Fill Your Bucket

 

While I work hard to make certain that I am providing my students with the best academic foundation on a daily basis, I also take time to teach each one of my students to be good citizens who care for and respect each other.    Just as you and I have grown and matured over the last several decades, our children need to be shown that as they grow they will make mistakes.  But if they keep “building” on good character, it will help them become more successful in life and have many more friends.  By teaching these “life skills,” children can value themselves and each other when we encourage them to be helpful, compassionate, unselfish classmates.  We will be recognizing children who exhibit good character traits such as being kind, truthful, show respect toward others, responsible, uses good manners and much more.  We will teach them to become “Bucket Fillers.”  “Bucket Fillers” are those who help without being asked, gives hugs and compliments, and generally spread their love and good feelings to others.  Bucket filling is a common act in our classroom and one that does not go unrecognized.  After discussing and creating class rules “promises” with the help of the students, we will read the story, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?   The short book explains to students that we carry an invisible bucket in which wee keep our feelings about ourselves.  When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty; we are sad.  It is important that they also understand that when they fill a friend’s bucket, they also fill their own bucket because it feels good to make others happy.  After reading the story, we will discuss the idea of filling buckets, and we will brainstorm a list of ways we can fill each other’s bucket both in our classroom and around our school.  To promote this act of bucket filling in our class, each student is given his or her own bucket.  The buckets are kept in a hanging shoe rack.  Small, multicolored pom-poms are stored in the top pockets of the shoe rack.  When a student fills a classmate’s invisible bucket, the bucket filler gets to add a pom-pom to their buckets.  When a student fills his or her bucket, the pom-poms are removed and  the student gets to visit our treat box.   Your help will be so valuable to these life lessons.  Please encourage your child to practice these good character traits at home.  Praise good character changes that your child makes and he/she matures!