When the first snowflake falls so does the longing for cozying into a cup of hot chocolate. There is something so nostalgic about holding that warm mug of creamy, sweet goodness in your hands after playing outside in the snow. When made from scratch, drinking hot cocoa can be beneficial to your health. According to treehugger.com there are several benefits to drinking a cup of Hot Cocoa: The flavonoids in hot chocolate help your body process nitric oxide, which is why hot cocoa can improve blood flow, help lower your blood pressure and improve heart health. That's why today on the #PullYourWeeds Blog we are sharing with you our very own Homemade Hot Cocoa recipe made with simple ingredients you most likely have in your kitchen. To put an even sweeter spin on this recipe we started ours with a brown sugar base. Scroll down for the full recipe. ❅ Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe ❅ 1/8 Cup of Unsweetened Cocoa 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar 2 Cups of Milk 1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of Sugar (if needed) Mix all ingredients in a saucepan on the stove over low to medium heat. Once all ingredients have melted and blended together, give it a taste to see if needs a little more sugar. This recipes serves 2. We hope you and your family enjoy our hot cocoa recipe. The warm memories that are made when drinking hot chocolate together can be extra sweet for gardeners of all ages! P.S.-CHECK OUT PALM HARBOR BOUTIQUE FOR THESE ADORABLE SNOWMEN MARSHMALLOWS! CLICK HERE ❅❅❅ Send us some of your favorite cozy, cold weather recipes to flowers@youareagardener.com

Since You Are a Gardener® children's book was published in December of 2017, Shanna Truffini has developed several new social and emotional (SEL) programs to help empower children with tools and skills to help their gardens grow healthy and strong. 1. Hello Gardeners® & Camp Hello Gardeners Videos 📽 One of the first programs to sprout was the video series, Hello Gardeners®. This idea came from Shanna Truffini's daughter, Anna when she was only 8 years old. She had the idea to create a show where every episode Anna and her brother Aidan would help other children pull their weeds and turn them into seeds, plus feature a fun craft or mindfulness activity. They filmed their fist episode in their grandparent's greenhouse in the fall of 2018 along with the talents of videographer Kelsey DeLaney, who is also the illustrator of You Are a Gardener®. Since then they have filmed over 20 episodes and also created a spin off series this summer called Camp Hello Gardeners® CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE 2. The You Are a Gardener® SEL Program for Educators 📝 As Shanna Truffini's family embraced the vocabulary and tools of the You Are a Gardener® mindset, her young children (then 6 and 8) asked Truffini to tell their teachers about 'flowers, weeds and seeds". This is what planted the idea to create a You Are a Gardener social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum for educators. Truffini consulted with her 'panel of experts' including a cognitive behavioral therapist, 4th grade teacher, student counselor, mindfulness instructor, wellness coach and a few others to help her create a powerful program that establishes a bright and positive classroom environment. Truffini will present her curriculum for teachers in-person or via zoom. The curriculum provides access to activities, exercises and materials for educators to use all year round. For more information and pricing send an email to flowers@youareagardener.com 3. The #PullYourWeeds® SEL Workshops for Children Ages 4-11 📚 Connecting with children and spreading the You Are a Gardener seeds is something that Truffini is extremely passionate about. This particular program includes a reading of her You Are a Gardener™️ children’s book, an interactive SEL workshop and fun (downloadable) prizes for students. The workshop runs about 30-35 minutes and Shanna can attend in-person or virtually join a classroom or organization. Click here for a quick video highlighting this program for your school, family or group. To book now and get a quote for your class/school please send an email to flowers@youareagardener.com 4. The #PullYourWeeds® Blog 💻 The evolution of the #PullYourWeeds® Blog started in February of 2019. Truffini's intention was to create a virtual destination for families and educators to learn more about the values of adapting positive Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills and tools for children. The blog features 2-3 new posts a week all rooted in empowering children with tools to hep their gardens grow healthy and strong-it features crafts, healthy recipes, inspirational stories, free resources, mindfulness activities, videos and more! Click here to Read More. 6. Weeds to Seeds Newsletter 🌱 In the fall of 2020 Truffini created a weekly "Weeds to Seeds' e-newsletter that is delivered to your inbox every Friday. Each week the email features hopeful and helpful content all rooted in empowering teachers, families and children with gardening tools to help manage stress and big emotions through an empowering process. To get on our list, please contact us at flowers@youareagardener.com 7. Spreading Seeds 🎙 To learn more about Shanna Truffini and the You Are a Gardener® + #PullYourWeeds® Programs- Click Here to listen to her featured on podcasts, iheart radio and local tv interviews. To book Shanna Truffini as a speaker for your next event please email all inquiries to flowers@youareagardener.com For booking information please email flowers@youareagardener.com. #PullYourWeeds | #FutureIsBright | #YouAreAGardener

