The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket 

Each one of us has an invisible bucket.      

It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or
do to us.

When our bucket is full, we feel great.

When it is empty, we feel awful.

Each of us has an invisible dipper.

When we use that dipper to fill other people's buckets ~ by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions ~ we also fill our own bucket.

But when we use that dipper to dip from others' buckets ~ by doing or saying things that decrease their positive emotions ~ we diminish ourselves.

Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in that bucket makes is stronger and more optimistic.

But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. That's why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us. 

So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another's buckets, or we can dip from them.

It's an important choice ~ one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids

Guess what? .....  Kids are not naturally kind!

 Have You Filled a Bucket Today? is a book with a new twist on the Golden Rule. It is a book that explains to children that we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our feelings about ourselves.  When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty, we are sad.  It's important to know that we can fill our own bucket and so can others.  We can also dip into it.

This simple little book packs a message that every kid needs to know. Because, despite what we think, too many kids need lessons in how to be kind. The book is not preachy or moralizing. It is what it is, a quick explanation on what happens if we fill or dip someone’s bucket.

What are bucket fillers?

"Bucket fillers" are those who help without being asked, give hugs and compliments, and generally spread their love and good feelings to others.

What are bucket dippers? 

"Bucket dippers" rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task or by saying or doing cruel things.  

Our mission is to create a world of bucket fillers.

We can change the world, beginning with the children with whom we teach.

Have you filled someone's bucket today?

A child’s view of bucket filling...

An inspiring story from Annette Beuthin, who lives in Bay City, Michigan. Annette is the proud mother of a 13-year-old son who responded to his teacher’s request for a paper about proper school behavior with these words:

    “One thing my mom teaches as a literacy teacher is a thing called “bucket filling.” Bucket filling is when you are nice to people. See, everybody has an invisible bucket and you can empty and fill buckets. If you fill a bucket, it means that you do something nice for that other person. If you are a bucket dipper, then you make people feel bad, like making fun of them or bullying them.Sometimes, if someone keeps on dipping in your bucket then you can put a lid over your bucket (ignoring them) and then they cannot make you feel bad!Also, you can overfill someone’s bucket and you have really made their day.
    To fill a bucket, you can give them a gift or give them a hug and they say thank you to you and you have filled their bucket! But if someone’s bucket is completely empty, then that is called an emergency! They need their bucket filled pronto! So you can be a hero and overfill their bucket! If I ever found someone like that, I would fill their bucket right away! It is a cool way to look at it!”

Quotes from the Bucket Fill-osophy Journal:

"It's not what’s happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines
who you become. Rather, it’s your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to
you, and what you’re going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.”
—Anthony Robbins—

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every passerby leaves a mark.”             Ancient Chinese Proverb

“Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.” John Erskine (1879 - 1951)

“What a child doesn’t receive he can seldom later give”—P.D. James, Author

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is
woven into the lives of others.” — Pericles

“You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person.”
Scott Sorrell

BUCKET FILLERS, INC. ~ PO BOX 255 ~ BRIGHTON, MI 48116 ~ PHONE: 810.229.5468 ~ FAX: 810.588.6782

 WWW.BUCKETFILLERS101.COM