There’s a New Campaign in Town: How Full is Your Bucket?

So you’ve been around town and you’ve noticed the symbol, a bucket with a question mark on it.  What’s it all about?

Well, there’s a new campaign in town and no, we’re not looking for a donation!  What we would like is to know… “How full is your bucket?”

You see this idea stems from the metaphor that we all carry an invisible bucket.  When our bucket is full we feel great.  We are happy, energized, and satisfied. When it is empty we feel terrible.  We feel angered, hurt, saddened. Everyday through every interaction we have, we either fill or dip from another person’s bucket.  When we treat people with respect and kindness we fill their bucket.  When we don’t, we dip from it.  Every moment counts. 

Nice idea, right?  It’s pretty simple, just another form of the Golden Rule. 

Except it’s not that simple!  Nor should it be.  Reality is… we have conflicts.  We each have different ideas, interests, and points of view.  Conflicts are normal.  Conflicts are even healthy.  It is through conflicts that we learn to problem-solve, listen to new perspectives, and become tolerant of others.  With strong conflict resolution skills, we actually build better and more positive relationships.

Learning conflict resolution skills are an important part of a child’s education, both at home and at school.  Yet parents today are faced with challenges that make teaching these skills harder and harder.  And that’s where the Bucket Campaign comes in.  How do we teach children to keep each other’s buckets full?

In the coming months, we invite you to take a closer look at these challenges with us and see what the child-development and anti-bullying experts advise when it comes to teaching vital social skills. We’ll tell you about the current trends in today’s society and give you new ideas for teaching social skills to children of all ages. We hope to maybe even spark a conversation or two amongst friends and neighbors. Together we can teach our children and educate ourselves.

We can start this process now by sharing the bucket symbol and its meaning with our children.  Let’s teach our children how their actions, words, and even tone-of-voice affect others.  We can also be mindful of our own behaviors and move towards a more positive social climate in Foxboro.  

Let’s join together now, as a community, to fill the buckets we meet each day. 

Where to Begin? Ideas for Parents, Coaches, Teachers and All Adults to join the Bucket Campaign

• Read “How Full is Your Bucket for Kids?”  by Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer.  There are copies in Boyden Library’s children’s department.
• Draw a question mark on a sand pail and use it to discuss teamwork and sportsmanship, on the field, in the classroom, or at home.
• Have a family or team discussion about what fills a bucket and what does not.
• Be aware of when our own actions are filling or dipping from another’s bucket.