Shel Silverstein - The Grass Stain Guru

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 13, 2012

Cheers to all the mothers, grandmothers, and care-takers out there! To all the women who touch our lives across a lifetime…

Thank you for every skinned-knee you clean, bad dream you hush away, cookie you bake, and broken heart you soothe.

For every costume you make, story you read, school play you sit through and drawing you hang on the fridge…

May your day be filled with blue skies, rainbow-colored flowers, heart-felt hugs, and more laughter than you know what to do with.

I give you the gift of a giggle or two, and perhaps — just perhaps — a knowing smile.

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed! His underwear is hanging on the lamp.

His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair, And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.

His workbook is wedged in the window, His sweater’s been thrown on the floor.

His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV, And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.

His books are all jammed in the closet, His vest has been left in the hall.

A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed, And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.

Whosever room this is should be ashamed! Donald or Robert or Willie or–

Huh? You say it’s mine? Oh, dear, I knew it looked familiar!

Go be queens of your day!

xoxo – The Grass Stain Guru

photo by: CS_McMahon

By Bethe | Posted in Blogger's Note, parenting | Tagged children, family fun, memories, moms, parenting, Shel Silverstein | Comments (3)

In Wednesday’s post, we talked about how today’s kids spend so much time engaged in plugged-in play — lots of time spent watching TV, surfing the web, and playing video games. A Shel Silverstein poem, Jimmy Jet And His TV Set, inspired TGSG readers to write their own Shel-style poem. Well, needless to say, I was tickled by the sense of whimsy and fun my friends brought to the site, and I am so excited to share it here with you.

Special thanks to the lovely Kelly @klsnature for kicking it off, and to Elizabeth from The Natural Capital, Jennifer Gilliss (sorry Jenn, I don’t have a link for you!), Erin aka The Conscious Shopper, and the good folks at Kermode Kids for adding their voices. Thank you all for your lovely words, your dreams of a better childhood, and for being part of TGSG community!

Danny Dove and Her Nature Love by TGSG readers

I’ll tell you the story of Danny Dove—
And you know what I say is true.
She daily nurtured her nature love,
And each day her joy grew.

She played each morn, she played each night.
Friends would oft take part.
It only took mere moments
For the laughter to start…

Running and jumping, twirling and flying
The wind whispered “come play”
The trees offered branches, the sun its warmth,
Danny Dove would have a great day!

Into the woods with nothing in hand,
Running and leaping – in the creek she’d land.
Here comes a fish! And a butterfly!
She’s not gonna let this world pass her by.

She stopped to watch a bird take a bath,
And the butterflies dance in the air.
The deer and the chipmunks lifted their heads —
What was a kid doing there?

“I know my friends are all inside,”
Said Danny to them with a grin,
“But the great outdoors has so much more
Room for playing in!”

Now, I know it is Frolic Friday — so no excuses. Make like Danny Dove and go outside and play!

See ya outside! ~ The Grass Stain Guru

photo credit: Karen Roe

By Bethe | Posted in Blogger's Note | Tagged fun, Grass Stain Guru, kids, nature, outdoors, play, Shel Silverstein | Comments (24)

The End of the Sidewalk for Imagination?

June 4, 2009

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Can today’s children still find this place — the place where the sidewalk ends? Among the loud promises of TV commercials and the buzz and clang of video games, can they hear the quite place where chalk-white arrows go? Do they even know to look? Do they have time to breathe, to relax, to think? To create their own worlds, versus those that are readily supplied for them by adults, marketers, and game developers?

I don’t like the answers these questions are leading me to. How about you?

I look at the whimsical, yet meaningful words of Silverstein and I have no doubt that he was a man who played as a child. Who explored, and laughed, and failed a thousand times and soared to great heights in worlds of his own making.

If creativity and innovation are the future of the workforce and society, how can we expect to meet them successfully if we don’t give children’s minds the room to roam? The power to dream and the freedom to fail?

I’m going outside to think. To dream. To problem-solve. I am so grateful I was given the space — the freedom — to develop these skills as a child. They have served me well.

See ya outside! – The Grass Stain Guru