The idea of Bucket Fillers is based on the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? (A Guide to Daily Happiness For Kids) by Carol McCloud. The premise of the book is this...
We all carry an invisible bucket that contains our feelings. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When our bucket is empty, we feel awful. A Bucketfiller is someone who says or does kind things for others. By doing this, a person is filling the buckets of others and filling his or her own bucket at the same time.
On the other hand, a bucket dipper says or does things to cause other people to feel badly. A bucket dipper empties another child's bucket when he/she says and does mean things.
All of us are given the freedom to make daily choices, such as the clothes we wear, the food we eat, grades in school, AND how we treat others. When we choose to be a Bucketfiller, we bring love and happiness into our lives and the lives of others. Bullying is bucket dipping and this choice brings sadness and loneliness to us and to others. Make the choice to be a BUCKETFILLER!
In our classroom, each student has a small metal bucket hanging in the “Bucket Fillers” corner. Everyone is encouraged to fill the buckets by writing kind words and compliments to each other and by celebrating the great things happening in our room. A special form and fuzzy pom poms are used for this daily activity. At the end of the week, we empty the buckets and read the nice things our friends have left for us when they filled our buckets.
