Schoola and KIPP Academy #Clothes4Schools

I'm a big thrifter. I go to Good Greatwill on the reg. I also love a good antique shop. And if I could wake up early enough for yard sales, I'd hit those up, too. I become a total mouth breather when I'm in the thrifting zone, and I always find awesome treasures at amazing prices.

When it comes to Adrienne's clothes, I hate spending a fortune on an outfit that she'll only fit into a few months. And that's the time frame, because my kiddo is growing. ::bittersweet face:: A lot of Adrienne's clothes are bought second hand. I can get adorable things that are gently used for next to nothing. #heyoh.

With that said, Schoola, an online resale children's store with amazing prices, is a great place to shop. You can find fantastic name brand clothing for the kids at a totally second hand price. Plus, you can shop while never leaving your house. Win slash win slash winning all around.

Another amazing thing about Schoola is they will also take your child's used clothes! All you have to do is simply request a Schoola Bag and it will be sent to your house. Fill the bag with outgrown clothes and pop it into the mail. Schoola even pays for shipping! 40% of the proceeds from the sale of your donated items will be given to a school of YOUR choice.

Plus, for every transaction that is tracked or for every person who requests a Schoola donation bag via my unique referral code, Schoola will donate $1 to KIPP Academy. KIPP Academy is a small school located in the Bronx. This school works extremely hard to help needy children. 95% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-cost lunches. And more than 1 in 7 children there receives special education services. In the midst of all the hardships these children endure, music touches and engages them. They even have a slogan on their music room door- "All of us will learn music."

Also, when you donate clothes and fill out your school information, $2 of every $5 made will go back to your child's school! That's what we call a win slash win for everyone!

So, get out there and help the world by shopping second hand. And help schools in need by shopping with Schoola.

This post is brought to you by Schoola, the best place to buy discounted kids clothes all while give back to schools in need. 

20 Days of School with Schoola and KIPP Academy #Clothes4Schools

My child comes from a very musical family. Her daddy is a keyboardist and was even in a band for the first few years of her life. Her great, great, grandmother is a pianist and can sing beautifully, as well as two of her aunts. A few of her uncles dabble in music, also. And on my side of the family we are related to Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein. So, naturally music is in her blood.

Here are just four of the hundreds of photos we have of Adrienne surrounded by music. The first one is of her playing when she was around two, the second photo is of her and her daddy being filmed for a documentary, the third is her and I at a music festival watching her daddy's band play, and lastly, mini Adrienne on a mini piano. Ugh! What happened to my little baby?!

Adrienne thrives on music, as do most children. And many times, music isn't available for kids. Music isn't a focus at home for them and for tons of schools, it isn't even an option. That said, I'm extremely excited to be teaming up with Schoola to help fund KIPP Academy's Music Program.

KIPP Academy is a small school located in the Bronx. This school works extremely hard to help needy children. 95% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-cost lunches. And more than 1 in 7 children there receives special education services. In the midst of all the hardships these children endure, music touches and engages them. They even have a slogan on their music room door- "All of us will learn music."

So from now until August 18th, you and I can help KIPP Academy reach their goal of $25,000 to fund their music program. I've teamed up with Schoola to help make this happen. If you don't know about Schoola, they are an online store that sells gently used children's clothes. Another neat thing about Schoola is that they will also take your child's used clothes! All you have to do is simply request a Schoola Bag and it will be sent to your house. Fill the bag with outgrown clothes and pop it into the mail. Schoola even pays for the postage! 40% of the proceeds from the sale of your donated items will be given to a school of YOUR choice.

For every transaction that is tracked or for every person who requests a Schoola donation bag via my unique referral code, Schoola will donate $1 to KIPP Academy. Also, when you donate clothes and fill out your school information, $2 of every $5 made will go back to your child's school! That's what we call a win slash win for everyone!

This post is brought to you by Schoola, the best place to buy discounted kids clothes all while give back to schools in need. 

Back to School

The Magic of Think

It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood, frands. Won't you be my neighbor? Okay, if uprooting your family and moving all your junk to me is out of the question, I completely understand. Packing up a house is for the birds.

Anymovingboxesaren'tmyjam, this morning we have a guest speaker typer! Meet Janyse Jaud. She is an award-winning singer/songwriter, author, thinkolgist, and voiceover actress. She has even worked with clients such as Discovery, The Cartoon Network, Hasbro, Marvel, and Disney. You know, the big dawgs.

Janyse Jaud has also created a way to help empower kids. After working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Magic of Think® was delevloped. The Magic of Think® is a series of lesson plans that include music, activities, games, and stories that focus on academic subjects and boosting a child's self-esteem.

That said, I'm super excited to introduce Janyse Jaud of The Magic of Think®!

