Throughout the month of Shevat we are engaging in a school-wide program based on the Bucket Filling series of books. “Bucket Filling” is a character-building program designed to improve social-emotional learning at school. This program is based on the simple premise that each one of us has an invisible bucket with the singular purpose of holding good thoughts and positive feelings about ourselves. When we are kind to others and happy, our buckets become full. When we are unkind or have negative thoughts, our buckets become empty. We become “Bucket Fillers” when we are kind. Bucket Fillers fill both their own and others’ buckets. When we are unkind we become “Bucket Dippers.” Bucket Dippers dip in to their own and others’ buckets.

On Rosh Chodesh we kicked off this initiative by hosting our very own Cafe Dilemma. Buddy pairs watched a film about bucket filling, discussed social dilemmas using structured situation prompts, and sang “bucket filling” songs. Our hope is that our students become proud “Bucket Fillers.”

By Erik Kessler, MSW