Notes

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the town,
Children were converting kilos to pounds.

Some kids were learning about Sir Isaac Newton;
Others were doing direct substitution.

Now, this place is unique to others you've seen;
things here are different, not basic routine.

The kids just play fun games all day at their schools;
Tests simply consist of explaining the rules.

But when they get home, they call up their friends
To ponder about how far space-time extends.

In their free time they study, for fun they read books
Learning about the universe's nannies and crooks.

Jack's many hobbies include physics and math
He does fluid dynamics while taking his bath.

Sally prefers chemistry above all.
The periodic table? She memorized it last fall.

And their brother Jimmy, who's no older than two?
He can do things that few babies can do.

He smiles and giggles, he burps and he claps
and solves quadratic functions in between naps.

Christmas is special to this town, you see.
They still give out presents wrapped under the tree.

But rather than trinkets costing a dime
They prefer knowledge which lasts a lifetime.

A person might give pencils, pens, or graph paper.
I once new a guy who got a new calculator!

I know that it's strange, you might find it shocking
that such joy would come from textbooks in their stockings.

I'm telling the truth, believe it or not
The folks here just really love learning a lot.

These probably aren't gifts that you would wish for,
or maybe you've just haven't wished it before.

So this Christmas season, my challenge to you
is to go and discover something brand new.

Maybe you wonder why apples are red?
Or why there's a thing called a brain in your head?

Ask questions, be curious, that's what learning is for.
The world is big and it's yours to explore.