the years, Margret and HA Rey’s Curious George books are still going strong after 70 years.

For the fun of it, we’re going to see a children’s show tonight. We have a DVD from the library called Curious George. He takes a vacation and finds out new things. We sometimes discover simple children’s stories that can teach us basic life lessons and a great reminder to live a curious, adventurous and risky lifestyle.

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