Hello gardeners, I am Gardener Anna and when I was only 7 years old I had a lot of weeds (which means I was really stressed out). That's why my mom wrote this book called You Are a Gardener®. It's all about helping kids learn how important it is to 'pull your weeds" which means talking to someone you trust about the things that are upsetting you. Like anytime you feel sad, scared, mad, lonely, left out or embarrassed. You can see gardeners there are a lot of words for weeds. As gardeners, it's also very important to remember that there tons of gardening tools out there to help us feel better too. Like journaling, taking deep breath, doing crafts, there so many activities and exercises out there to help us gardeners to feel confident and calm. So what do you say gardeners? Are you ready to plant new seeds and pull your weed? Let's Grow! Are you ready to dig into empowering kids with a shared emotional language, positive mindset and healthy tools to manage stress and big emotions? Let’s Grow! 🌼Buy A Book 🌼Read Our Blog 🌼Book An Assembly 🌼Demo Our SEL Program 🌼Read Our Weeds to Seeds Newsletter To learn more about #gardeneranna and how ‘gardening’ can help kids stay calm and confident , give this post a like/ share and stay tuned!

Hey gardeners did you know that the second Friday in March celebrates #SEL DAY around the world? The intention of this celebration is to showcase, promote, advocate, and support SEL in school and communities across the world. We say HOORAY for SEL day! To celebrate this incredible event we are highlighting our Top 3 Favorite SEL Activities to do at home or in the classroom. Scroll down for your free SEL downloads and Happy SEL Day! Let's keep spreading these SEL seeds to help raise a new generation of emotionally empowered kids! #1-How 'Ful Are You? This is a helpful social-emotional learning (SEL) resource to use at home or in your classroom. This can also be a fun read aloud activity to do in school as each student could go around and take turns at reading one of the words they choice and describe why they connected with it. Click Here For More Info & To Download The Free SEL Activity Sheet #2-Flower Emotions Wheel This helpful and interactive tool is wonderful for helping gardeners of all ages identify what you are feeling and support you with positive 'gardening tools' to help you feel confident and calm. It's all about 'growing' through what you go through! Click Here For More Info & For Step-By-Step Instructions On How To Make The Flower Wheel! #3-Gardener BINGO Gardener Bingo Has SEL Roots In: 🌸 Builds Social Connections 🌸 Fun Group Activity 🌸 Requires Listening & Attention To Detail 🌸 Positive Impact On Your Memory 🌸 Gives Cognitive Skills A Boost Click Here For More Info & To Download The Free SEL BINGO Sheets

Do you know what motivates us to keep on growing? You, your children, your students, your family, your friends, your future... Now is the time we need to come together as parents, educators, counselors, mentors, leaders and use a shared emotional language to help our kids. Let's teach our children healthy ways to manage stress. Let's give them the vocabulary, tools and mindset to know how important it is to stay confident and calm, even during challenging times. We are here to help. We will continue to create helpful, positive and uplifting content for you to use at home and in school. We will continue to travel to schools allover to connect with and empower gardeners of all ages. We will continue to create professional learning programs for teachers to have quick access to easy & effective SEL content. We will be here and we hope you will too!

