Recycle a Tomato Trellis and Make a Wishing Tree

This post is authored by Anna Reyner, a registered art therapist and licensed marriage and family therapist. Anna is a nationally recognized arts advocate that has conducted over 500 hands-on art workshops for learners of all abilities. Follow Anna’s blog at Art and Creativity in Early Childhood Education.

Special Needs Application:

A good outlet for social emotional issues.

Here's an artful way to put a tomato trellis to good use...turn it into a Wishing Tree! Simply take a metal tomato plant trellis, put it into a soil filled pot and have children design their own wish to attach it to the "tree".

These wishes were created on rice paper, but you could also use hand-painted paper or construction paper with collage materials on top.

With summer coming up, you could even create this to decorate an outdoor vegetable garden.
 

 
This creative idea came from a volunteer at A Window Between Worlds, a shelter for battered women and their children in Venice, CA.