What's Under Your Cape?

Howdy from Barbara at The Corner on Character. Since last I stopped by, life has taken a few twists and turns, one of which found me recovering from a head-on collision that totaled my car and left me broken and bruised. But the blessing in that burden was learning, by necessity, not only to slow down, but to savor. With encouragement from family and friends, I decided that it was time to publish that book I'd always dreamed about and talked about writing. Now it's with great pleasure that I share that I became a published author at one of that detour's destinations and it's with pride that I introduce  

What's Under Your Cape? SUPERHEROES of the Character Kind. 

Released on May 30,  2014, this 120-page handbook is filled with inspirational stories and innovative strategies from my thirty years in public education that will help you help your SUPERHEROES soar. Click the book cover graphic for more information on ordering the book; thank you for your invitation to talk a little bit about the publishing process from idea to rough draft to editing to printing to delivery of the final product.

It was at the end of October, 2013, in Washington D.C. at the Character Education Partership National Forum on Character Education when, dressed in my Queen of Hearts dress, I delivered my Character Is Our Super Power workshop that attracted about 70 participants . One of those audience members was Marian Nelson from Nelson Publishing and Marketing. You might recognize her imprint, Ferne Press, from Carol McCloud's Bucket Filler books. After my session, Marian asked me one simple question: Why don't I have a book? I told her that basically I do, but that I've posted it online for free at both my school's website and on my blog. Being a book publisher, Marian wasn't satisfied by my answer. If I had enough content for a book, then it just made sense that I would compile my best stories and strategies into a book. To extend my character outreach, she added. 

Well, who wouldn't want that? 

So Marian explained how her company, a small independent publisher, helps authors get their work into print and onto book shelves and she sent me a quote within the week. {Remember that car collision I survived? It left me with a slight ankle impairment on which insurance had paid a small stipend and ... get this ... that book quote came within $40 of that amount.}  The planets were in alignment and I had my God wink. So I started writing. My editor, Kris Yankee, called within the week to walk me through the process. If we wanted to debut my book in June at the Character Conference in Wisconsin, my home state, then she'd need a final draft by spring break. To be safe, I set a goal to be finished by New Year's Eve. I sent an outline that first week of November, then I wrote and I wrote and I wrote some more. I sent off chapter after chapter though Kris wasn't going to start the editing process until she had the entire draft. I actually finished my rough draft at 7:30 pm on December 31st. 

On January 2nd, 2014, my editor went to work on my manuscript.

Libby & I designed bookmarks!

Now here's what I learned:  Be committed to your content, but not too tightly stitched to your syntax. I had to detach myself from my personal stories enough to accept the suggested changes that my professional editor knew would improve the clarity and quality of the overall product. I had to entertain her questions, clear up confusion, and re-focus on my audience more times that I care to admit. But in the end, the benefit of front-loading and then being flexible {insert stretchy visual of Mrs. Incredible from The Incredibles} far outweighed the cost. We went back and forth all springtime long with editors and proofreaders and layout and more proofing. 

Then, on April 7th, I got my first glimpse of {and absolutely fell in love with} the cover. Soon afterward, it was time to ask for endorsements. I sent about ten copies of the book's interior and kindly requested feedback from other educators. Their reflections put me in orbit and brought me back to earth all at once ... to be called "the Harry Wong of character education" is an honor and incredibly humbling. It was a dream coming true; I actually had a book on its way. On May 5th, we had our sign-off meeting and my book went to a printer in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, just 20 miles away from the school where I started my career in education 30 years ago in 1984.

If you're still with me, thank you for your interest in my circle story. The book, which was delivered in bulk to my home on Monday, is now available from my blog at The Corner on Character. Order through PayPal and I'd be happy to sign it for you before I pop it into the mail. 

You can also find it at other online bookstores.

I've been blessed to do three interviews; check them out at

Maria Dismondy's Blog

Really Good Stuff Teachers' Lounge Blog

Character Counts! Character Educator Blog

I blog almost daily at the Corner on Character, so visit me there for more stories and strategies to help in your character building. Oh, and the first two readers to comment below just won a personalized copy, so leave a way for me to contact you so we can connect.

