By Leslie Lindsay

My daughter’s elementary school has this saying, “be a bucket filler!”  It’s sort of cute and catchy, but what does it mean?  Well, never fear for I have the answer.  “Be a bucket filler” simply means, do something every day that fills another individual with something warm, helpful, and thoughtful.

Seems this bucket filling philosophy has something to do with a book (you got me there).  The book was originally written for a an antibullying campaign, but the message is such that anyone can benefit any time, anywhere, bully or not.

Written by Carol McCloud, “the Bucket Lady,” who is an early childhood specialist, educator, and popular international speaker.  She is the president of Bucket Fillers, Inc., an educational organization in Brighton, Michigan, where her “team mission is to create bucketfilling schools, families, and communities, where everyone is respected, honored, and valued,” (from Amazon.com).    She has several books you may like, those for children and some for adults, yet they all share this some idea that if we work together, we can make the community a better place–whether that community is at home, at school, or out and about.

  (image from Amazon.com 11.29.11)

Find Bucket Books at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bucket+filler&x=0&y=0

So the week of November 14-18th was American Education Week.  I volunteered to go into my daughter’s 1st grade classroom and read a book.  While I really wanted to read this one on bucket filling, I didn’t want to over-do the theme.  Instead, I read abot Miss Dorothy and her bookmobile (perhaps I will follow-up next week on that book).

But I did extend the bucket theme by creating a bucket for my daughter’s teacher from a clear acrylic paint can craft container.  I decorated it with teacher-y things, and added the teachers name and “Be a Bucket Filler” to the outside with paint markers.  Inside the bucket, I created bookmarks to go along with the book.

Not only did I fill the kids’ buckets but I think they filled mine that day, too.  : )

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

How will you fill your kiddos’ buckets?!