Bucket-Filling Week is Next Week!

Just a reminder that next week is Bucket-Filling Week at TPS! If you have a few extra minutes of conversation time with your children this weekend, you might try to think together of a couple of thoughtful words or actions that would make other people feel special, important, loved, or respected. When your child carries out the deeds you planned, he or she can write or draw them on the paper buckets that were sent home this week, and bring them into school to be displayed in our hallways. I look forward to being inspired by the creative and unique ideas our kids document!

I hope Bucket-Filling Week is a fun opportunity for your family to talk and think about little ways to spread consideration, respect, and kindness. If you have any questions, just let me know!

Thanks very much for reading. We are glad you're here!

Kindergarten Bucket-Filling Lesson

Hello everyone! I hope you had a blessed and festive Thanksgiving with family and friends. Welcome back into the swing of things!

Tomorrow I'll start teaching our bucket-filling lesson in kindergarten classrooms. Like the last first grade lesson, we'll read the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, and discuss bucket-filling, bucket-dipping, and "putting a lid on your bucket" to protect your feelings when someone is being unkind to you.

Then I'll sent up a blue paper "pond" filled with paper fish. I've put a paper clip on each fish, and written an action that is bucket-filling, bucket-dipping, or putting a lid on your bucket. Kids will "go fishing" with a magnet attached to a pencil and determine if the situation they pull from the pond is bucket-filling, bucket-dipping, or using their lid. They'll drop it in (what else?) a bucket with one of those three labels. Hopefully this will help our students understand exactly what we mean by "being a bucket-filler," and also give them some good ideas for choices to make at home and school.

I'll see Henry, Miller, D. Mitchell, Wood/Sullivan, Tindle, Henderson, and Curry this week. All other K classes will take place next week. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Thank you very much for reading. We are glad you are here!

1st Grade Bucket-Filling Lesson

We started a new round of lessons today and they are about.... buckets! Buckets? Yes, buckets.

In all grades, we will read the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. The basic idea is that everyone in the world has an invisible bucket, and our buckets hold our good thoughts and good feelings about ourselves.

When we talk about "filling people's buckets," we mean saying and doing considerate things to help others feel special, important, and loved. "Bucket-dipping" is the opposite: saying and doing unkind things that make others feel un-special or unimportant. This year I am also introducing the concept of "putting a lid on your bucket," which means protecting your feelings if someone is being unkind. Instead of letting their meanness hurt you, you can walk away, ignore them, ask them to stop, find other people to play with, or tell yourself that what they are saying isn't true or isn't worth worrying about.

The lessons will encourage students to think of ways that they can be bucket-fillers for classmates, parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in their lives. The bucket-filling concept is a great tool for friendship and social skills development, and it also ties in with our state's character education initiatives, particularly the traits we happen to celebrate in November: kindness, compassion, and caring.

For this 1st grade lesson, we will read the book, then do a sorting activity in teams to identify bucket-filling and bucket-dipping words and actions. If we have time (we usually save a lot of time for fun stuff when we are good listeners!), we'll shoot a ball into a box like a basketball hoop for naming our own bucket-filling ideas. I've also been trying to save time for a toothpaste demonstration. The basic idea of that is once we say or do something, we cannot take it back or make everything just like it was before. That is like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube! You cannot ever get it back in like nothing ever happened. Apologies are the same way; it is nice to say we are sorry, but it is better to think before we act because we cannot always take away the hurt we've caused people or repair our reputations.

I'll see Dockery, Thomas, L. Foster, Childers, Ray, Durett, Brown, and Turner this week. All other 1st grade classes will take place next week.

From January 14-18, the whole school will celebrate Bucket-Filling Week. I will send home a page of two buckets with each student, and they will be asked to make a special effort to say and do caring things for the week. Students and family members can document their kind deeds on the paper buckets, then bring them back to school. We will hang them in the hallways so everyone can take note of our caring acts!

Kindergarten Lesson: Bucket-Filling

Tomorrow we start our first classroom lesson in kindergarten. Just like we did in 1st and 2nd grades, we will learn about bucket-filling. We'll read and discuss the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Then, to make sure we understand the difference between bucket-filling and bucket-dipping, we'll give thumbs-up or thumbs-down (or jump up/crouch down) to some "real life" actions that I'll read aloud. Finally, each child will think of one thing they will do or say in his or her real life to be a bucket-filler, and draw it on a half-page sheet that should come home to you the day of his or her lesson.


I try to emphasize the fact that bucket-filling is something we do or say to all the grade levels for two reasons. First, to encourage ideas that are more specific and meaningful than just "be nice." And second, to emphasize that our goal is not just to think and feel like kind people, it is to actually act kind in ways that impact other people. Does that make sense? Thinking and feeling kind are good first steps, but to truly be a bucket-filler we need to go to the next level of examining whether what we are actually doing and saying is respectful, caring, and kind. I saw that basic premise once in a Popcorn Park character video in the district I used to work in, and it really stuck with me over the years!


