by Carol McCloud. Basically, the gist of the book is that everyone carries around an invisible bucket that represents the level of an individual's happiness. When someone's bucket is full, the person is feeling happy, and when the bucket is empty, the person is feeling sad. The author emphasizes that you should fill others' buckets by being kind and doing nice things for them. This in turn, will fill your own bucket.
I revisit this concept annually with the students in my social skills group and we talk about different ways to fill someone's bucket. This year we took it a little bit further. My students observed that in the book, a person's bucket tends to bear resemblance to the person it belongs to - for example, if the person is wearing glasses, the bucket is wearing glasses. We decided to create our very own personalized buckets to practice bucketfilling.
You will need:
Some of my students really got into it and spend a lot of time creating bucket-masterpieces. One student insisted on having Pikachu sit on his bucket's shoulder. I loved to see the level of creativity! Once the buckets were completed, we started practicing the act of bucketfilling. In the book, the happiness and good feelings filling one's bucket are represented by rainbow stars and hearts. In the past, I have used plastic coins and pompoms during these lessons, but this year I found something even better: Foam Beads
! These beads come in different shapes and colors and kind of look like the bucket contents in the book.For this part of the lesson, we practiced filling each other's buckets by complimenting or doing nice things for the people in our group. Students loved seeing their buckets getting fuller. We also practiced bucket-dipping: if a student interrupted or misbehaved in some other way, shapes were removed from the teacher's bucket and their own bucket.
There are so many things you can do with the concept of bucketfilling and this is just one of them!
by Audrey Penn - This is a well-known classic. When Chester Raccoon is nervous about his first day of school, his mother teaches him a secret that will ensure he knows that she is with him always. Great for kids struggling with separation anxiety from their parents.
by Julie Danneberg - This is one of my favorites! The main character does not want to get out of bed on the first day of school, and imagines how horrible it will be. In a twist at the end it is revealed that the main character is a teacher. Can anyone else relate?
by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague - With funny rhymes and hilarious pictures the authors describe how dinosaurs might act if they went to school. This would be a great book for younger readers and lends itself to talking about appropriate behavior at school.
by Judy Finchler - When the main character's teacher moves into his apartment complex, he is hit by the realization that she doesn't live in her classroom after all. Sometimes it sure feels like I live in my Speech room...
by Dianne deGroat - This story follows Gilbert through his first day of first grade. I like this book because it features realistic situations, from worrying about first grade being difficult, to learning about all the classroom rules, to eating in the cafeteria, etc. It's a very sweet book with innocent pictures.
by Kevin Henkes - Chrysanthemum loves her name. That is, until she starts school and the other children mock her for it. It is not until her teacher reveals an equally unusual name that the other children accept her. It's a cute story about fitting in and accepting others despite their differences.
by Joseph Slate - This rhyming book follows Miss Bindergarten and her students as they get ready for class. A great book to talk about morning routines. This is a good choice for younger students.
by Mike Boldt - Anya wakes up on the first day of school only to discover that she has grown a tiger tail. Fearing the jeers of the other children, she does everything to get out of having to go to school. When she finally does arrive to school she discovers that several other children have also sprouted animal body parts. Students really appreciate the funny story and hilarious pictures.
by Sharon Creech - This book is pretty funny, too (as are the illustrations). Tillie attends Mr. Keene's school. Mr. Keene loves his school so much that he decrees that students and teachers will also have school on weekends, holidays, and break. Neither the students nor the teachers want to go to school every day, but because they don't want to hurt Mr. Keene's feelings no one wants to speak up. Finally, Tillie convinces Mr. Keene that she is needed at home to teach her little brother and dog new things. In the end Mr. Keene relents and gives teachers and students their free time back.
by Stephen Krensky - This is a story about a student who believes all of his teachers live at school. He fantasizes about how his teachers act after the students leave. When he sees her at the park with her husband and daughter, he concludes that she must have a secret life. A good book to use for teachers to introduce themselves to students and share information about their own life.
by Harry G. Allard - Another well-known favorite. Miss Nelson's class is full o misbehaving students. One day, Miss Nelson disappears and a new teacher shows up. Unlike sweet Miss Nelson, Miss Swamp is strict and direct. The students hypothesize what might have happened to Miss Nelson and fear that they will be stuck with Miss Swamp forever, until Miss Nelson returns. From now on, her students are perfect little angels. In the end it is revealed that Miss Swamp was Miss Nelson in disguise. A great book to talk appropriate classroom behaviors.
by David Shannon - I have never met a kid who didn't love the David books. In this edition, David gets in trouble around the classroom. This book is a great way to talk about classroom and school rules.
by Eric Litwin - Pete the Cat is rocking his School Shoes in this book. Readers get to guess which part of school Pete is in after each page as they follow him through his school day. This is a great choice for younger students.
by David Shannon - Camilla Cream likes to fit in to the point of where she refuses to eat lima beans only because her friends don't like them. But on the first day of school she wakes up with rainbow stripes all over her body! When she goes to school, her condition is such a big distraction to her classmates that the principal orders her to stay home. Doctors are working to help cure Camilla, but every treatment seems to exacerbate the problem. In the end, the cure is a large helping of lima beans. This is a great story about individual differences and trying to fit in.
by Kay Winters - A teacher asks her students to share their wishes for the school year. A quick, easy read for younger students. You can also launch into a discussion about what your students are hoping for this school year.
by Natasha Wing - This rhyming book follows the main character as she completes her back to school preparations and goes through the first day of school. A little hiccup occurs when the main character ends up in a different class than her best friend and is forced to make new friends. This is a good story to talk about forming new friendships.
by Carolyn Crimi
by Claire Freedman & Russell Julian
by Helen Cooper
by Dav Pilkey
by Nancy Poydar
by Caralyn & Mark Buehner
by Erica Silverman
by Will Hubbell
