Becoming a Tree
Click on the play button to listen to a clip of the song…
Dear parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and carers,
Here is the promised Sunday Joyful Journey blog, supporting children to feel strong in their bodies, confident in themselves, and steady as they move through their day.
A fun riddle for the children
I stand in one place.
Yet I travel through time.
I have no feet.
Yet I dance in the wind.
I speak without words.
I give without asking.
I reach to the sky,
While touching the earth.
What am I?
As children grow, they regularly face moments that challenge their confidence, learning something new, trying to balance, speaking up, or simply finding their place in the world. Confidence is not loud or forceful; it grows quietly through movement, body awareness, and a sense of capability.
This week’s Joyful Journey is the answer to the riddle, ‘A Tree’ Journey: Becoming a Tree has been created to help children feel strong, proud, and capable through embodied imagination and movement.
Why This Journey Builds Confidence
Children don’t develop confidence by just being told they are strong.
They develop confidence by feeling strength in their bodies.
Journey: Becoming a Tree supports this by using:
Whole-body movement (planting feet, stretching arms, standing tall)
Balance and posture awareness, which supports focus and self-belief
Sensory imagination (feeling roots, breeze, leaves, and movement)
When children imagine becoming a tree, rooted, tall, and flexible, they practise standing steady even when things wobble. This builds both physical balance and emotional resilience.
As children follow the words… plant your feet deep, stretch your arms to the sky, stand strong and proud … their bodies naturally engage.
They are not just listening; they are doing.
Feeling their feet anchored, their arms extended, and their body balanced helps children experience confidence as something real and physical, not just an idea.
The journey finishes with a powerful message:
Now stand strong, proud, and mighty when you’re being a tree.
You can listen to a clip of the Becoming a Tree song by clicking below the image above.
Many children enjoy:
first reading the journey together
listening to the song
moving along with the words while singing the song
In a classroom setting, this journey works beautifully as a short movement-based confidence break.
Sensory & Movement Activity
Tree Pose Balance Challenge
(From the Joyful Journeys Activity Pack)
You might like to try this playful confidence-building activity:
Invite your child to stand tall with feet planted firmly
Slowly lift one foot to balance like a tree
Arms can stretch up like branches or sway gently in the breeze
Ask gently:
“Can you stay steady even if you wobble?”
Celebrate effort, not perfection, wobbling is part of learning.
This activity supports:
balance and coordination
focus and concentration
confidence through physical capability
This Tree Pose Balance Challenge is included in the Joyful Journeys Activity Pack and pairs beautifully with the story and song.
Thank you for sharing this strong, joyful moment together.
Journey: Becoming a Tree, along with the song and activity ideas, can be found inside the Joyful Journeys bundle, created to support children’s confidence, body awareness, and emotional wellbeing.
With warmth and care,
Grandma Mimi
Research Insight
¹ Bakosh, L. S., Snow, R. M., Tobias, J. M., Houlihan, J. L., & Barbosa-Leiker, C. (2016). Maximizing mindful learning: Mindfulness interventions for elementary school children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 32(2), 172–191.
Research indicates that mindfulness-based practices combining movement, imagery, and body awareness support emotional regulation, confidence, and self-efficacy in children.