Helping kids be bucket fillers

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have you filled a bucket

When my daughter told me that she was “locked out” of playing at recess, I was incensed.  In first grade, there was a queen bee who was leaving my daughter out.  I never expected it to happen so early.  “Why do you keep trying to play with them?” I asked after a few days. “Because they’re my friends,” she replied. Suddenly, my whole life flashed before me.  Uh, no they aren’t honey, I wanted to retort.  Instead, I tried to help her see it for herself. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a wonderful book called Have You Filled A Bucket Today? The book discusses our happiness or discouragement in comparison to a full or empty bucket.  Nice things fill our bucket.  Unkind things dip out of our buckets. So, if people are nice or rude to us, our own buckets can be filled or emptied. It’s a sweet book with examples from a child’s perspective. I hoped the book would show my daughter that those mean recess girls weren’t bucket fillers.  Maybe it did.  She did stop trying to play with the girls who “locked her out.” More importantly, it reminded us both to take responsibility for our own behavior, kind or unkind, and took the focus off of the other girls.  Truthfully, we can only be responsible for our behavior. I write this post thinking about going back to school, new friends, old friends and the issues that always arise.   If you have preschool aged kids, Fill A Bucket is a version written especially for them. I hope this helps you as much as it did for our family.  Do you have any other ideas that worked for you? Related Posts:  Best Friend, Worst Enemy If you’re a teacher, parent, librarian, or grandparent, my blog, Imagination Soup, is the perfect resource for you to find good children’s books. You’ll find Children’s Books by Age starting with board books for babies 0 and 1 year olds. One of the most popular book lists is Kindergarten Reading. This is a time when kids need good books and lots of practice. Once you move beyond early readers, you might be looking for chapter books for first graders aka. 1st Grade Books. At around age 7, kids are ready for 2nd Grade Books or Second Grade Books. The next level up is Third Grade Reading Chapter Books for 3rd Graders. 3rd grade reading books are generally for ages 8 and 9. Ages 9 and 10 are in 4th Grade so if you need 4th Grade Reading ideas, you’ll want those book recommendations. Find the Best Books for 5th Graders in my Fifth Grade Books list. Books for 5th Graders are for age 10 and 11. Age 11 and 12 is usually 6th grade. On this list, you’ll find 6th Grade Reading recommendations that they’ll love. 7th grade books are for kids around age 12. When kids turn 13, they’re in 8th grade in the U.S. High school books are classified as Young Adult (YA). Find Chapter books for Teens and Nonfiction Books for Teens.

Check out these book lists:

Children’s Historical Fiction Good Mystery Books Action Books Books About Kindness Cat Books Nonfiction Books for Kids Soccer Books Japan Picture Books Funny Children’s Books Best Magazine Subscriptions for Kids Star Wars Gift Ideas Minecraft Book Series Read Aloud Books for Kids Middle School Books Fairy Tale Books Greek Mythology Books Survival Books Bedtime Stories Board Books Pop Up Books Mystery Books for Kids

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5 Comments

  1. Saw your link to this on Twitter in response to my question about bullying (@ronhuxley). Thanks for the review of this book. Sounds like a good one and I may have to get a copy.

  2. this sounds like a great book. there is another one for slightly older girls – queen bee moms and kingpin dads. it’s dives into a similar topic. it’s so sad that at such a young age kids are already being mean to one another. i’m so worried for my kiddos.