Punjammies and Purple Crayons!

Happy Summer, Peeps! Kerri here...
Well, it's officially summer for me here is So. Cal! FINALLY! It is always so bittersweet, isn't it? I am always desperate for summer to get here, but then it does and I immediately miss my kiddos. Sigh...


Have you heard of Punjammies? Well, my AMAZING room mom got me some today and I immediately came home (after our End of the Year work party at the Yard House, where I most definitely had a raspberry cider-Yummy!) and put them on...

These pj's are roomy, soft, and ADORBS! And here is the best part...just read their story from the Punjammies website:

PUNJAMMIES™ are created in after-care facilities for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Their lives have been marked by a message – you are a commodity – to be used for others' gain.

Whether sold by her own family, trafficked from another country or driven by desperation, she was a slave to this life. Each story is as unique as each woman.

When a woman escapes from this life, she has few options. Beyond their emotional and psychological trauma, women in India who have been forced to work as prostitutes cannot easily enter schools, return to family systems or secure jobs to support themselves. A high-quality after-care center is one of the best options a woman has for rebuilding her life.

Holistic aftercare involves quality medical care, emotional safety, education along with the tools and community to create a new way of living.

PUNJAMMIES™ is the vehicle used to empower each woman.  Instead of the vicious cycle of her former life, the making of PUNJAMMIES starts her on her own virtuous cycle of self-reliance and dignity.  A simple thing like making pajamas is what it takes.  With the brothel behind and opportunity ahead in a new, supportive community, she is gradually restored to health.  When its time, she is trained to sew -- and more importantly, to contribute as an integral part of an inter-dependent team.   Here is where she learns that she is valuable, to take pride in her work, and to trust again. To trust again--in herself and in others!  Her past diminishes and her future brightens.  She is becoming the kind of person she was made to be!

When one woman was asked about how her life has changed, she said, "In the brothels, I was alone. But now I have sisters."

Every pair of PUNJAMMIES™ tells the story of a woman who was, once, voiceless. When you buy her PUNJAMMIES, you are key part of her path, out of modern-day slavery, into a life of hope, dignity and freedom.

Wear PUNJAMMIES™. Wear hope.

Is that not AWESOME?? I was so excited to receive this amazing gift that I came home and got myself these...

and then I saw this...

well, and maybe this too!

Guess what?? They are having a CLEARANCE sale, girls! Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I love this company because it is helping women have hope again. I hope you will check it out, and then feel comfy all summer long in your new punjammies!

In other news, we did something fun today, on our last day, that is straight out of my mom's teaching vault! We read Harold and the Purple Crayon this week, and then we watched it on United Streaming (Don't you just love the scholastic version?). Today, in order to kill time provide one last meaningful, fun learning experience, I gave my kidlets a sharp purple crayon and let them draw their own Blank (Insert name) and the purple crayon picture. They LOVED it! Here are some of their creations...

Fun, right?? My mom used to do this project with her Firsties and then display them for Open House!

After they finished their creations, we had an art show and they all got to show the class their pictures while they told one thing about it into my microphone (best teaching tool EVER...more on that later!)

Okay, I'm gonna go start my summer! Hope yours is fantastic so far!