Meet author Shanna Truffini and learn about how the seed that blossomed into the You Are a Gardener® Social & Emotional Learning Platform was planted! PRESS PLAY TO WATCH OUR VERY FIRST VIDEO FOR YOU ARE A GARDENER (This video was filmed in August of 2017 before we even had a copy of our book!) Shanna Truffini’s children’s book You Are a Gardener™ (find the book here) uses gardening vocabulary as ‘emotional metaphors’ to teach young children the importance of identifying the ‘flowers’ and ‘weeds’ in their everyday life. (The flowers are our joyful, positive feelings & emotions and the weeds are our negative/uncomfortable feelings, thoughts and emotions.) The book was born out of Truffini's determination to find a positive solution to help her family overcome obstacles put in their path. Through embracing the gardener’s lifestyle and using the child friendly vocabulary of this book, Shanna Truffini’s young family was able to communicate and problem solve life’s everyday challenges. This new path that opened up for her family has empowered her children with the gift of knowing what it takes to care for and maintain a healthy and happy garden.  She encourages families, teachers and anyone who interacts with young children on a daily basis to embrace this system with the hope it will raise a new generation of gardeners. The You Are a Gardener® children's book came out in January of 2018 and since then Truffini and her young family are on a mission to get out in their community and plant the ‘seeds’ for emotional well-being in children and adults alike. “A few years ago my family encountered an unforeseen event that caused my daughter who was 5 at the time to have post traumatic stress. As much as we did to stay ahead of it with regular therapy, her stress started taking root and manifested into to anxiety. As a Mom on a mission I was determined to help my family find a positive solution to help our daughter overcome her struggles.” We hope you'll join us on our #PullYourWeeds journey towards empowering children with the vocabulary, tools and skills it takes to know they have the power to control the way they feel.

Four years ago this week, that dream I dreamed was delivered to my doorstep and I held the first copy of You Are a Gardener® in my hand. What started out as an exercise to help our family get out of the 'weeds' and plant healthier 'seeds' has now blossomed into an entire platform rooted in empowering 'gardeners' of all ages with tools/skills to help their gardens grow healthy & strong! From book readings to school SEL workshops, #PullYourWeeds® blog posts to the Weeds to Seeds' newsletter, Hello Gardener® videos to Camp Hello Gardeners® Sessions, that tiny little seed I planted 4 years ago has sprouted into some pretty spectacular moments. Our family is truly grateful for all the family and friends who have been rooting for us along the way...we can't wait to see where the next year grows! "Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything. Those buildings. These lights. This whole city. Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did. I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it. " ~Roald Dahl How It Started: Click Here to learn more about the inspiration behind the You Are a Gardener® platform! How It's Growing: Click Here to learn more about all the seeds that have sprouted over the last 4 years on the You Are a Gardener® Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) platform! What seeds have you planted & nurtured over the last 4 years? We would love to hear your stories! Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com

The beautiful thing about 'gardening' is that anybody, anywhere, can start at anytime... because let's face it, WE ALL HAVE WEEDS! Increasing our ability and awareness to 'grow through' life's challenges with a positive disposition is at the very root of the You Are a Gardener® mindset. As much as our platform and programs are geared toward children, our message is truly ageless. Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills is essential for our future successes-personally, academically and professionally. Being able to identify, communicate and manage our emotions through a positive and empowering process is what defines us all as 'gardeners'. We literally 'grow though' what we go through. If you and your kids/students are ready to start pulling your weeds and planting seeds here are few east to get started and start planting seeds today! #1-Purchase A Copy Of Our Book The You Are a Gardener® children's book is a wonderful way to introduce the 'gardening' vocabulary and mindset into your home, group or classroom. The book features beautiful illustrations done with watercolors on paper. Get a Signed Copy of You Are a Gardener® Today...Click Here #2-Download 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. Introduce the vocabulary and mindset to your kids today! Click Here to Read More & Download a free PDF version of the Garden Cycle for your home or classroom. #3-Read Our #PullYourWeeds® Blog Every week we put up brand new posts all rooted in empowering children, families and educators with 'gardening tools' and free resources to help their gardens grow healthy and strong! Featuring crafts, kid-friendly recipes, inspirational stories, mindfulness activities and more! Click Here to See What We Just Posted On The #PullYourWeeds®Blog! #4-Sign Up For Our Weeds to Seeds Newsletter Every week we send out one newsletter to your inbox- full of helpful, hopeful and joyful content all rooted in empowering children, families and educators with tools, resources and information to keep the You Are a Gardener® mindset thriving! Click Here to Sign Up For Our Weeds to Seeds Newsletter Today! #5-Watch Our Hello Gardeners® & Camp Hello Gardeners® Videos Kids will love our Hello Gardeners® and Camp Hello Gardeners® video series! These fun filled video sessions show 'gardeners' of all ages using the vocabulary and gardening tools in real life. If you or your child has a special skill, talent or inspirational story and would like to be featured in an upcoming video please email flowers@youareagardener.com. Click Here To Watch Our Videos Now! #6-Schedule a #PullYourWeeds® Workshop For Your School or Family Today! Introducing the You Are a Gardener® mindset to children a consistent basis is where the real benefits of our program take root! Our 30 minute #PullYourWeeds® SEL Workshops use gardening vocabulary & tools to help kids identify strong emotions and turn them into empowering and positive solutions. Book a workshop with Author/Creator Shanna Truffini. in-person, virtual or per-recorded! Click Here to BOOK NOW! Now more than ever children need tools to help them navigate stress and uncomfortable emotions. By creating a new narrative that uses gardening vocabulary as emotional metaphors, You Are a Gardener®️ organically connects with children to empower them with a mindset that helps them ‘grow‘ forward confident & calm. The You Are a Gardener® Platform & SEL Programs Are Rooted In: ✔︎Children embracing & understanding that they have the power to control the way they feel. ✔︎Empowering children with growth mindset tools and mindfulness activities. ✔︎Self-empowerment, self-compassion and confidence building. ✔︎Keeping the lines of communication open between children and trusted sources. ✔︎Strengthening and building positive conflict/resolution skills. ✔︎Encouraging empathy and responsible decision making. Get on our schedule today! flowers@youareagardener.com

