The Constant Companion: How Our Inner Voice Shapes Communication
Assume you’re talking with a friend. As they speak, your mind is racing with ideas and reactions. This is your inner voice, the constant dialogue that shapes how you receive information, formulate answers, and ultimately interact with the world around you. Far from being a passive observer, your inner voice serves as a powerful filter, […]
Navigating Conflict: Essential Skills for De-Escalation
Conflict is a natural part of life. Whether it’s a disagreement with a friend, a debate at work, or a clash of ideas, conflicts are inevitable. But here’s the good news: you can de-escalate conflicts effectively, turning them into opportunities for growth and understanding. Let’s dive into some essential skills for de-escalation, including staying calm, […]
Ways to Implement Self-Care in Young Children
In today’s fast-paced world, instilling the value of self-care in children is more important than ever. Self-care means taking care of the whole self. It is the foundation on which we build our care and love for the world (We R Native, 2021). The Medicine Wheel is an ancient symbol used by some of the […]
Understanding Compassionate Empathy: Connecting with Others on a Deeper Level
Empathy is a basis of human interaction, allowing us to understand and share the emotions of those around us. Among its various forms, compassionate empathy stands out as particularly impactful. While emotional and cognitive empathy focus on understanding, compassionate empathy goes further, driving us to take action to aid in relieving the heavy emotions another […]
Using the Enneagram as a Tool for Empathy
I’ve never had much interest in personality tests, until I was introduced to the Enneagram of Personality by a close friend (and former TREE facilitator!) around five years ago. Since then, it’s something that I reflect on often as a way to have a deeper understanding of myself and to have a stronger understanding of […]
Why We Should Actively Listen to Others
Actively listening to others is an essential skill that can benefit both the listener and the speaker. Active listening involves not only hearing what someone is saying but also paying attention to their body language, tone of voice, and overall message. Let’s explore some reasons why active listening is so important. Firstly, active listening builds […]
Mindful Eating
Mindfulness is a large part of our TREE curriculum, where students are encouraged to practice various mindfulness techniques to manage their emotions. In my experience, the toughest part about introducing the concept of mindfulness is the idea that it requires a lot of time or perfect stillness to reap the benefits. On the contrary, mindfulness […]
Connecting with Nature Mindfully
I took up gardening a couple of years ago in an attempt to eat healthier and circumvent the rising cost of fresh produce at the grocery store. What I gained through that experience has been a reconnection, not only with the natural environment, but with myself. The routine of watering, weeding, and harvesting the vegetables […]
The Rewards of Celebrating Differences
One of the TREE workshops that I facilitated in the last session was with a Grade 1/2 split class, using the TREE Grade 2 curriculum. I really enjoyed working with the students and their teacher, since they were nice students who listened quite well and had high participation in group activities. But of course, some […]
Building Empathy
In the fourth week of TREE’s Grade 3 Conflict Resolution curriculum, the focus is on Empathy. How to build empathy for another person, and how to show empathy to another person. At the beginning of the class, the students are asked to share some of the feelings that they have experienced before. Everything from sad, […]
