Do You Want Your Kids to Do Well in School? Middle School Teacher Says Tell Them What You Love about Them at Regular Family Dinners.

Suttons Bay, MI February 17, 2006 — “Parents, take the time to tell your kids what you love and appreciate about them. And make regular family meals a priority.” That’s middle school teacher Jolynn Paige’s advice for helping build strong families and happy kids.

Paige, 42, taught middle and high school English and French for nearly 15 years. When she was laid-off from her teaching job, she decided to start a business called thepurpleplate.com, because she wanted to get the message out to people that the most important thing they can do for their kids is to make them feel loved, secure and valued. She says that test scores and grades will go up without any investment in expensive tutoring, classes, or software because love works.

The idea for the business came from a combination of a strong need to continue helping families and her experience with her own husband and two children. Paige says her family has made having regular family meals together a priority, but there’s a twist: Years ago, Paige started the tradition of using a purple dinner plate, which is placed in the family’s cupboard along with their other every day dishes. Whenever the purple plate comes to the top of the pile of plates, it is set randomly at the table, and the family then goes around the table telling something they love or appreciate about the person who has the purple plate.

Paige has now designed her own purple plate, which she is selling online, in hopes that other families will take on her family’s tradition.

“It’s really simple. Kids who have a secure, loving home, where the adults in their lives listen and talk to them are much more likely to be successful at school,” said Paige. She says that there is substantial research to back up her theory. “I know families are busy, and many are broken, but I firmly believe that adults need to prioritize regular family meals together, and we need to take the time to talk and listen to each other,” said Paige.

For additional about The Purple Plate, contact Jolynn Paige at 231-409-2050 or go to www.thepurpleplate.com.