A Sensory Explosion

October greetings from Barbara at The Corner On Character. I visited Rachel Chapman's preK class at Westwood-Bales the other day and look at the cool tactile tools I found - 

A Sensory Explosion! 

Rice dyed blue and red in plastic bins with all sorts of fun stuff to scoop up and arrange. Mrs. Chapman tells me she used three cups of rice with three Tablespoons of colored water, though she added that she might try a little vinegar next time to seal in the color. 

A bin full of colorful magnetic letters for place and trace.

A bean bin for counting, sorting, and fine motor practice.

And back in my office, a calm-down basket filled with 

scented rice and puddle stones. Hide the puddles and challenge them to find the one with the letter A. What could that represent? There are also two with a secret message on them for older learners.

Do you want add another layer to your sensory explosion? Use these things to explore feelings. Find out from your little learners which items might represent mad. They could choose the scissors 'cause it cuts or something red because of its color. Which item(s) represent happy? Perhaps the plush puffs or the smooth stones. Scared? Silly? Sad? Reinforce these feelings concepts with a book like 
Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad: My World Makes Me Feel 
by John E. Mitchell and Jana Christy.

Then sing along with Rock-ucation's 
Happy Sad Silly Mad song:

Click {here} for more activity suggestions by Shelley Frost to help your little ones learn and explore more about their feelings. 

Get MOVING!

Every so often, I take a day away from my day job as the counselor and character coach at Westwood-Bales Elementary School to go and give a workshop, keynote, or breakout session, and my emphasis is always on Singing, Dancing, Laughing, and Connecting.

Let's look at the dance part of that equation. Why dance? Physical activity actually awakens the brain and releases chemicals that magically open it up and prime it for learning. 

If you haven't read Brain Rules by John Medina or Spark by John Ratey, do yourselves a favor and check out these two books.

So how does that translate into the classroom with our little sprouts? Essentially, we've got to MOVE them all day long! Here are some resources to help make that happen. Do you know the song Tony Chestnut? I had my keynote participants in Alabama try it with me and I found that even grown-up brains are challenged by this one! Here's an cute clip that I found on You Tube, performed by the class of 2021:

Brain break books for purchase abound, but there are also free resources online for creative ways to fire the dendrites in your little learners. You'll want to bookmark the Energizing Brain Breaks blog and the Minds In Bloom site for some quick brain breaks. The Michigan Department of Health has this moving Brain Breaks site. Take a Shake Break with Pancake Manor and don't forget to let your brainiacs go bananas with Dr. Jean's Banana Dance! 

What are your favorite go-to strategies to ignite brain activity in your little learners? Leave a comment below! For more character-infused ideas, come on by The Corner on Character.

Back-To-School Guest Post

Hi, it's Barbara from The Corner on Character and I'm already back at school. When do you start? In honor of the Olympics, I created this bulletin board; click {here} for the questions that make it interactive.

Click the graphic for a blog post about the board.

Since I'm busy at work, I'm welcoming Marissa Rex, who has graciously agreed to take my turn today. She's got an AmAzInG education resource on her counseling website {here} and I know you'll be blessed by her ideas and insight.

A New Beginning by Marissa Rex

At the beginning of the school year, our kindergarteners have a lot on their plates. This group of students must quickly learn academic and social skills, find their way around a new school building, and muster up enough self-control to last, in many cases, an entire school day. While we allow some transition time and offer support, the change of pace can be overwhelming for these students.

As an elementary school counselor, I spend a lot of time working with my kindergarteners individually, in small groups, and as a whole classroom family. My goal is to create an environment where my youngest students can feel successful. To do this, I often use games that teach important school skills while simultaneously fostering peer relationships.

One of my favorite team-building activities is called The Memory Circle. Students sit in a circle on the floor and are reminded that the better they listen, the more team points they will earn. I start with the first five students, asking what their favorite color is. Then, once each student has answered, I quiz the rest of the group: What is Jack’s favorite color? Who remembers what Sarah’s favorite color is? The entire group works together as a team to answer the question and for every correct answer, the class earns a point. I typically set a goal for 15 points (for a class size of 25 students). This way, students can reach the goal and feel excited about how far they can exceed it; often, students create a new, more challenging goal once they see that they can achieve beyond 15 points. When finished, we reflect as a group: What did we have to do to hear the right answers? What does a good listener look like? Why should we listen to adults and other kids? Throughout the year, you can play additional rounds of The Memory Circle with other topics, such as favorite animal, book, center, number, letter, etc.

