Have you filled a bucket today?????
That is the title of what has become one of our favorite children’s’
books, written by Carol McCloud and David Messing. As it turns out, each and every one of us is carrying
around an invisible bucket that gets filled when others demonstrate acts of
kindness and empathy toward us. And
the best part is that our bucket gets filled when we perform acts of kindness
for others! Two buckets get filled at the same time! I had to process that one
with the Kindergarten, First and Second Grade children, as I thought this was
too good to be true. But they were able to explain to me that the reason why
both buckets get filled is that when you make someone feel cared for, included,
or good about themselves, it makes you feel good about yourself too, hence the “2
bucket” theory!
We talked about how we could be bucket fillers at school, and
the examples were inspiring – saying thank you to the lunch staff after
clearing our trays, whole body listening when the teacher or a friend is
talking, asking someone to play with you if they are alone, congratulating a
friend when they win a game. And there were many others too numerous to mention.
We also talked about “bucket dipping”, or those words or
actions which make people feel bad. Sometimes we feel like we are filling our
buckets by bringing people down or excluding them, but in reality, we empty our
own buckets as well. Some examples of bucket dipping which we discussed are
telling friends that they can’t play with us at recess, or criticizing them in
some way. Again, their responses reflected the level of empathy and compassion
with which your children function in their everyday lives. This lesson promoted
not only a good amount of self-awareness in the students, but also some
perspective taking as we explored how our actions impact those with whom we
interact.
At home, ask your children about the bucket filling lessons
they have learned, and how they not only became bucket fillers at school, but
how they can be bucket fillers at home and in the community as well. If their
thoughts move you as much as it moved me and Marilena, your bucket will be
overflowing!
So at the end of the day, ask yourself: “Was I a bucket
filler or a bucket dipper?”
