Bucket+Fillers

The idea of Bucket Fillers is based on Dr. Donald O. Clifton's metaphor of the bucket and the dipper. The first person to bring this idea to a school setting was "The Bucket Man", Merrill Lundgren. Several books have been written about bucket fillers. Carol McCloud wrote a book called //**"Have You Filled A Bucket Today?**// //**(A Guide to Daily Happiness**// //**For Kids)**//**"**. At the beginning of the school year, I take time to create class rules with the help of the students. It is during this time that we read the book //Have You Filled a Bucket Today?// The short book explains to students that we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our feelings about ourselves. When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty, we are sad. It is important that students learn that when they fill a friend's bucket, they also fill their own bucket because it feels good to make others happy. At this time, we also introduce the concept of being a bucket dipper. A bucket dipper is a person who hurts other people's feelings, essentially dipping into their invisible bucket. Since bullying is a common problem

in schools, the concept of bucket dippers is often referred to as bullying. After we read the book and discuss the idea of filling buckets, we brainstorm a list of ways we can fill each other's buckets both in our classroom and around our school. After making the list on chart paper, I type up the students' ideas and create a poster that is hung above our bucket-filling display.