Gardeners of all ages can benefit from participating in random acts of kindness. Even the smallest acts of kindness can reap the greatest of rewards for both the giver and the receiver! That's why today on the #PullYourWeeds® Blog we have created a brand new gardening tool* to help you plant some seeds of kindness. "How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time." ~Morgan Freeman Try out our random acts of kindness gardening tool! Screen shot the image below when the moment feels right and plant the seed of kindness you get! This is a fun tool to use at home or in the classroom. 1. To screenshot on a Mac hold down Command, Shift, 3 at the same time. 2. To screenshot using Windows hit PrtScn (this will copy the screen to your clipboard an you can paste it in a doc). 3. To screenshot on an iphone Press the side button and volume button at the same time & quickly release. 4. To screenshot on an Andriod hold the power and volume buttons down at same time. Or, use the cards below and pick the ones you connect with! We would love to know if you used this 'gardening tool' with your family or students! Send us an email to flowers@youareagardener.com *Gardening Tools -exercises & activities to to help redirect a gardener's thoughts from negative to positive to help the proceed feeling confident and calm.

Aaahhh...the 'Golden Rule', the principle a lot of us were taught at a very young age...'do unto others, as you'd have done to you.' As much as this message is steeped in empathy, it is also heavily rooted in self-compassion, which often gets overlooked. The ability to turn your own love inward and be kind, patient, supportive and forgiving with yourself is first and foremost when it comes to applying the 'golden rule'. If we can't love, respect and appreciate our own selves, then how can we offer the same to others? A huge focus on our platform stems in self-compassion, so today we are sharing a few positive activities that you can do to gently introduce gardeners (of all ages) to what it takes to be your own best friend! Self-Compassion Exercises -Write yourself a letter about an experience you had that made you feel uncomfortable and what you would tell yourself to feel better. (write it is as you were writing it to a best-friend) -Write a daily journal entry on something you do each day that you are proud of. -Write down 3 things you love about yourself and tape it to a mirror you use frequently. -Celebrate yourself with a bulletin board dedicated to all your achievements and accomplishments. “Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every relationship you have.” ~Robert Holden In times of divide, exclusivity and resentment we must acknowledge that loving ourselves first is the foundation on which all other positive and inclusive relationships can be built. Planting the seeds of self-compassion with young children helps them to embrace their own individuality, celebrate their uniqueness and appreciate their own strengths. #TheFutureIsBright #PullYourWeeds #SelfLove

Hello Gardeners! We talk so much about positives and negatives - 'flowers' being are our positive feelings and 'weeds' are our negative feelings, - but it is so important to remember that it's natural for both to exist. Life is a balancing act of good things, difficult things, happy times, and times of distress. Learning and growing from these experiences is what makes us all stronger gardeners! Our hope is that we can help provide you with some tools to manage the challenging moments and celebrate & cherish the good and keep turning those weeds into seeds! #GardenerShanna likes to remind us of something #FredRogers used to say, "look for the helpers". In times of 'weeds' and worries, looks for the 'flowers'. When we take a minute to think about the family & friends we have supporting us, the people and pets who show us love, the strengths we see in ourselves, the accomplishments we've made, and all the good fortune we experience in our lives, that alone can make us take pause to appreciate the good and choose joy. If you need a little help looking for the flowers, try making a Gratitude Garden with our signature origami tulip craft! Watch the gifs below to learn how to make your tulips: Then, write your 'flowers' on your tulips: And make your #GratitudeGarden! Next time you are in a moment of weeds and worry, take a look at your gratitude garden and focus on your flowers! We would love to see YOUR gratitude gardens - send pictures to flowers@youareagardener.com or tag us @youareagardener. Remember you can always send us your weeds too! #GardenerAnna & #GardenerAidan would be happy to help you out. Be sure to keep up with Season 2 of #HelloGardeners. We just launched our 2nd episode of the second season!! And as always, #PullYourWeeds!