Hey gardeners, have you ever found yourself stuck in the 'weeds' where all you can do is focus on how you are feeling and thinking about negative things? As gardeners, it is important to recognize when we need help getting out of the 'weeds' and back to our beautiful flowers (positive thoughts). Today's new 'gardening tool' features a very simple grounding exercise that can help you take your mind off your feelings and shift back to the present moment. Having healthy skills aka gardening tools to manage our emotions is what gardening is all about! Keep Your Garden Green Grounding Technique (for gardeners of all ages) -Look around and find 3 green things -Write them down (on our activity sheet below) -Write 2-3 sentences describing each of these object. (No paper & pencil-no problem-This exercise can be done in your head or as a group discussion). Scroll down to download our free printable activity sheet and scroll all the way down to download your Gardening Tool Badge to add to your Collectors Sheet. Keep Your Garden Green Grounding Exercise For Kids Has SEL Roots In: 🍃 Helps children focus 🍃 Helps kids calm down 🍃 Encourages kids to focus on something other than feelings/emotions 🍃 Positive redirection tool 🍃 Teaches kids how to regulate own emotions This Grounding Exercise For Students Is Helpful At School: -Before or after a test -When students seem restless -During Morning Meetings This Grounding Exercise For Children Is Helpful At Home: -If your child is feeling overwhelmed -At the end of the day -After screen time #PullYourWeeds® >> Keep Your Garden Green Free Printable Activity Sheet-For Home or Classroom-Click On The Sheet Below >> DOWNLOAD OUR FREE KEEP YOUR GARDEN GREEN GROUNDING ACTIVITY SHEET -CLICK THE IMAGE Hey gardeners, did you do the Keep Your Garden Green Grounding Exercise? If so, congratulations, you just earned yourself the 'Keep Your Garden Green Gardening Tool Badge'! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet How many gardening tool badges have you earned so far? Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com You Are a Gardener® and the #PullYourweeds® Blog are rooted in empowering kids with a shared emotional language to use at home and in school through the use of our book, blog, videos, school programs, teacher services and more! Let's dig into raising a new generation of emotionally empowered kids!

Adding positive 'gardening tools' to our emotional toolbox/toolkit is extremely helpful when it comes to managing stress. Empowering children with healthy activities and exercises to choose when they encounter uncomfortable feelings & challenging emotions is what 'gardening' is all about. Today we are excited to announce a fun and interactive way to encourage children to learn and apply new 'gardening tools' anytime they encounter stress and big emotions. By earning 'gardening tool badges' children can appreciate all the many and healthy ways to address a negative experience with a positive approach and help them to feel confident & calm! Earning our Gardening Tool Badges is a fun way to dig into the You Are a Gardener® mindset at home and in school! Click here to download your free gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet and pick a gardening tool that looks right for you! Collecting Gardening Tool Badges Is As Easy As 1,2.3 1. Download Your Free Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet 2. Pic &Click A Gardening Tool That You Want To Learn 3. Once You Complete The Activity, Scroll To Bottom Of Page To Download Your Badge Start adding to your toolbox and collect your gardening tool badges today!

We love a good DIY project especially one that involves sugar! Today Gardener Anna is sharing with us how to 'make your own' homemade sugar scrub with minimal household ingredients. Not only is a sugar scrub a wonderful exfoliator, it moisturizes, hydrates and gives your skin a beautiful glow! Sensory activities like making your own sugar scrub is fun for gardeners of all ages and a wonderful gardening tool. Some benefits of sensory activities like this include: learning through exploration, encouraging creativity, supporting a cognitive thinking process and a fun, hands-on learning process. So what are you waiting for...scroll down and Let's Glow! Gardener Anna's Homemade Sugar Scrub 1 Cup Organic Sugar 1/4 Cup Organic Coconut Oil A Few Dashes of Organic Vanilla A Couple Drops of Essential Oil (we used grapefruit) Mix together, spoon into a container and enjoy! Use in the shower or leave by the sink after your wash your hands. Scroll down to print out Gardener Anna's Sugar Scrub label! Gardener Anna's DIY sugar scrubs are nice to give as gifts or fun to do as a group activity at a party! Even Gardener Diamond loves to help! Hey Gardeners...Did you try out this fun, sensory DIY project? If so, then you just earned the Gardener Anna's Sugar Scrub Gardening Tool Badge! How sweet is that?!? You can also print out this badge and use it as a label for your scrub! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! What sensory activities do you enjoy? Email us at flowers@youareagardner.com #LifeisSweet #HeySugar #KidsDIY #SensoryActivities