Tim and I are best buds!

Additionally, I enjoy using puppets with my students. At the beginning of the school year, a great way to utilize puppets is to role play positive school behaviors. For example, ask students to brainstorm helpful ways to behave on the bus. When a student shares an idea, they can pick a puppet and a friend to act out the behavior. This continues with various locations (playground, classroom, hallway, cafeteria, etc.) until every student can participate. It may sound simple, but puppets can be magical. I love hearing my students’ giggles and seeing their entranced stares—puppets are indispensable.

Overall, I find that my students respond best when they can be part of the lesson rather than a passive observer. Students, especially kindergarteners, love sharing who they are and what they love. By connecting the essential school concepts that they need to learn with their innate desire to share and feel part of a group, school counselors (and teachers!) can make a big impact.

As I think about these team-building ideas, refreshing my school brain, I cannot help but feel excited for this upcoming school year. I love watching this fresh group of students walk through the doors, ready to learn; they are blank slates just waiting for the chance to, metaphorically-speaking, doodle and paint. I wish everyone the best of luck as summer winds down and your newest kiddos come knocking at your door. Here’s to a great year!

Bio

Marissa Rex is a licensed PreK-3 teacher, K-12 school counselor, and founder of ElementarySchool Counseling.org. She currently works as an elementary school counselor in an urban Ohio school.

In her spare time, Marissa loves to spend time with her husband, family, and friends. Also, she is active in her local community theatres, takes art classes at the Toledo Museum of Art, and volunteers at Camp Quality Ohio, a summer camp for children with cancer.

In addition to her website, you can connect with Marissa through Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

Thank you, Marissa, for stopping by and contributing to our collaborative! Click {here} to travel to The Corner for a few more getting-to-know-you connection ideas to use with students or staff or {here} to go to the Kid Activities page for even more first-day-back suggestions. Happy New Year!

Chopsticks And Spoon

Hi, it's Barbara at The Corner on Character!  Can you believe the 4th has come and gone already?  I hope that you're enJOYing some summertime R and R! Looking through some new literacy resources, I recently came across these two treasures by author 

Amy Krouse Rosenthal:

In Chopsticks, the two fast friends come to a fork in the road and, for the very first time ever, they must learn how to navigate their way through life apart. Is that even possible?

Spoon finds himself wondering what good being a spoon is and wishing he were more like Knife, Fork, or Chopsticks. Do we really need spoons? Just try eating cereal with a fork or knife!


Both of these simple stories serve up gourmet food for thought for our littlest learners. In Chopsticks, celebrate with students not only the bonds of friendship but also their budding independence. How does it feel to be separated from someone you love? And how do you handle that experience? With Spoon, focus them on why it's important to celebrate our individuality and uniqueness. Have you ever wished you were someone or something you're not?


Use Chopsticks as a chance to study China. Pull up Google Earth and show your sprouts where it is. Find out what animals call China home and what kids do in their spare time there. Call your local Chinese food restaurant and ask them to donate some chopsticks. Work on your students' fine motor skills by having them manipulate the sticks and pick up classroom stuff with them: a piece of paper, a grain of rice, a crayon. Then take away one of the sticks and talk about what happens to the usefulness of the utensil. This is also a wonderful metaphor for the importance of everyone working together on a team.

Make a Venn Diagram out of paper plates
to compare and contrast these books.

Use Spoon to talk about the different utensils on the table. Get some plasticware and ask them to describe the spoon, the fork, the knife. What is each one used for? Have them draw pictures of them. Take out some paper plates and teach your students to set the table.  Where does the fork go? How about the knife? And the spoon? Then let them practice. Move the utensils around, turn them the wrong way, leave one out; let your little chefs arrange them correctly over and over again. Once they've mastered table setting, use it as an opportunity to invite parents in for an afternoon tea. Have students glue a tea bag to a spoon and tie it up with a ribbon with the message, "Spoons suit me to a T!" as a memento for their caregivers. 
The fun awaits . . . 


