Everybody needs words of encouragement. Frequently in the hustle and bustle of life, we can forget to extend a kind compliment to a stranger, family and friends, and even our kids. But a kind word reminding the people in your life how special they are can truly brighten their day.

This year, I'll be leading the students of The Joshua Tree Community in creating a Compliment Jar. The Joshua Tree Community is located in Geneva, Illinois, and it is a non-profit day program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Their goal is to provide this community of adults a means to participate in rich activities each day of every week, year-round. I love volunteering at this unique organization!

A compliment jar is a bright and colorful jar created by the decoupage art technique. Decoupage is the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts. I have chosen to use small mason jars for this activity. Students will write compliments for each classmate, cut, curl, and place them in their classmate's jar. A unique tag will accompany each jar that reads, " Open this bright and colorful jar to remind yourself how special you are! Happy New Year 2023!"

This project aims to offer the students positive wishes from their friends as they begin the new year. At anytime this year, they can open this special jar and reread the compliments written by their classmates to remind them how special they are. 

Here are the materials you will need for the project:

*A mason jar 

*Small square tissue paper ( I found mine at Michael's already pre-cut)

*Mod Podge, matte or gloss finish

*Small paper or a personal template to write compliments

*Pencil

*String, yarn, and tag

*List of positive adjectives for your children to refer to when writing the compliments

Procedure:

1. Clean and dry your mason jar.

2. Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge to a small section of your jar. Add some colored tiles, overlapping them. 

3. Every time you lay a piece of tissue paper, brush another layer of Mod Podge on top of it. Be careful not to rip the paper; however, you can layer an additional tissue on top if this happens. Repeat this process until the entire jar is covered in colored squares. Allow time for it to dry.

4. Invite your children or students to write compliments for each person in their classroom. Cut the compliments out and tightly roll each strip of paper on a pencil. Slowly unravel them as they become a spiral, curly, and colorful addition to add to your jar. 

5. Distribute all the compliments to each compliment jar, place the lid on them, and tie the tag to the jar as a reminder of its use.

Important Note: As a precursor to this art project, the students and I discussed the idea of a compliment and the importance of giving and receiving them. We reviewed the list of positive adjectives to describe our friends and clarified any words they did not know. Next, the students wrote the compliments, and then we set them aside to participate in the art project. You can complete the above steps in the best order for your children and students. 

Hope you enjoy this fun, colorful, and meaningful project with your students or children!