The bucket book and other thoughts

I don't usually use this space to discuss curriculum because some of the other blogs where teachers just post and describe lesson plans don't seem that interesting to me as a reader. However, I am trying to work on a specific idea with my kids and decided I could use some input. So there is this children's book : Have you filled a bucket today: A daily guide to happiness for children that is really awesome. A summary can befound here .



So I introduced this book in my classroom several days ago. When I first showed them the book, they made predictions about what would fill the bucket. We have read the story several times, during whole group and small group instruction. We have started a bucket in the classroom that we are filling with positive things. Some examples of things that fill the bucket include greeting each other respectfully, helping someone up after they have fallen during recess, and giving a friend a hug when they are sad. As a group, they are excited to work with each other to fill our class bucket. They tell me when to write something down and look eager as we review the contents of the bucket a few times a week. However, when they are asked individually what they could do to fill the bucket, they start talking about mud, sand and water again.

So for them, there is a disconnect between this very tangible bucket in 0our class with little small postive notes in it and their own individual thinking about this concept. I want them to realize the value of being a good person. I want them to have an awareness of what it means to be a good person. Perhaps the concept is over their heads so early in the year and we can revisit it later in the school year. Perhaps we will just stick with addressing it as a whole class. Perhaps I can explain it to them in another way. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject of teaching character education in a school building where so much time is devoted to reading and math and very few other teachers make the investment.