As a teacher, I have many favorite books I love to share with my class but the one that gets the most use is the one pictured above. I think that this is a must have book~ not only for the classroom, but for your home (if you have younger children).
You may be familiar with the "Bucket Books" (and there are many), but if you aren't, here is the gist:
Everyone has an invisible bucket. When it's full we feel better, we're nicer... etc. When it's empty we feel crummy and sad and sometimes even mean. The idea is to be a bucket filler and a bonus is that when you fill other people's bucket, you feel good about it and fill your own.
Of all the bucket books, I like THIS one the best. The story opens with a boy who is annoyed by his younger sister (and being a girl with a younger brother, I can relate). He yells at her and she gets upset (you know how this ends if you are a parent, teacher, or were ever a kid...). His Grandpa tells him about the invisible bucket we all have and how it works and he thinks his grandpa is nuts (as most older kids would).
The next day he wakes up and he can see his bucket. His day gets off to a horrible start and little by little his bucket dips and drops of goodness fall out. What I like about this book is it also does a good job of explaining how when you are feeling lousy (empty bucket), you can get mean and want to dip into other people's buckets by being mean to them. I consider myself a pretty nice person, but I can get pretty nasty when my bucket is empty.
I don't know about you, but I am very aware of when I am at my ropes end and the next person to set me off is going to get it. When I feel this way I warn my kids, my husband and even my students. I don't like having an empty bucket but everyone has one from time to time.
The good thing about it is the empty bucket doesn't have to stay empty and the book goes on to show that. You can turn your day around and simple choices you can make can make your day better. Of course these choices can be hard to make when your bucket gets completely empty so it's important to understand your 'bucket' and how close you are to empty. Like I've said, I've spent a lot of time being me and am well aware of my bucket and because I love my kids, husband and students I warn them when I'm entering that danger zone.
In class if I am waiting for students' attention, I can just tilt my head to the side and those students (who are trying to fill my bucket) will say, "Drip"... They have become aware that their actions not only affect themselves, but they affect others, even me.
I love this book and I find myself grabbing it when we're having a bad day and revisiting it. My students have even said, "Mrs. Doran, I think it's time to read the bucket book."
And if you think you'd like to read it to your students (or children), you can find the book by clicking HERE.
(And bonus, as I type this the book is currently under $10! That should fill your bucket!)