I'll see Aldridge, Brown, and Childers' classes tomorrow, and all other kindergarten lessons will take place next week.


Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!

Bucket-Filling Week Cancelled

I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that after I finished the lessons on the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? with all our classrooms, we would have a school-wide Bucket-Filling Week in early October to celebrate what we learned. But, this year, we are either going to cancel or postpone the festivities. We have a big reading event going on in the entire state of Alabama, and with all that preparation and activity it seems like it will be difficult to squeeze in Bucket-Filling Week! If teachers think it will fit in better, we may reschedule for January or March, or we may just look forward to next year. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility! I apologize for any disappointment!

Thank you for reading! We are glad you are here!

1st Grade Lesson

We started our first lesson in 1st grade today. We are reading the same book, Have You Filled A Bucket Today?, that I mentioned last week in the email about 2nd grade lesson. After the book, we'll play a basketball game. Tables will discuss ideas for how they can be bucket-fillers at home, on the playground, and in the classroom. Each table will get one point for their best idea, and one point for each teammate who can shoot a "basket" by throwing a ball into a copy paper box decorated with buckets. We will strive for a class goal of 30 points total, so we're all on the same "team." I will see Henry, Miller, Durrett, Payne, and Bosch's classes this week. All other 1st grade lessons will take place next week and on Tuesday, September 20th.

Thank you for reading! We are glad you are here!

2nd Grade Lesson

Now that I've been around to introduce myself to all classrooms and some of the beginning of the year busy-ness has settled down slightly, it is time to start our regular rotation of classroom lessons! Over the next 5 weeks, I will be teaching one lesson in each classroom. I'll start with 2nd graders this week, and work my way through 1st grade and kindergarten in the weeks to come.

The first lesson is about.... buckets! Buckets? Yes, buckets. We are reading the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. The basic idea is that everyone in the world has an invisible bucket, and our buckets hold our good thoughts and good feelings about ourselves. When we talk about "filling people's buckets," we mean saying and doing things to help others feel special, important, and loved. Bucket-dipping is the opposite: saying and doing unkind things that make others feel un-special or unimportant. The lessons will encourage students to think of ways that they can be bucket-fillers for classmates, parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in their lives. The bucket-filling concept is a great tool for friendship and social skills development, and it also ties in with our state's character education initiatives, particularly the traits of kindness, compassion, and caring.

As part of the 2nd grade lesson, we will play a class game of tic-tac-toe on the board. I will ask students to name things they can do to be bucket-fillers throughout a typical day (for example, on the bus, at play time, with parents, with teachers, with siblings, etc). If they can share a unique way to fill other people's buckets that we haven't heard yet, we'll write it up on the tic-tac-toe board in their team's color (to take the place of an X or an O). I'll see Dover, Frith, Hamner, Johnson, Singley, Horst, Smelley, Bowlin, and Phillips' classes this week. All other second grade classes will take place next week.

From October 3 - 6, the whole school will celebrate Bucket-Filling Week. I will send home a page of two buckets with each student, and they will be asked to make a special effort to say and do caring things for the week. Students and family members can document their kind deeds on the paper buckets, then bring them back to school. We will hang them in the hallways so everyone can take note of our caring acts!

Lastly, if you did not receive the brochure, half-page parent note, and full-page sign up form for the counseling program's email and backpack mail lists, please let me know! These were distributed over the first three weeks of school when I visited each classroom to introduce myself. If I missed you somehow, I'd be happy to send them home with your child.

Bucket-Filling Week A Success!

Our third annual Bucket-Filling Week at TPS was a great success! I hope you and your children enjoyed the opportunity to do an extra kind deed or two. I loved seeing all the buckets lining the halls last week- many are still displayed if you'd like to come take a look! I'm posting a few pictures below to give you an idea of how all these kind actions added up. Thank you again for your support of this character education project- I hope it was meaningful and fun for your family!

Bucket-Filling Week is next week!

Next week is Bucket-Filling Week at TPS! Please watch for a parent letter and a sheet of two buckets to come home in your child's backpack tomorrow, Thursday September 23. The letter will contain all the details you need to know about the week, but the basic idea is that it is an "acts of kindness" week based on the book we read in my first lesson with each class: Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Next week we are asking all students in the school to make a special effort to say and do kind things for others. You can help by talking with your child about kind words and actions and planning some nice things for him or her to do during Bucket-Filling Week. The kind deeds do not need to take place at school, they can be carried out in the neighborhood, at home, or anywhere! Students will write or draw the kind deeds they do on the paper buckets that are sent home, then bring them back to school during Bucket-Filling Week. We'll display the buckets up and down the hallways to celebrate our kindness. Please feel free to visit school next week and walk up and down the hallways to check out all the unique ways of filling other people's buckets!

