Thanksgiving ushers in the season of giving – not just the giving found with the rush to purchase gifts on Black Friday, but the giving from the heart, the giving that touches lives in truly memorable ways.
The book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? ( A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids) by Carol McCloud, is a great read-aloud this holiday season, or a wonderful way to start the New Year. The premise of the book is the idea that everyone carries an invisible bucket that holds our feelings. We feel happy when our bucket is full and sad when our bucket is empty. When we do nice things for others we add to their bucket and fill our own at the same time. When we say or do something mean we empty our own bucket and take from someone else’s. This book is a beautiful metaphor for how acts of kindness can generate more kindness. Many teachers have used this book to help foster an atmosphere of kindness in their classrooms. Create a Bucket Filler bulletin board with library book pockets or plastic cups. Each pocket or cup has a child’s name on it. Children write notes to each other with compliments or words of encouragement and place them in the cups. At the end of the week the children read their notes and take them home. Here are some sites with great ideas for using this book in your classroom:
http://www.teachingheart.net/bucket.html
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2010/04/are-your-students-bucket-fillers
http://myfunteacher.com/bucketfillers.htm
These cups were placed in clear hanging shoe pockets.
Other great books to inspire sharing and giving include:
One Smile by Cindy McKinley – A little girl’s smile sets off a chain of events that comes full circle back to her.
The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen – Sarah knits mittens for children and hangs them on a tree at the school bus stop.
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by Ryan DiSalvo – A boy spends the day with his uncle in a soup kitchen preparing and serving food for the hungry.
The Berenstain Bears Think of Those in Need by Stan and Jan Berenstain – The Berenstain Bears realize they have a “too much stuff” problem and decide to give some things to kids who “don’t have toys.” Also The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving.