Hey gardeners what do you get when you cross quick with pickles...Quickles! Today we have a quicker than quick recipe to zest up your fresh, summer vegetables. Quickling is a fun and fast way to give your veggies a zip. They are tasty as a side, on your salad or added to a charcuterie board. Garden Quickles 1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar 2-3 TBSP Sugar (depends on how sweet you like it) 2 TSP of Salt Pick Your Veggies: Cucumbers, Celery, Carrots, Red Onions, Radishes, Cherry Tomatoes, Shallots, Asparagus, Cauliflower... Heat vinegar, sugar and salt on stove & bring to a simmer. Chop up your vegetables as you like them & put in a mason jar. Pour your quickle recipe over the top and seal. Let cool on your counter and then refrigerate. They last about a week & lose their crispness as time goes on. Benefits of Quickling: -It's fun a way to get kids to help in the kitchen. -It's a great way to get kids to eat their veggies. -It's a versatile and healthy snack. -It's quick! Enjoy :) Hey gardeners...did you try our quickle recipe? If so, then CONGRATULATIONS you just earned the Make It Quickle Gardening Tool Badge! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! We would love to see photos of your quickles. Send us an email to flowers@youareagardenr.com. For more gardener approved recipes...Click Here!

Make a splash this summer with some wall worthy art made from Squirt Gun Painting. Gardener Anna and Gardener Aidan had a blast with this cool summertime craft. . With minimal materials needed this a great outdoor activity that helps kids develop their fine motor skills, be creative, get outside and have FUN! Kids of all ages love a good summer art project and water gun painting is definitely one to put on your to-do list! Take it from Gardener Anna: Let positivity grow! Materials Needed For Squirt Gun Painting: -water color paper -tempra paints -squirt guns -easel (or clip paper to a clothesline) -painters tape (optional) (Use equal mix of paint and water) For a fun twist we made letters and a smiley face with painters tape. We let the paint completely dry before removing the tape. This is a #PullYourWeeds® Approved Painting Project! Hey gardeners...did you make a splash with our water gun painting activity? If so, then CONGRATULATIONS you just earned yourself the Squirt Gun Painting Gardening Tool Badge!!! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! Click Here to earn more gardening tool badges!

Are you in a jam looking for a fun and engaging activity to keep your kids off screens this summer? Try making your own homemade jam! This week Gardener Aidan went hunting for wild raspberries and came home with a super sweet bounty. Berry picking has wonderful social and emotional benefits for children as it helps kids understand where food comes from, it is fun activity for the entire family and turning your harvest into jam makes the overall experience berry exciting! If you don’t have access to a berry patch, no problem! Swing by your local farmers market or grocery store and scoop up some of your favorite berries. Scroll down for Gardener Aidan's Quick Berry Jam Recipe :) (Hey gardeners, can you spot Gardener Diamond in this video?) Gardener Aidan’s Quick Berry Jam 1 1/2 cup of berries (we used wild raspberries) 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice -Wash your berries with light water pressure in cold water and let dry on paper towel. -Put all ingredients in saucepan and and cook on medium heat for a few minutes stirring and mashing often. -Once mashed let simmer 5-10 minutes (it gets thicker as you cook it) -Skim off pink foam. -Pour into mason jar or glass container and let cool before refrigerating. -Lasts about a week. Spread on toast. Mix in yogurt. Pour on ice cream. Drizzle on pancakes. Enjoy! Hey gardeners, did you make your own berry jam? If so, CONGRATULATIONS you just earned the 'Quick Berry Jam' Gardening Tool Badge! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! We would love to know how it turned out...send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com

