You Are a Gardener®

The #PullYourWeeds® Blog

...rooted in empowering young kids with skills and tools to help their

gardens to grow healthy & strong.

Featuring: Crafts, Kid-Friendly Recipes, Mindfulness Activities, Inspirational Stories & More!

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The Garden Cycle ♻️

Nov 25, 2020

The Garden Cycle ♻️

Just like all plants have a life cycle, so does the foundation of You Are a Gardener™ . The roots of all our programs encourage children to identify, communicate and manage uncomfortable emotions, feelings and thoughts, through a positive and empowering process using the power of the words flowers, weeds and seeds. Let's take a look at each of the different phases of the You Are a Gardener® "Garden Cycle": ✺ Pull Your Weeds: A lot can occur in a day that can make a child fe

Stay Rooted In Tradition

Nov 20, 2020

Stay Rooted In Tradition

Hello Gardeners! In our last post, we talked about Small Celebrations and how we were going to keep traditions alive by making Thanksgiving place cards and sending them to those with whom we normally celebrate. Well - that gave us another idea! For those of us hoping to connect virtually with family over the Thanksgiving holiday, why not send them a Thanksgiving package so we can all celebrate together? You can fill your package with anything meaningful to your family - rec

Meet #GardenerJulia AKA The Petite Fastinista

Aug 5, 2020

Meet #GardenerJulia AKA The Petite Fastinista

Hello Gardeners! You've seen her featured in Hello Gardeners, on our blog post Get Moving, and now on Camp Hello Gardeners - meet, Julia Hickman AKA The Petite Fastinista! Julia has made it her mission to help busy women stay motivated and inspired to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Julia recently interviewed our author, Shanna Truffini, alongside #GardenerAnna and #GardenerAidan. We talked about the origins of You Are A Gardener and how to deal with stress and anxiety

Get Colorful with Crayon Etching

Jul 22, 2020

Get Colorful with Crayon Etching

Hello Gardeners! With all the uncertainty of the upcoming school year todays’s craft is a reminder of how important the #PullYourWeeds message is. Encouraging kids to talk about their stresses and fears is needed now more than ever. From worrying about wearing a mask all day, not seeing friends or being afraid of getting sick, there are many ‘weeds’ young gardeners are facing. Mindfulness activities & crafts are great way to get kids to relax and open up about how they are f

F O C U S + R E L A X with a Craft !

May 25, 2020

F O C U S + R E L A X with a Craft !

Hello Gardeners! On the blog today, we've got an amazing focus activity to help redirect those restless gardeners! We love this activity because the repetitive motions of weaving mixed with the soft sensation of the yarn makes for the perfect relaxing activity! It's our Woven Bowl Craft - and all you'll need are 3 simple things: A paper plate Scissors Yarn First things first, cut up your plate! I wanted a medium sized bowl, so my cuts were a couple inches long, but if you'd

🌿 Salt Dough Impressions 🌿

May 21, 2020

🌿 Salt Dough Impressions 🌿

Hello Gardeners! On the blog, we talk a lot about focusing on the 'flowers' and if you are new to the blog that means choosing to focus on the things that make us smile, give us joy, and make our lives feel so fulfilling! Today, we are sharing our Salt Dough Impressions craft so you can place lovely reminders all around your home as a reminder of all the people, moments and experiences that make a positive impression in your life. (Scroll all the way down to see why this is a

Handprint Succulents

May 18, 2020

Handprint Succulents

Hello Gardeners! Who needs something bright and cute for their walls? Today on the blog, we have one of our favorite crafts to date and bonus - it is PERFECT for gardeners ages 2-12 - although gardeners of all ages are welcome! If you've been looking for some fun activities to keep your kids busy and creative, you won't want to miss this one - it's our Handprint Succulents 🌵craft! Here is what you'll need: Paint (choose paint that is skin-safe!) Construction paper Scissor

Paper Bag Kites!

May 14, 2020

Paper Bag Kites!

Hello Gardeners! Around here, we have been trying to soak up all the sunshine we can! With all the beautiful weather we have been having it is the perfect opportunity to do some outdoor crafts, outdoor learning, and nature excursions! We would love to hear how you are spending time outdoors - let us know in the comments below 👇👇 Today we have another craft to get you outside enjoying the fresh air - it's our Paper Bag Kite craft! Kites can mean hours of fun whether you b

Treasured Textured Recyclables (say that 3 times fast)

May 7, 2020

Treasured Textured Recyclables (say that 3 times fast)

Hello Gardeners! Today on the blog we have a craft that is not only fun & colorful, but is made using recyclables, and is 100% frameable - it's a Stamped Recyclable Print! Hanging your children's art on the wall in your home shows them their creative efforts are valued, it builds their confidence and a beautiful expression of how proud you are of them! Here is what you'll need: Textured recyclables - we chose bubble wrap, packing peanuts, cardboard, and takeout containers, p

Homemade & From the Heart

May 4, 2020

Homemade & From the Heart

Hello Gardeners! We may be losing track of what day it is, but we certainly cannot forget that Mother's Day is coming up! And because this Spring has been *slightly* different than years previous, let's make it as special as we possibly can! Whether you are celebrating Mom, Grandma, or a maternal figure in your life - there are so many ways to honor the women we love. Start with a homemade card. Here is a fool-proof, flower stamp card! All you'll need is: A straw or piece o