For more book reviews, character-development ideas, and character clips, click my button and come on by.

Join In The Fusion Fun

Howdy and happy summertime from Barbara at 

The Corner on Character.  How will you while away the hot summer months?  When we need an escape from the subtropical heat at my house, we often find ourselves creating with fuse beads. For less than ten dollars, you can have a jar of 15,000 colorful little beads that I guarantee your little ones will get a kick out of manipulating. I've found that children especially like the Glow-in-the-Dark variety! I use these in small group counseling classes as an activity that students can do to take their minds off of their problems and refocus their brains so that they'll be relaxed and more opened to solutions. Put on some soothing background music and watch their anxiety and other unpleasant emotions melt away. It's also a wonderful way to increase fine motor skills as kids move the beads one by one onto the peg boards.

You'll need a few peg plates that you can purchase when you get the jar of beads.

Randomly place the beads on the pegs or put them in patterns.

Only go three rows around the square to make a picture frame.

Find different shades of a certain color and make a bow.

Get creative and spell out three-or-four-letter words.

The butterfly and the helicopter explode with energy.

The possibilities are endless; just look at this lovely lizard, fun flower, and cool RR crossing sign we made.

Hot glue a magnet on the back and you've got refrigerator or filing-cabinet decor.

Warning:  There is heat involved, so this is an excellent time to talk with your little learners about safety around hot items such as an oven or an iron. Make sure to have an adult on tap to do the ironing. You will need the special paper that can also be picked up when you get your beads at any craft store.

Want more sizzling summertime activities?  Click {here} to visit my guest post at the Teachers' Lounge from earlier this week.

Kids In The Kitchen

This treasure hangs in our kitchen!

One of my favorite childhood memories is being with my mother or my grandmother in the kitchen. I can still smell the ginger snaps as they cooled, feel the yeast dough between my fingers as I kneaded, hear the beaters against the metal bowl, see the Angel Food Cake inverted on an empty Coke bottle. Those heavenly moments would put me in sensory overdrive every single time!

So we got our children a miniature kitchen with all the dishes and plastic fruit when they were toddlers and we played shopping, bakery and restaurant all the time. We made it a point to get the kids in the real kitchen as soon as they were ready. Before they could actually help, they'd just bang on the pots and pans from the cupboard at my feet. Our daugther would sort the spice bottles by size before she could read, then alphabetically once she learned her letters and sounds manipulating the magnetic alphabet on the refrigerator. 


As soon as they were old enough, they started helping out; my youngest likes cracking the eggs best. Our daughter Kaitlyn learned fractions by my side as we measured ingredients for our favorite recipes. Each of the kids had their own set of measuring cups and spoons, a wooden rolling pin, a spatula and a few other miniature gadgets. Get your little cooks an apron and/or chef's hat for an added touch of fun and authenticity!

Make your kitchen a real-life chemistry laboratory. Find simple recipes that your kids can help you create. Talk with them about how recipes work and what each ingredient does for the finished product. Kids love to be involved in the process; they can gather the items, measure the ingredients, and stir the batter. They can count and sort things as needed. They can press the button for the oven to preheat and they can set the timer for the desired bake or cook time.   

Once your recipe is finished and they've helped with the clean-up process, let them help set the table or serve the delicacy. Children learn by doing; set them up for success by involving them in every facet of the process. Jacob used to love clipping coupons because we'd give him a portion of the money he saved us after every trip to the grocery store.

Our Creamy Banana Pudding would be a great first recipe for your little chefs:

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

Mix and shake to make pudding as directed. Kids LOVE this part. Put the mixture in a tightly-sealed Tupperware bowl and let them shake, shake, shake. Refrigerate to set pudding.

3 large bananas, sliced  

These need to be cut so get a plastic knife and teach your little ones how to safely slice soft fruit. If they're too young, they can simply break the banana into bite-sized pieces.

25-30 Nilla Wafers

Use as many as you want, but these need to be crushed. This would be a good time to show them how to use a rolling pin though you could let them crush them with their hands if you (or they) would rather.

1 large tub Cool Whip

Kids LOVE to stir whipping cream, so get a big spoon and watch the fun. Fold the cream into the pudding, then add the banana and cookie pieces. 


