Sand Tray Therapy Class: My Family, an almost first sand tray with translation, Student #1

by Jackie Wall
(Mercer University)

This is a sand tray for sand tray therapy of my family. I chose the mother kangaroo to represent myself because first I am a mom, and I love to carry my babies with me wherever I go. Even when they are not with me, I think about them constantly. My children are surrounding me. I chose a Koala Bear for my oldest because it reminds me of the story Koala Lou, I do love you. My son is strong and athletic as well as sweet and cuddly. The lion cub is for my ten year old who is a lot like a little/big lion cub. He can be strong and loud or soft, sensitive, and sweet. He can be quiet and sneaky or pounce and roar. I chose the sweet parakeet for my daughter because my little bird is beautiful, loves to fly, and has a sweet voice that chirps all the time. Finally I choose the meerkat for my husband because the meerkat can be playful but can also be still and quiet.
I chose some items to represent things we love to do as a family. I chose the Mr. Potato Head because we love to be playful and enjoy games and time together as a family (and all of my children loved to play dress up). Then I chose the cat bus because our favorite movie is the favorite movie is Totoro, which is a lovely and sweet story, and we love to watch movies together. I chose some items to represent Tybee Island where we love to go and play in nature, which is why I put the turtle and a little whale (like a dolphin) with the flowers that my daughter brought to me. They are almost a purple, my favorite color, and my mother’s favorite flower in all the world. She is also a beautiful presence in my life with gentleness, kindness, beauty and love. Finally, I included a dog because our dogs are part of our family and connect us in some ways, always present.
I decided to represent the people in my family in another way as well. So I chose the little pink poodle to represent my daughter who is prissy and cute, though she can bark, and loves to get all fancied up like a princess. I chose the Yoda for my oldest son because he is older and wise and willing to fight for good as well as see the good in everyone. I chose Shrek for my middle child because he is big and strong but soft, sweet, and is of course very funny, a lot like Shrek’s best friend Donkey. I chose Buzz Lightyear for my husband because he's in a very protective suit that sometimes hard to through. And while he can be a strong and protective presence, he is often quiet and a bit of a loner.
Finally I chose several characters to represent different parts of me First is the incredible girl who loves to put a protective bubble around my family and willing to fight for good to protect those I love. I chose Mickey Mouse because I like to be playful but can be serious, thoughtful, and quiet as well. I also love stories. I am not sure why I chose Big Bird maybe because of the teacher part of me and because Big Bird sometimes seems to say too much. I chose Sebastion the crab because he's the part of myself warning me to be good and not be too risky.
Sand tray therapy class assignment.