This is a single activity session plan from The Lifeskills Handbook. There are 61 activity sessions altogether. The handbook is available from our resources section where you’ll also find downloadable storybooks, books and posters to help you in your work.
LifeSkills Handbooks Activity 45
Returning to the Tree of Life
Purpose of Activity: To develop children’s Self-awareness about their present lives.
Life Skills: Self-awareness, Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking
Important Points
This activity is a repeat of Activity 2. The children now should have better communication skills and more experience in dealing with abstract concepts and with expressing their feelings.
Materials
- One copy of the tree and a figure picture for each child or a drawing of the tree and figures on a large poster
- Small sheets of paper (at least one per child)
- Pencils or pens
- A large poster of a tree without figures
Steps
- If you have done this activity already from Part 1, remind the children of the session and ask them what they remember.
- Follow the same steps as in Activity 2.
- Show the children the tree picture and explain that the tree represents life and all the figures on the tree are people at different stages of their lives. They are doing different things for different reasons.
Final discussion
Which figure did you choose? Why? Were you happy to choose a figure? Why/Why not? Were there other figures you thought were like you? If they have done the activity before, add do you remember the figure you chose to do the first time we did this activity? Did you choose the same or a different figure today? Why or why not?