One of the healthiest emotions 'gardeners' can cultivate is gratitude. Being thankful and grateful for all that we have increases our positive emotions and decreases our stress levels. By focusing our energy on feelings of gratitude it opens up the possibilities for us to experience higher levels of love, happiness, joy and optimism. Today on the #PullYourWeeds® Blog we have come up with 5 Easy Ways To Cultivate Gratitude for gardeners of all ages! Click Here To Learn How To Make A Gratitude Garden 5 Easy Ways To Cultivate Gratitude #1- Write 5 Thank You Notes to people who have had a positive influence in your life. #2- Start a Gratitude Journal with a daily or weekly entry on all the things you are grateful for. #3- Create a Gratitude Garden on a bulletin board, wall or even your refrigerator! #4- Volunteer at a local charity or make donations to families in need. #5- Pass the Gratitude around the dinner table and each family can say what they are grateful for that day.

Now through the end of the month, we are giving away our limited edition #PullYourWeeds® Bookmarks with a purchase of our children's book, You Are a Gardener®. To get your free bookmark, mention this post at checkout and the name of the bookmark you would like to receive. (Scroll down to see all 4 styles) Bookmarks left to right: 1. Weeds 2. The Gang's All Here 3. Signs Everywhere 4. Plant Your Seeds Click Here To Get Your Free Bookmark Today!

So much goes into creating a book and we love to share our experience. Scroll down to read about the inspiration behind some of our favorite pages in You Are a Gardener®. This might be one of our favorite illustrations in our book. It is so symbolic of our family roots for so many reasons. 1. Anna’s nickname is Mousie. 2. Aidan’s nickname is Birdie. 3. We love to snuggle. 4. The robin is our favorite bird. Our Illustrator, Kelsey Jordan captured this all so perfectly. Family and love is at the root of everything we create. In today’s culture hedgehogs are seen as positive animals that symbolize happiness, motherhood, and calmness. They are loved by people because of their relaxed and non-aggressive behavior. Overall, hedgehogs are simply calm and relaxed creatures that symbolize everything that is positive in the world. We felt hedgehogs would be the perfect choice for this particular page of the book. Kelsey did such an amazing job at capturing an open, intimate and safe moment. 🦔 When we discussed the illustration for this particular page we wanted to capture a ‘look at yourself in the mirror’ kind of moment. Facing yourself and acknowledging what does not feel right is a brave and empowering experience. This page needed to capture just that. We wanted our fox to represent this moment of self-reflection in a simplified and organic way 🦊 <> This is one of the original watercolor paintings that is featured in the book. We call this one "The Gang's All Here". If you have any questions about self-publishing or bringing a book from concept to creation, please send us a message anytime!

The common thread in some recent conversations we have had with school counselors, teachers and parents is, there has been a major shift in stressors for kids this school year. Counselors are experiencing higher volumes in their offices, teachers have observed some students are not as calm and some parents are concerned for their children's mental well-being. The negative feelings, encounters and emotions for children are increasing and there is such a need to help them see the brighter side of this school year. We talk a lot about the importance of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) on our platform and how beneficial it is in the classroom and at home. Positive and powerful SEL programs are needed now more than ever! Empathy, inclusion, self-compassion, self-confidence and kindness need to take root, not stress, not fear, not sadness. We are here to help! Getting out there and planting the seeds to help children feel confident and calm is at the very root of everything we create. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a counselor or guardian, here is what you can do TODAY to start planting these seeds. Introduce your kids/students to the You Are a Gardener® vocabulary & mindset and help them embrace the power of the words, flowers, weeds and seeds! Schedule a #PullYourWeeds® SEL Workshop with Author/Creator Shanna Truffini for your class or at home. Read our #PullYourWeeds® Blog and get access to activities, exercises and inspirational stories all rooted in creating helpful and hopeful content! Watch our kid-friendly Hello Gardeners® and Camp Hello Gardeners® video series so your kids can see and experience the power of the program. This is a great resource to use in school and at home! Email us! We would love to provide you with any resources, and information we have that will help empower kids with skills and tools to help them deal with stress and big emotions! flowers@youareagardener.com Order a signed copy of our children's book, You Are a Gardener® for a gentle and organic introduction to what it means to pull your weeds, plant your seeds and enjoy the flowers along the way!