If you'd like extra buckets for your child or for other family members to document their kind deeds, they will be available in the front office, or please let me know to send a few home with your child. Thank you very much for your support of our first character education initiative this year! Your help is what makes this week meaningful and successful!

Bucket-Filling Lessons

Now that I've been around to introduce myself to all classrooms, it is time to start our regular rotation of "Life Skills" lessons! Over the next 5 weeks, I will be teaching one lesson in each classroom. I'll start with 2nd graders this week, and work my way through 1st grade and kindergarten in the weeks to come.

The first lesson is about.... buckets! Buckets? Yes, buckets. We are reading the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. The basic idea is that everyone in the world has an invisible bucket, and our buckets hold our good thoughts and good feelings about ourselves. When we talk about "filling people's buckets," we mean saying and doing things to help others feel special, important, and loved. Bucket-dipping is the opposite: saying and doing unkind things that make others feel un-special or unimportant. The lessons will encourage students to think of ways that they can be bucket-fillers for classmates, parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in their lives. The bucket-filling concept is a great tool for friendship and social skills development, and it also ties in with our state's character education initiatives, particularly the traits of kindness, compassion, and caring.

As part of the lesson, many students will be assigned a "secret mission." They will draw the name of a classmate from a bucket, and it will be their job to put their learning into action by filling that person's bucket for several days. If your child comes home talking about his or her "secret mission," please know that this is not in any way a monetary activity! Simply smiling, saying kind words, giving compliments, offering an invitation to play, or helping the person at school are perfect ways to carry out a "secret mission." No gifts or treats are expected or necessary!

From September 27th through the October 1st, the whole school will celebrate Bucket-Filling Week. I will send home a page of two buckets with each student, and they will be asked to make a special effort to say and do caring things for the week. Students and family members can document their kind deeds on the paper buckets, then bring them back to school. We will hang them in the hallways so everyone can take note of our caring acts!

Lastly, if you did not receive the brochure, half-page parent note, and full-page sign up form for the counseling program's email and backpack mail lists, please let me know! These were distributed over the first two weeks of school when I visited each classroom to introduce myself. If I missed you somehow, I'd be happy to send them home with your child.

Food Drive & Bucket-Filling Feedback

We are ready to kick off our Thanksgiving Food Drive! Look for a flier coming home Thursday or Friday with details about this project. It is our first service project of the year, and is a real-life application of our character words for November and December, which are generosity, kindness, and compassion. One of the great things about having such a large school is that we can make a huge difference in our community when some of us give something fairly small to a cause like this! If you would like to contribute, you might involve your children in choosing the item you donate to make it an even more personal learning opportunity. We'll be collecting through Friday November 6th and are focusing on dry pantry items like corn muffin mix, rice, pasta, oatmeal, boxes of instant mashed potatoes, etc. Thank you for anything your family decides to share!

I have gotten a bit of great feedback on Bucket-Filling Week (thank you to those parents!), and I would love to hear from anyone else who has an opinion. Specifically, was it a meaningful learning opportunity for your children, and did you feel like it was a worthwhile character education experience? Your feedback will help me reflect on this year and plan for next year, so I can make sure our counseling program is meeting the needs of our families. If you have any input, feel free to email me, post a comment to this blog, or send me a note. If you want to keep things simple, just look for the poll on the right side of this blog page and click on your answer! Thank you very much!

Bucket-Filling Week A Success!

Our second annual Bucket-Filling Week was a great success! Check out some of the displays below. Of course, there were plenty of other lovely collections of buckets, but I don't have room for them all in the blog post! :) Thanks to the teachers for the delightful ways they displayed every bucket, and to the parents who helped their children brainstorm, perform, and record so many kind deeds! You probably already guessed that bucket-filling does not have to end now that the week is over... we will make it a school theme all year!

 

  

  

 

Keep sending in those buckets!

Bucket-Filling Week has been a big success so far! Don't forget that there are two more days for you and your children to do kind deeds, record them on those paper buckets, and bring them into school! Extra buckets are available in the front office and in my office if you need more. Thank you to all of your who have already helped your students write and draw on their buckets. I have seen some really thoughtful, original, and heart-warming ideas on display!

Bucket-Filling Lessons

For our first Life Skills lesson in all grades, we are learning about being bucket-fillers! We are reading the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud.  The basic idea is that everyone in the world has an invisible bucket, and our buckets hold our good thoughts and good feelings about ourselves. When we talk about "filling people's buckets," we mean saying and doing things to help others feel special, important, and loved. Bucket-dipping is the opposite: saying and doing unkind things that make others feel un-special or unimportant. The lessons will encourage students to think of ways that they can be bucket-fillers for classmates, parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in their lives.

From October 12th through the 16th, the whole school will celebrate Bucket-Filling Week. I will send home a page of two buckets with each student, and they will be asked to make a special effort to say and do caring things for the week. Students and family members can document their kind deeds on the paper buckets, then bring them back to school. We will hang them in the hallways so everyone can take note of our caring acts!