Tree of Me - Art as Therapy

How are we similar to trees? What do we need in order to thrive? The Tree of Me project is very dear to me. I first designed the Tree of Me activity for a friend's social psychology class unit on "The Development of the Self" at Humber College to help promote inner healing and mindfulness of the self. 

I turned this into a 'getting to know you' activity with my high school students. Later on, it became a final summative where there was an added reflection component.

Anyone can design their own tree. Find a certain type of tree that represents them. Eg: Pine tree if you were born in the winter months. This is a link to a list of trees and their meanings.
Symbolically, roots and branches can represent the following:

ROOTS: Roots can represent what has helped you become who you are today. This can include your
environment (your home, upbringing, etc), people in your life (family, friends, mentors), certain events
or experiences in your life, your personality traits, your culture, faith etc.

BRANCHES: Branches and leaves can represent your future goals and steps you need to reach your goals. Where do you see yourself in the near future? What are your hopes, goals and dreams? What steps may you need to take to get there? Start sketching your ideas in your notebook/sketchbook. You can use words as well as pictures.

This is an activity anyone can do! You can make it more complex by only allowing visual representations. Have fun!

Student Artwork, 2017 to 2019

2017_version_tree_of_me.pdf
File Size:	535 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---