Curious George: an Educational TV Series

Hi, moms & sis!

It’s parenting time! ^_^

Nowadays, we’ve got to be more care about what our kids’ hear, watch, and play. It can’t be denied that a kid’s character and personality built up from information he’s got (heard, read, and watched), from experiences which deem in memory as moral values and influece the way he think and react.

Selectively providing educational TV program for kids is one thing moms & sis should do to assure that they got only positive information and values.

I found that PbsKids.org is a recommended site for moms & sis to get information about educational TV program for kids. It much helpful. Arthur, Barney and Friends, Berenstain Bears, Boobah, Buster, Caillous, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Wild Kratts, Cyberchase, Dinosaur Train, The Electric Company, Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, Fizzy Luch Lab, George Shrinks, Jayjay, Between the Lions, Mama Mirabelle, Martha Speaks, Maya & Miguel, Sid the Science KidMr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sagwa, Scigirls, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Wilson and Ditch, Wordgirl, The Cat in the Hat, and Super Why! are only numbers of programs offered. Above all, Curious George is the most favorite of mine.

In this time, I’d like to introduce you to my fave TV series which may be one of your kids fave educational program. (informations below available on Http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/)

PROGRAM SUMMARY


The Curious George is an Emmy award-winning animated series based on the popular books by Margret and H.A. Rey. It airs daily on PBS KIDS.

Aimed at preschool viewers (ages three to five), the goal of the series is to inspire children to explore science, engineering, and math in the world around them. And what better guide is there for this kind of exploration than the world's most curious monkey?

George lives to find new things to discover, touch, spill, and chew. Everything is new to George and worth investigating. Of course, in George's hands — all four of them — investigation often leads to unintended consequences! Throughout George's adventures, he encounters and models basic concepts in each of the three content areas.

While remaining true to the look and feel of the beloved books, the daily series expands George's world to include a host of colorful new characters and locales. Each episode features two animated stories followed by short live-action segments in which real kids investigate the ideas that George introduces in the stories. The first season was narrated by Emmy award-winning actor William H. Macy.

The Curious George series also aims to show parents and caregivers how to foster the development of science and math literacy in children. In addition to programming, the series is supported by a substantial educational outreach campaign that develops relevant materials and distributes them to librarians, teachers, community centers, and families. These materials offer activities designed to support and extend the learning objectives of the series.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

Curious George is a little monkey with an insatiable curiosity. Like George, children are intrigued by new things. They're natural explorers and scientists, and they're anxious to know how things work.

The Curious George series takes full advantage of this natural curiosity, using George to motivate children to expand their own investigations of the world. George's memorable adventures — from dismantling clocks to rounding up errant bunnies — offer the perfect vehicles for introducing preschoolers to key concepts in science, engineering, and math.

Exploring the world around him with wonder and intrigue, George embodies the preschool child's potential in the field of science. George's desire to use his four little hands to skillfully take things apart and figure out how they work exposes children to the basic concepts of engineering. And his interactions with patterns, measurements, and geometric shapes introduces early mathematical concepts.

Did we mention that the show is funny? This isn't a series of lectures (ever try to get a monkey to sit still for a lecture?). These are comic adventures. When each adventure ends, kids will have gained some knowledge, and had plenty of laughs along the way.

And there's something to be learned by adults here, too. Many parents and caregivers know how to support language literacy development in their children: they read aloud to them, and fill their environments with letters, words, and labels. But few are aware that by embracing children's natural curiosity, they are supporting their educational potential in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics. So while George is nurturing children's innate tendencies toward inquiry and hands-on exploration, he is also motivating parents and caregivers to do the same.

Science, engineering, and mathematics are disciplines representing years of accumulated knowledge. The objective of the Curious George series is to help children appreciate these disciplines and the wealth of knowledge contained in them. Appreciation and understanding begins for young children with exploration, observation, discovery, and most importantly, curiosity. Curious about the world around them, children begin to observe properties, discover how things work, and, ultimately, develop scientific thought processes.

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

The Curious George television series features lots of interesting characters, all of whom play an important role.

Curious George. Curious George investigates his world because everything fascinates him — familiar things, unfamiliar things, things he doesn't quite understand — everything. What keeps us wanting to come back to George is the fact that we know his curiosity will propel him into (mis-)adventures. But George isn't undone by his mischief. He usually manages to pull himself out of it and sometimes even saves the day.

The Man with the Yellow Hat. He's Curious George's best friend and mentor, the reassuring parental presence who trusts George unconditionally, never expecting him to get into trouble. He's as well organized as one can be with a monkey in the house; well liked in the neighborhood; and a little goofy around the edges. In their spare moments, he and George can be found playing checkers or reading a book together.

Hundley. The dignified, proud, and distinctly un-adventurous dachshund belongs to the Doorman in George's building. Hundley is wary of George and the havoc he wreaks. But he's also grudgingly glad to have George around because they often become allies and have to work together.

Doorman. He's the friendly, knowledgeable, and dignified gatekeeper of George's building. He's fascinated by everything — but only in this city. The Doorman is extremely knowledgeable of the city's geography and knows all the best ways to get from here to there. He remembers everyone who's come and gone, where they came from, and where they've gone to.

Bill. He's enthusiastic, patient, and methodical, but also kind of oblivious to things around him. Bill's not a city kid; he lives across the street from George's and The Man with the Yellow Hat's country home. He's got a lot of cool things for George to get into trouble with and explore: a bike, a paper route, a collection of kites, and a hutch full of bunnies.

Charkie. Charkie is a joyful cocker spaniel and a bouncing ball of energy. She loves everyone and everyone loves her. Having fun with people and animals is pretty much all she cares about. Charkie is happy to get involved in anything George is up to because she just doesn't see trouble.

Betsy and Steve. Steve is an impetuous, spirited, and athletic all-American kid. Betsy is Steve's spunky and clever younger sister. They're not quite sure how to take George, but they know they can count on him to spice up the neighborhood.

Chef Pisghetti. He's the very good-natured owner of the Italian restaurant around the corner. He enjoys having George around, and George enjoys helping him out whenever he can. The Man with the Yellow Hat is one of his valued customers — he always has a yellow napkin ready for him.

Gnocchi. She's an impetuous, free-spirited cat who's made Pisghetti's Ristorante her home base. A great climber with the curiosity of a cat, she's second to George because not only does George have thumbs, but where George is interested in how things work, Gnocchi is satisfied by simply discovering, batting at, and sitting on new things.

Professor Wiseman. She's full of great information about things. A good friend of The Man with the Yellow Hat, she runs the Museum of Science. She gets pretty excited about George's adventures — thinks they're great.

Compass. He's the adamantly incorrect homing pigeon who lives on the rooftop of George's apartment building. He belongs to the Doorman, but is forever trying to nest on The Man with the Yellow Hat's balcony, and George is happy to have him. The Man with the Yellow Hat is less thrilled.

Jumpy Squirrel. Jumpy is a daredevil squirrel who likes to jump a lot, and an incurable collector who shares George's love of discovering new things — except that Jumpy likes to bury them. He likes hanging out with George, even if George forces him out of his comfort zone from time to time.

Each episode of Curious George is closed captioned by the Caption Center at WGBH for viewers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Curious George is a production of Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston and Universal Studios Family Productions. The series is also supported by this Web site (Http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/), which features entertaining and educational activities for use at and away from the computer. The site activities focus on the same early science, engineering, and math curriculum as the television program.

Hope this article helpful, and happy nice weekend, moms & sis!