By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The students at Doubek Elementary School, whose mascot is the Dalmatian, are not only “PAWS”itively Respectful, Responsible, Safe and Caring, they are also bucket fillers.
Bucket filling is based off Carol McCloud’s children’s book “Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids”
The idea behind bucket filling is that everyone carries an invisible bucket that holds their good thoughts and feelings,” Doubek Principal Lindsey Harris said. “When our buckets are full of good thoughts and feelings, we feel happy. When they are empty, we feel sad.”
The students have responded to the idea with great enthusiasm.
“I helped my brother and my dad rake the leaves,” first-grader Eli Deutsch. “It made me feel good.”
“I cleared the table for my mom,” first-grader Jenna Block said.
Children can fill buckets when they do and say things that are respectful, caring, kind and considerate.
“Not only do children feel good when their bucket is full, but also when they fill a friend’s bucket because it feels good to make others happy,” Harris said. “Children learn that when they are mean, inconsiderate, uncaring or disrespectful, they dip into buckets and remove those good feelings.
Parents/guardians of Doubek Elementary students received a handout at the start of the school year explaining what it meant for their son/daughter to be a bucket filler.
“Helping my mom makes me feel good and it makes her feel good,” first-grader Caitlyn Preiser said.
Included with the letter was a copy of a water “drop” for parents to complete when they “spot” their son/daughter being a bucket filler at home and/or in the community. The parents turn in the completed water drops to the main office for display on the Bucket filler mural. Additionally, all 4K families received a copy of the children’s book, “Bucket filling A to Z.”
“We really wanted to get the parents involved too and we were just blown away by the response,” Harris said. “We filled the wall quickly and decided that each quarter we would take them all down and start fresh because there were so many drops.”
The second quarter just began a few days ago, and already the wall has more than 50 droplets of good deeds.
The bucket filler mural was designed and painted by Emma Harris, East Troy High School senior and National Art Honor Society member.
“Emma spent a great deal of time over the summer working on the mural, which is very colorful and displayed in the hallway for all students to see. The mural serves as a daily reminder of how important it is to be a bucket filler,” Principal Harris said.
The response from students and parents regarding the concept of bucket filling has been very positive and has far exceeded the expectations of Doubek staff members,” Principal Harris continued.
Numerous completed water “drops” have already been turned in and are displayed on the mural. Several times a week parents stop in the Doubek office to pick up blank water “drops” so they can continue to acknowledge their son/daughter as bucket fillers.
For more information about bucket filling, go to www.bucketfillers101.com.
For more information about bucket filling at Doubek Elementary School Principal Lindsey Harris at (262) 642-6730, ext. 2222.