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5 Early Childhood Techniques Taught Through The Magic of Think®
By Janyse Jaud

The Magic of Think® concept began to take flight after an amazing experience I had with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I watched a child recite every word I had performed as an animated character in his favorite television show. The show was so important to him that he made his “one wish” to meet all of us in the series. I was so touched. I will never forget that memory.

Intrigued I began to ask myself: “What if I could create a program to help children become mentally stronger?” So with a sprinkle of seriousness, a dash of humor, and a bunch of fun, The Magic of Think® was born.

There are a variety of subjects covered within The Magic of Think® program, but today I’m going to focus on a story, song and lesson that specifically deals with bullying. Following are 5 of the many techniques that I cover:

1. Understanding and Managing Your Emotions – When we talk about our emotions it enables us to disconnect from those feelings and see ourselves in a more objective manner. We can look at the situation calmly, gain the power to make better choices, and become proactive. This is better than getting trapped into the habit of reacting, where emotions control our lives, leaving us victimized and powerless. 
2. Metaphors – Another way to gain control over our emotions is by creating a metaphor that can defuse a negative thought. For example, the animated character in the story, Little Red, decides to think of the bully as a “boogermonger.” Creating a humorous definition and image in his mind, this metaphor helps Little Red to minimize the bully’s position and credibility. 
3. Act As If – By using his imagination and “acting as if” he has courage, Little Red is able to act calmly and with confidence in a tense situation. 
4. Repetition – Using visual, audio and tactile learning, the message is discovered, repeated, and reinforced in a number of ways through songs, stories, games and activities. 
5. Humor – Little Red decides to agree with the bully, laugh at himself, and react as though what the bully says is unimportant. This becomes another way to calm the confrontation, disengage, and minimize the severity of the situation. 

“Humor is a very important component of emotional health, maintaining relationships, developing cognitive function and perhaps even medical health,” said Allan Reiss, MD, who directs the Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford. […] “In particular, we think a balanced and consistent sense of humor may help children negotiate the difficult period of pre-adolescence and adolescence,” he said.

SCOPE published by Stanford Medicine (January, 2012) Study shows how humor activates children’s brains. Retrieved from http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/01/31/making-kids-laugh-for-science/

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I also want to let everyone know that I'm guest typing over at Love, Joleen Photography today! 

Mama May I

Adrienne is ahead of the game. I'm not even being biased. Her pediatrician said that she is way beyond a four year comprehension level. And she just turned three. She can count to twenty in Spanish, counts to fifty in English, recites and can also write out her ABC's, can spell and write her name, and knows where she lives. And she is a boss at the Subway Surfers app. Those are just a few of the things off the top of my head. Just give me the teacher of the year award now.

I couldn't really accept that trophy, though. I haven't even begun to actually "teach" her. She has basically picked up those things by herself. I have never ingrained anything. I focus more on fun. Like spelling her name out in a song. Or drawing pictures with letters. Being three should be all rainbows and unicorns. All. the. time. Okay. It really isn't. It's sunshine and glitter, like, less than half of the time. The other half deals with tantrums. And time outs. And lots of wine for me.

Since we are talking about schoolin' kids, let's talk about toys that teach. Mama May i, a company who specializes in learning toys, sent Adrienne a Chick A Dee play set. I am totally big on wooden toys. If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know that. I love how simplistic wooden toys are, but can hold a child's imagination longer than a plastic toy that yaps. Amiright or am I right? Right.

My child literally played with this bird and his bowl of eggs for an hour straight. The first thing she did was get her Little People fairy playhouse out, because it had a tree for the bird to nest in. Makes since. See? My kid is a genius. Then she hid the little eggs around the house and made the grown up kids, aka her parents, find them. If I would have known a little stuffed bird and wooden eggs would keep her so entertained, I'd have gotten some sooner. The more you know. I guess.

Mama May i has so many colorful wooden toys to choose from. Like this Fairy Friends set, which comes in all the different colors of the rainbow. How adorable is that? We adopt fairies on the reg and are always on the look out for new fairy habitats.

If you like the concept of Montessori teaching, you will love Mama May i. If you'd like to purchase any of these durable handmade toys, make sure to use the coupon code that's specially for Coffee and Cashmere readers. That's YOU. Enter CANDC at checkout for 15% off your total purchase (excluding shipping).

Now you really don't have any excuse not to do some online shopping. Get your Valentine's and Easter stuffers in one swoop or kill two birds with one stone.

Those puns were totes intended.

If you like my stuffs, help a homie out and vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs by clicking the picture below. Just one click. It will take you to the Top Mommy Blogs website, but you voted for me by just clicking that happy cartoon lady below! YOU CAN VOTE DAILY!! Thank you guys!!