This is a project we did for the A-Z Back to School Series for The Ribbon Retreat. It’s been a month of projects starting with every letter of the alphabet and our letter was ‘P.’ All the projects have been awesome-be sure to hop over and browse through the alphabet of great back to school ideas (HERE)! We are excited to post our ‘P’ project here in case you missed it!
It’s always a little heart breaking to see the summer fun come to an end, but it’s also so nice to get back into a regular routine. In addition to regular routine, there are so many great things about school: friends, recess, field trips, personal pencil boxes, and learning of course!
We love to reward academic accomplishments - big and small - and man do kids love to be rewarded and praised for doing good work, so we have decided to start a new tradition using the letter of the day……………
Introducing the “Praise Plate!”
How does it work? Well, any time one of the kids accomplishes something really great they get to eat on the “Praise Plate.” 100% on a spelling test, receiving a school award, getting a good grade on a book report, or simply improving in an area they may be struggling with. It can be whatever we choose! We make a big deal out of that child’s accomplishment which helps encourage not just that child, but all the kids to do their best. That’s the whole goal right? For kids to do their very best! It may get used every day or maybe just once a week-you decide the terms of use. 🙂
Let’s get started!
Here’s what you need:
- Glass plate (we got ours at Walmart for under $2!)
- Fabric (we chose Riley Blake Sasparilla multi-alphabet HERE, and Riley Blake Tonal dots HERE.)
- Mod Podge
- Scissors
- Spray Sealer
First give the back side of the plate a good coat of Mod Podge.
Next, lay the fabric face down over the mod podged plate.
Smooth and press the fabric down all around making sure to press out any bubbles.
Then go along the edges and add more mod podge if needed. We want the edges to stick really well.
Now cut off the extra fabric following the edge of the plate.
Paint the back side of the fabric with a coat of Mod Podge. Lay face down to dry.
If the plate were just for decoration, this would be the last step; but since we will be using it we sprayed it with a couple coats of outdoor sealer to really protect it.
Despite being sealed with Mod Podge and the outdoor sealer, we still recommend hand washing only and being careful not to let the plate soak in water.
These plates also make a great gift - a super cute plate full of cookies or some other treat! They are even cute enough to use as decoration-perfect for the kitchen or even as display for a party! So many ways to use this idea!
Isn’t it cute?!
This one is a triple ‘P’ threat: Polka dot Praise Plate!
Our kids started school this week and they are pretty excited to get to eat on the “Praise Plate!” I’m excited to see them accomplish great things this school year! I’m also excited for a cleaner house for at least a few hours in the day ;)! Ha-ha! Miss the kids, not the messes right?! Here’s to a fabulous year of learning and growing!
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