For a character twist, fill some disposable individual parfait cups with the pudding to share with your child's teacher as a Teacher Appreciation Week treat! Attach a note that says, "I go bananas for you!"

Just think of all of the vocabulary you can introduce while you're creating that deliciousness. If you want to spice up your cooking lessons by sprinkling in a little character, check out Amy Krause Rosenthal's Cookies series. These sweet morsels are a delectable literary delight. Click here for more yummy Kids in the Kitchen ideas from Pam Dyson, MA, LPC, RPT.


Then come by The Corner on Character for a grown-up treat, my tasty Pork Tenderloin recipe.  Bon Appetit!

Manners, Please

Hello! It's Barbara from The Corner on Character with today's question: Ever wish that kids came to your classroom complete with proper etiquette and manners already in place?  Since sometimes they don't (am I being too generous?), it's up to us to help set the proverbial table. We undoubtedly get the time spent front-loading with manners training back as the year goes on. 

Here are my favorite go-to manners books for our littlest learners:

        

Manners at School, just one of the books in a series by Carrie Finn that targets manners, uses eye-popping illustrations to drive home the point that manners at school will make things nicer for everyone. It's quite direct in its approach; you'll read a sentence that gives an example, followed by a sentence that reinforces the central theme: Using good manners. Encourage students to fill in that phrase each time it's used by pausing just a bit and letting them say it with you. Then have them echo you more more reinforcement.

Manners Are Important To You And Me by Todd Snow uses sing-songy poems and expressive illustrations to relay how basic etiquette like chewing with your mouth closed, not whispering to someone when other people are around, and using your indoor voice can "make life better." Have a ball with this one by letting your budding poets guess which rhyming word comes next! Pause on each page to let them talk about a time that this scenario happened to them or let them be actors and role-play the situations and suggestions.

Please Say Please by Margery Cuyler takes the approach that "learning good manners can be fun!" After every example taken from Penguin's world, the author asks her reader - "Is that right?" - and gives him or her the chance to pause for discussion before turning the page to find out. This gem is also filled with onomatopoeia that would lend itself to putting together a little orchestra (hint, hint!) to makes those words come alive and infuse music and movement.  Oooo, I can see the parade now.

Tony Baloney by Pam Muñoz Ryan, the newcomer of the bunch, made my list because the author uses a stuffed animal (Dandelion) that forgets his manners, behaves badly and gets Tony in trouble. My favorite part is when Tony tells Dandelion that they "have to apologize . . . nicely" and Dandelion responds, "I am not feeling nicely in my heart," making it the perfect tale for helping students practice making a sincere apology. This would also make for an authentic real v. pretend conversation!

Emily's Everyday Manners by Peggy Post and Cindy Post Senning tells the story of Emily and Ethan and how they work together to spread kindness in their world by using good manners and helping others. This jewel does an excellent job letting kids know that "Good manners take practice." It also does a marvelous job of conveying the magical nature of manners. Oh, and letting your little chefs host a tea party would be the PerFecT follow-up to this one.

My final pick, Please Is A Good Word To Say by Barbara Joosse, is actually the first of these that I bought because I was familiar with and fond of two of Barbara's other titles. Manners waltz through the pages of this engaging read aloud that talks about not only good words, but also trouble words. A word of caution: It does use the word "butt" when addressing the subject of "gross sounds" for which you may want to substitute bottom or behind. The last page - with a simple "OK. Now it's your turn to sing," just begged me to write a little manners ditty of my own. Try playing London Bridge Is Falling Down - go on, make the tower and let kids parade under - using this song I wrote to that tune that goes like this:


M-A-N-N-E-R-S, E-R-S, E-R-S
M-A-N-N-E-R-S, Use polite words.

M-A-N-N-E-R-S, E-R-S, E-R-S
M-A-N-N-E-R-S, Pay attention.


For your older learners, who don't need as much repetition, consider something like this:


M-A-N-N-E-R-S, E-R-S, E-R-S
When someone does something nice, we say thank you!
M-A-N-N-E-R-S, E-R-S, E-R-S
If you have to burp or sneeze, say excuse me.


Next few rounds, let students substitute the manner in italics (ie. push your chair in, use a tissue) as your songsters march under the bridge; rotate who makes the bridge with the kid who got caught when the song ended and the arms came down.

