I got an idea...with a little help from Ethan's Drama class! :-)

Ethan came home from school today and I noticed a paper plate in his bag. I asked him why there was a plate in his bag and he said, "oh it's for drama". Upon taking a closer look at this plate I noticed that there were things written all over it. Things like:
I like your necklace, awesome!
You are nice!
You are funny!
You are cool!
You are funny and smart!
You are a special person!
Some of these get repeated a couple times on the plate but each one is written by a different person, in different ink, and that persons own unique handwriting. I haven't taken the time to find out the principle behind this plate but it did make me stop and think that words of affirmation is something we all need to hear more of!
With four children in the house I hear words like, stupid, idiot, retarded, meanie, brat, baby, and you get the idea! It is so easy to spout off words of ridicule and humiliation without even batting an eyelash but words of praise? For a sibling to say, "Hey, you are really smart!" OR "You know what that necklace is pretty cool little brother!". I just don't think there is enough of that or we could could ever hear too much!
Friday nights are family night. We ALWAYS have pizza and a movie and this is the one night pop is aloud to be their drink with dinner. I look forward to a night off of cooking but I also look forward to just spending time together as a family. Watching a funny movie and sharing the time together! When I was little we did the same thing in my family except we were always watching The Dukes of Hazard on TV that night! :-) Ha-ha! Anyway...I am getting away from my point, which is this. This Friday night I am going to add on to our Friday night tradition and tell the kids that before the pizza, pop, and movie we are going to take a few minutes to go around and tell one thing positive each sibling has done or said in the past week, including mommy and maybe even an e-mail to dad!! :-)
I don't want my kids to feel foolish for praising other people and I want my children to be able to take a compliment. Maybe one night we can make a plate and write it all down, or put it on a piece of paper, something to remind each child that they are important, have value, and even when we don't always say it, each one is loved by the other!