Bucket Filling is a new counseling program this year at Lakeview. Through this program we reinforce the school rule: Be Kind. The concept of Bucket Filling originates from the book, How Full is Your Bucket, by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton. The concept was adapted by Carol McCloud in her two children’s books, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and Fill a Bucket.

The Bucket Filling concept is simple. Each of us has an invisible bucket that is constantly emptied or filled depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful. We fill buckets by saying or doing things to others to increase their positive emotions - when we do this we also fill our own buckets. When we dip from others’ buckets – by doing or saying things that decrease their positive emotions – we also diminish our own. Every drop in our bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic. But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice – one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness. (Adapted from How Full is Your Bucket, by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton).

There is a bulletin board in the main hallway that says: “We are Kind. We are Bucket Fillers”. Throughout the year, we are going to fill that bulletin board with “drops for your bucket”. When someone fills another person’s bucket they might receive a drop. The kids are encouraged to write them for each other. They may also give or receive a drop from an adult at school. When children receive drops, they can put them in the large wooden bucket on Mrs. Moran’s desk in the office. On Monday mornings I will draw five drops from the bucket and leadership students will read them over the intercom. The person who received the drop will come down to the office for a small prize. Then all of the drops in the bucket each week will be posted on the bulletin board.