Click here to see the weekly word (from our Six Pillar framework) and manner (adapted from Ron Clark's Essential 55) that we focus on to enrich the character-education philosophy at our school. And visit me at The Corner today for more character titles for your collection.

The ABC Building Blocks For Caregivers

What do children need from their caregivers?

Let's face it; kids don't come with an owner's manual. So part of my job as a school counselor is guiding caregivers - teachers included! - through the awesome experience of mentorship. It wasn't until I was asked to do my first parenting workshop and needed to give my session participants something tangible to take with them that I wrote these ABCs for educators, parents, grandparents, counselors, and mentors. This list is by no means exhaustive or set in stone; in fact, I'm revising, editing, adding and updating it all the time. With that in mind . . . 

What words of wisdom might you add?

A. Appreciate and affirm your children. Apologize when you mess up.
B. Be firm, fair, and consistent; be mindful that boundaries help kids grow stronger.
C. Choose logical and natural consequences - positive or negative.
D. Devote time to intentionally interact face-to-face every day. Be present, in the moment.
E. Encourage your children to pursue their passion with whatever it takes.
F. Forgive mistakes (yours and theirs!) and foster compassion in their hearts.
G. Give your children a secure, nurturing environment with LOTS of outdoor playtime.
H. Handle conflict with love; confront issues, CARE-front children.
I. Invite "I" messages: I feel ______ when you ______. I need _______.
J. Join (and enJOY) one another around the dinner table regularly.
K. Keep your promises; it'll teach your kids to be trustworthy friends.
L. Love unconditionally; children crave connection and comfort.
M. Model how you want them to behave; make footsteps worth following.
N. Negotiate when you can to empower your children and give them a voice.
O. Open your mind to all of your options and keep an optimistic outlook and attitude.
P. Parent with purpose, pick your battles and prepare your children for autonomy.
Q. Quit lecturing, yelling, hovering, and rescuing your kids.
R. Read together every day. Knowledge is power and readers are leaders.
S. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Let your YESes be yes and your NOs be no.
T. Treat kids with courtesy and respect and teach them to be caring and responsible.
U. Use your time with them wisely. Understand their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
V. Value them for who they are and volunteer with them so they learn to give back.
W. Wait for your children to respond before repeating what you said.
X. Xplore eXtra-curriculars, but be careful not to over-eXtend your children.
Y. Yearn to learn something new with your children every day.
Z. Zero in on the needs of the individual child; remember that fair doesn't always mean equal.

Click here to download a print-ready version of these ABCs to share with caregivers in your circle. Come by The Corner on Character for more character-infusion 

activities, suggestions and ideas.

Kindness Is A Super Power!

Happy National School Counseling Week! Have you hugged your school counselor today? Hop on over to The Corner on Character to hear what a few of my students have to say about my job.

My loving family sent me these Character Cookies to celebrate!

I just love working in a profession where we get to help shape hearts and minds for the future. Katie Couric once said, "Kindness is not an inherited trait; it is a learned behavior." As such, we must teach our kids how to be kind, to think with their hearts. First and foremost, that happens through modeling, by showing our children kindness, because little eyes are watching, little minds are processing, little hearts are feeling. We must be kind to one another and treat each other with dignity and respect. In our everyday interactions. With a gentle tone in our voice. With a genuine smile. With eyes that sparkle and say, 
"You matter to me; I care about you!" 


One of my all-time favorite treasures is this student-made book 
that focuses on the power of example:

What would I say?  No pressure . . . . 

Page by page, I get to read the things that my students see, hear, feel and experience as I guide them down character road. 

(If you need a good gift idea for a colleague or your students' caregivers, this is IT!)

This book filled my bucket - and then some!

Kindness begets kindness. Remember the old Faberge Organic Shampoo advertisement that suggests you tell a friend and she'll tell a friend and so on and so on . . . it's called the Power of One. Try that for a month. Do one kind thing every day. Suppose the recipients of your kindness did the same. Do you know how many kind acts you'd have had a hand in at the end February, for example? 268,435,456!  Go ahead, check my math. 
What if it were a month with 30 days? Or 31?  


