Curio’s Curious Lanyard: The Magic of I Don't Know

Name: Curio’s Curious Lanyard: The Magic of I Don't Know
Author: Michelle Pudney

Story Description

Join Curio the highland cow as he discovers that not knowing the answer is just the start of a brand-new adventure! With the help of his kind teacher and a special lanyard, Curio learns to turn his math-class worries into wonderful questions. A heartwarming tale about courage, curiosity, and the power of asking for help in the classroom.

Ratings:Not enough ratings

Language:English

Published Date:April 21, 2026

Category:Educational stories

Reading Time:1 minutes

Keywords

Curiohighland cowmath anxietyclassroom safetycuriosityteacherlearning strategiesinclusive educationlanyardgrowth mindset

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Scene 1

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Curio the highland cow lived in the rolling green hills of Clover Valley, where he loved to play with his fluffy friends. Every morning, they skipped to the little schoolhouse, ready for a day of learning with their teacher, Mrs. O’Leary.

Scene 2

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Inside the cozy classroom, the sun shone on the wooden desks and the big chalkboard. Mrs. O’Leary started the maths lesson, drawing colorful numbers and shapes that danced across the board.

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Curio looked at a tricky subtraction problem and felt a little knot in his tummy. His big, fuzzy ears drooped and he felt stuck, worried that he was the only one who didn't understand the lesson.

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Mrs. O’Leary saw Curio’s worried face and knelt down beside his desk with a gentle, encouraging smile. She told the class that feeling unsure is just another way of being ready to learn something new and exciting.

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She introduced four magic sentences that started with I don’t know and to help everyone feel safe. The cows watched with wide eyes as she explained how these words could turn a stuck feeling into a curious one.

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Mrs. O’Leary handed Curio a bright, colorful lanyard with the special sentences printed clearly on little cards. Curio touched the smooth cards and felt a tiny spark of hope as he read the brave words.

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When the next hard question came, Curio looked at his lanyard and whispered, I don’t know and what I do know is that five comes before six. Suddenly, the problem didn't seem so scary anymore.

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Curio turned to his friend and used another sentence from his lanyard: I don’t know and I think you could help me. They put their heads together, their long fur touching, and solved the puzzle as a team.

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Soon, the whole classroom was filled with cows using their lanyards and celebrating their knowledge gaps. Mrs. O’Leary cheered for every honest answer, making the classroom feel like the safest place in the world.

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Curio left school that day with his head held high and his lanyard swinging proudly around his neck. He wasn't afraid of math anymore, because he knew that being curious was much more fun than being perfect.

Generation Prompt(Sign in to view the full prompt)

Create a story for junior primary students about a highland cow called Curio who started to feel a little bit worried and scared in maths class was feeling stuck. His teacher Mrs O’Leary noticed this and so taught the class some sentence starters to help curio and his friends feel safe in the classroom Pedagogical strategy - Inclusive and safe environments - developing curiosity When learners are responding to an idea or question and are unsure, encourage them to: respond to the idea/question using an ‘I don’t know and…’ sentence, such as: I don’t know and what I do know is... I don’t know and my question to help me know more is... I don’t know and I think [peer] could help me. I don’t know and I think I could find out by... Respond positively when learners describe their learning using ‘I don’t know and…’ to celebrate feeling uncertain in learning. Teach this through the curiosity cows feeling nervous in maths – link to learning mode and make the cows a lanyard with the above sentence starters as strategies. Mrs O’Leary made curio a lanyard with these sentence starter in them so whenever Curio felt worried he would remember to use his lanyard and this helped him feel better and with ever lesson Curio learnt to be just a little more curious when he knew he had a knowledge gap!