The Foxie Fan Club

Apr 2, 2020

The Foxie Fan Club

Hello Gardeners! Recently our illustrator, Kelsey Jordan (formerly DeLaney) did a video tutorial showing gardeners how to draw our beloved #Foxie! We were so overjoyed with the responses and the drawings you sent us. We love that each an every one has it's own style and that you put your personality into your drawings. Amazing! If you happened to miss that video tutorial, don't fret! You can watch it on YouTube 😊 Here are some of the amazing responses we received! We tho

Reading for A Better Tomorrow

Jan 30, 2020

Reading for A Better Tomorrow

Hello Gardeners! It's been a minute since we've shared a #WeedsToSeeds story. Today's story was found via BBC News and is about a teenager who started reading to a former librarian who stopped reading due to vision problems onset by Lupus. When we dug a little further, we found the organization that this teenager volunteered for called Reading Friends which is part of the Reading Agency. Reading Friends is based in the UK and their mission is to "tackle life’s big challenge

Sunshine Makes the Flowers Grow

Dec 5, 2019

Sunshine Makes the Flowers Grow

Hello Gardeners! The difference between a good day and a bad day can come down to the smallest, little thing. We can be having what we would consider a wonderful day, and then one bad experience can make us look back on that day in a negative light. Of course, not all days are going to be good ones - but choosing to focus on the negative and not having the ability to let go of an annoying experience or a frustrating experience, can permeate into our gardens. Negativity can

Treat Yourself the Way YOU Want to be Treated!

Nov 14, 2019

Treat Yourself the Way YOU Want to be Treated!

Hello Gardeners! Have you ever heard the expression, "treat others the way you want to be treated" For so many of us though, WE don't treat OURSELVES the way we want to be treated. Because we are the most real, unhinged, and open with ourselves, we tend to say things to ourselves that we would never say to another person! Think about it. Imagine an experience where you either made a mistake, failed to complete a task, disappointed someone, or maybe embarrassed yourself in f

Anxiety: The Ultimate Invasive Plant

Nov 4, 2019

Anxiety: The Ultimate Invasive Plant

Hello Gardeners! Have you ever heard about invasive plants? In nature, invasive plants are plants that aren't native to the area and spread lots of seeds as a way to try to take over the native plants. If you are an experienced gardener, you know you are always checking your garden for these fast growing plants, just so you can pull them out! Well, what if we thought of #anxiety as an invasive plant. Anxiety is an overwhelming sense of distress that often leads to fear an

Name Your Weeds

Jun 20, 2019

Name Your Weeds

Hello Gardeners! If you've read our book or watched our web series you know that flowers are the things that make us feel happy and weeds are the things that make us feel sad, scared, or mad. Sometimes "sad, scared, and mad" are too vague to accurately describe our weeds and if we can't pinpoint the emotion(s) at the root of our weed, we can't pull it out. For example, one of our #PullYourWeeds writers noticed she starts to feel irritable, tired, and cranky during certain h

The Future is ✨BRIGHT✨

May 28, 2019

The Future is ✨BRIGHT✨

Hello Gardeners! This month we have been closely following the #MyYoungerSelf campaign from The Child Mind Institute and Project UROK. It's a campaign where actors, athletes, musicians, and influencers of all kind come together to provide advice to their younger self about struggling with their weeds (stress, depression, and anxiety). What we have noticed is that most of the advice is rooted in #GardenerAnna & #GardenerAidan's belief - that talking about your weeds keeps t

The Power of Positive Visualization

May 25, 2019

The Power of Positive Visualization

Hello Gardeners! Something our author Shanna has always told her kids is "no dream is too big or too small". Sometimes when we visualize our goals, we strive to achieve them just a little bit more. With #GardenerAnna and #GardenerAidan, Shanna uses vision boards. She asks them questions like "what do you want to be when you grow up?", "what are your goals for this year?", "who do you look up to?". They pick out photos of the various goals and images, then Shanna uses a phot

The #PullYourWeeds® Blog was created by Shanna Truffini for the You Are a Gardener platform as a resource for families, teachers, educators and therapists to access tools, activities, crafts and inspirational messages all rooted in the foundation of helping young kids manage their emotions. The You Are a Gardener® programs are rooted in spreading the seeds of social and emotional learning skills (SEL) for kids to be able to positively identify, communicate and manage their emotions. You Are a Gardener™ and the #PullYourWeeds® Blog uses gardening vocabulary as emotional metaphors to help children talk about and respond to what they are feeling. The Pull Your Weeds® Blog help kids manage stress with productive and positive conflict/resolution skills and mindfulness practices.

You Are a Gardener® is not responsible for any and all claims, injuries, damages, losses or suits including attorney fees, arising out of or resulting from the acts, errors, misuse or omissions while participating in any of our programs and activities including the #PullYourWeeds Blog, Hello Gardeners®, Camp Hello Gardeners and educational services.

For more information, to be featured as a guest gardener or to book a #PullYourWeeds Workshop

please email flowers@youareagardener.com