A Powerful Tool to Stay Grounded in Conflict
Early on in my role as a TREE facilitator, I was feeling preoccupied trying to juggle our lesson while keeping my attention on our time limit. I was inattentive to a student’s (let’s call him Phil) contribution to our discussion, which they had voiced in the chat window. I was engaged in mindlessness. Mindlessness is living […]
How to Have a Courageous Conversation
On January 6 of this year, many were shaken by the violent attack on the Capitol in the United States attempting to halt the vote count from the recent presidential election. Global news and social media channels across the world depicted rioters storming the building; many of whom were touting symbols of White supremacy. Black […]
Peace Activities for the Teenage Years
Welcome to the final instalment of our July Peace Activities series features three peace activities for teens. Featuring some of our favourite TREE activities, this guide is designed for older children or teens, age 13+ to try at home. Of course, you know your family best, so feel free to adapt these activities to their […]
Peace Activities For The Middle Years
Welcome to Part 2 of our July Blog Series! This month we are exploring different peace-based activities that you can do from home, adapted from some of our favourite TREE activities. These three activities are designed for children in middle elementary school, ages 10-12. Of course, you know your child best! Feel free to adapt […]
Peace Activities For The Early Years
This summer is probably looking a bit different than expected, with camps, trips, and adventures being put on hold while we continue to navigate social distancing the best we can. Children can keep on learning through play and dialogue, even with these new safety measures Each TREE Classroom program includes take-home activities for families, designed […]
TREE’s Summer Reading List
Summer is here! Whether we’re spending more time outside in backyards, on balconies, in parks, or at the beach, a book is always a good companion, especially when we’re physical distancing! We carefully choose the stories we read in TREE workshops, because we know the right book can create a space to encourage young people […]
Creating Spaces for Inclusive Conversations
To be inclusive means to welcome and accept others, not in spite of their identity, but with all aspects of their identity celebrated; this means people of different cultures, sexual orientations, races, religious beliefs, genders, socioeconomic statuses, abilities, family structures, immigration statuses, and educational background, to name a few. Creating atmospheres of inclusion in our […]
Setting Boundaries for Healthy Conversations
Being able to change the subject mid-conversation is really more of an art than anything else; being able to redirect a conversation is useful and powerful. No matter how gracefully you might be able to change the subject, there are some topics that come up again and again that you might not be in the […]
When Small Conflicts Feel Big
We all have a window of tolerance for managing stress, conflicts and challenges in any moment. In the best of times, we have a greater window of capacity to tolerate these stressors. At times, however, there will be stressors that shrink that window. It could be a big change, like moving to a new city, academic […]
Managing Conflict in Times of Stress
In times of high stress or anxiety, we respond in very different ways (see also: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn); some of us are extroverts, some are introverts, some people process internally by processing over time, others process externally by talking things through with others. All of these are exceptionally valid ways of navigating our […]