Press Play to watch our Illustrator Gardener Kelsey make beautiful painted rock decorations to use as home accents and serve as a daily reminder to Pull Your Weeds! Hey gardeners, get ready to rock with today's new gardening tool! Reminder Rocks make beautiful decorations around your home or classroom and they are super fun to paint! The social, emotional, physical and intellectual benefits are blooming with our Reminder Rocks 'gardening tool! Take a walk, find some rocks, grab some paints, use our Fox & gardening theme as inspirations and get ready to rock-n-roll! << Scroll down to download the gardening tool badge for this activity! >> Our Reminder Rocks Craft Has SEL Roots In: 🌼Gives kids a sense of achievement 🌼Art promotes creativity 🌼Painting exercises your brain 🌼Art projects develops problem-solving abilities 🌼Painting evokes a healthy expression of emotions There are so many wonderful benefits of painting for gardeners of all ages which makes an art project like this a great activity to do at home or in school with minimal materials needed. Gardener Kelsey's Tips: For best results, paint a base color layer on each rock and then give that time to dry. Come back a bit later to add your designs! If you want the rocks to look and feel like the You Are a Gardener® book, use turquoise, orange and pink in your designs! Want to learn how to draw Foxie? Head to our YouTube page here for a full length tutorial! Painted rocks are pretty accents in a home office, on a book shelf, on a night stand or on a coffee table! Where will you put your rocks? --> Send us photos to flowers@youareagardener.com. Hey gardeners, did you make any Reminder Rocks paintings? If so, congratulations, you just earned yourself the 'Reminder Rocks Gardening Tool Badge'! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet How many gardening tool badges have you earned so far? Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com You Are a Gardener® and the #PullYourweeds® Blog are rooted in empowering kids with a shared emotional language to use at home and in school through the use of our book, blog, videos, school programs, teacher services and more! Dig into raising a new generation of emotionally empowered kids!

When that summer state of mind starts to wander to the back to school blues, gardeners of all ages need to be ready with some go-to gardening tools. Breathing exercises are always one of our favorite gardening tools to use in a pinch as you can do them anytime, anywhere. By taking deep breaths you can lower your heart rate, decrease your stress and increase your calm. An easy and effective breathing exercises we like to use is called 5 to 7, 7 to 11. How it works is take a deep breath in and count to 5, then exhale slowly and count to 7. When you are ready, work your way up to counting to 7 on your inhale and 11 on your exhale. The counting in this particular grounding activity helps to slow you down and draw attention to the present moment. (Scroll down for a bonus recipe & learn how to make Gardener Anna's Color Scented Bubbles) Hey gardeners, did you know blowing bubbles is also a wonderful form of stress relief for kids of all ages? By blowing bubbles gardeners are actually learning an easy, deep breathing technique that requires us to focus on the present moment and relax! Gardener Anna's Color Scented Bubbles 4 Cups Warm Water 1/2 Cup Blue Dish Soap 1/2 Cup Sugar A few dashes of essential oil (optional) A few drops of food coloring (optional) Dissolve sugar in water with a whisk. Add dish soap and be careful not to over mix. Distribute evenly into mason jars. Add a few drops of essential oils and food coloring for a fun twist! Press play to watch the video below when the gardeners made these bubbles on Camp Hello Gardeners®! PRESS PLAY TO WATCH GARDENER ANNA & GARDENER AIDAN MAKE COLOR SCENTED BUBBLES >> Hey gardeners, did you do the 5 to 7 , 7 to 11 breathing exercise ? If so, congratulations, you just earned yourself the '5 to 7, 7 to 11 Gardening Tool Badge! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! How many gardening tool badges have you earned so far? Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com

Happy New Year gardeners! One of our favorite gardening tools to celebrate the beginning of a new year is a Vision Board. Making vision boards is a fun and helpful gardening tool for gardeners of all ages. They encourage creativity, goal setting, focus and fun with minimum materials needed. Hang your vision board in your room, office, on the fridge, or anywhere you pass by regularly. Dig deep when it comes to visualization; when you look at your board really take the time to really envision yourself doing the act or being or in that place or state of mind. Plant those seeds and watch them grow gardeners! Here's what you'll need for your Vision Board: -Piece of paper, poster board or bulletin board -Cut out images of things you want to accomplish or dream of doing -Glue, tape or pin images to your board *Gardener' Aidan's tip: If you don't have magazines you can search for these things on a computer and print them out! Visions boards are a wonderful social and emotional learning (SEL) tool to use at home and in the classroom. They provide gardeners (of all ages) with a daily visual reminder of our hopes and dreams. This visual tool can help us develop a mindset on how to reach and achieve those goals. It's all about planting those seeds! Did you make a vision board? If so, congratulations, you just earned yourself the 'Vision Board' Gardening Tool Badge! --> Click the badge to download a pdf sticker for your Gardening Tool Badge Collector Sheet! How many gardening tool badges have you earned so far? Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com #PullYourWeeds®