What else can we do to intentionally teach our future leaders to be kind? Harness the hidden power of the kindness metaphor by joining the Bucket-Filler movement and teaching kids about emotional deposits and withdrawals. In a nutshell, being kind to one another fills invisible buckets (yours and theirs!); conversely, being unkind to people dips from the buckets. Here's the part I really like: the reciprocity. When I fill your bucket with a caring word or deed, mine fills up, too! 


I think the thing that struck me most when I heard about the concept (based on Rath and Clifton's How Full Is Your Bucket?) is that when people have an empty bucket, they simply don't have what it takes to fill buckets (others or their own) because they have nothing in their emotional reserve to spare, much less share. What does that say about how much learning is going on in the head and heart of a child with an empty bucket? Such an important message about our roles and responsibilities as mentors and influencers. 

Same teachers whose class made the book for me crafted this bulletin board visual!

Just how DO we fill buckets? Every little kindness puts a drop in. Explore the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud for creatively colorful, every day examples of kind things that children and adults alike can do to fill buckets. And did you know that there's a version for younger children?

As an early-childhood educator with years of experience, Carol is well aware of how literal our littlest learners can be, so she put the bucket-filling concept into terms that they can better grasp and apply to their preK and K way. Good thing, too, because the first time I attempted to teach Bucket Filling to my preK students, their answer to my infamous follow-up inquiry - How could YOU fill a bucket today? - was a resounding, "with sand!" Yep, pretty literal. Be sure to stop frequently to check for understanding. 


Have students use the thumbs up signal to indicate bucket filling and thumbs down to indicate dipping. Throw out some additional example behaviors to make sure they're getting it. You use your manners (thumbs up!). You roll your eyes at someone (thumbs down!). You help someone who falls down. You forget to feed your dog. You save a seat for someone. (Careful, this one's kind of tricky!) When you think they're ready, let the students give the examples; I promise you'll gain some valuable insight into their world.


To help enrich your bucket-filling talk, sing the Fill A Bucket song I wrote using the tune of Frere Jacques/Are You Sleeping?:


Fill a bucket, fill a bucket.
It's easy to do, it's easy to do.
I can fill a bucket, I can fill a bucket,
So can you. So can you!


Fill a bucket, fill a bucket.
Smile and say hi, smile and say hi.
You can fill a bucket, you can fill a bucket,
Give it a try. Give it a try.


Fill a bucket, fill a bucket.
Help someone in need, help someone in need.
I will fill a bucket, I will fill a bucket
with every good deed, with every good deed.


Fill a bucket, fill a bucket, 
with your family, with your family.
We can all fill buckets, we can all fill buckets,
Try it and see. Try it and see.

Add some fun motions; perform it as an echo song or have students sing the whole thing. Find out what other things your songsters could think of to add to the song if they were to write another verse. The book also includes a song of its own, so use either one (or both!) to help your students grab ahold of this metaphor for kindness and put it into practice. 


Some of our teachers actually keep these personalized little buckets in their classrooms to keep track of every kindness shown by their students. Each time they fill an invisible bucket, they're given one of the cute little puffs to fill their classroom bucket.

You could keep buckets in your room as a visual reminder.

These puffs come in colorful shapes like hearts, stars, and flowers!

 Click here for more bucket-filling resources online.

What other books do you use to teach kindness to preK and K kiddos? In no particular order, here are a few of our other favorites:

Be kind about differences.

Every kind act leaves a heartprint.

Is Pinky being kind to Blue?

This kind Tree keeps on giving!

Paying it forward with a simple smile.

Another way to cement an abstract concept is with something tangible, so why not make a Kindness (or Caring) Chain. We used strips of colored paper to jot down the kind and caring things that we caught one other doing at our school. First, the strips were just linked together in each individual classroom, but after a month, we linked all of the classroom chains together to make one very long community chain that spanned the circumference the cafeteria.

Caring is thinking with our hearts!

Such a fun visual to show kids that kindness connects us! 

As seen in the halls at Westwood:  It's Cool To Be Nice!

Want a year's worth of acts of kindness ideas? 
Click here for a blog post I found with 52 smile suggestions.

Visit me at Westwood or at The Corner on Character 

for additional resources for your character building. Happy Bucket Filling!