Curious George Games & Activities

Inside Games

• While indoors, play games like "Monkey See, Monkey Do" or "Hot Banana" -- played in the same way you play "Hot Potato" but with a banana. Another game you can play involves everyone gathering in a circle. Pick one player to be the Man in the Yellow Hat and have him leave the room. Choose another player in the circle to be Curious George. Call the Man in the Yellow Hat back in. George makes monkey motions everyone in the circle has to follow. The Man in the Yellow Hat has to figure out the person playing George for a new round to begin with new leaders.

Outdoor Games

• Scavenger hunt games, as well as racing games, work well outside. Hide several bananas around the yard and have individuals or teams search for them. Once they have found all the bananas, the person or group with the most bananas wins. Use the original books as inspiration for a racing game by making the children race against each other in a segmented race. They can start the race riding a bike, then flying a kite and finally running to the finish line.

Arts and Craft Activities

• Make Curious George bookmarks by cutting out strips of construction paper. Have the kids use markers to draw pictures of Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat onto the strips. Once they have finished, laminate the strips of paper and punch a hole at the top of the strip. Loop a yellow ribbon through the hole and add things like yellow cotton balls to the ribbon to make it unique. Give each of the children a paper plate and have them draw and color on it to make it look like the monkey. Glue brown cotton balls around the border of the plate to mimic fur.

Reading Activities

• After reading one of the Curious George books, have a discussion with the children about the book. Ask them questions about what happened during the story, and what they would have done if they were George. If you like, play a trivia game and have the kids raise their hands to answer first. Have the children reenact a scene from the story, or draw a picture showing what happened in the book.