Whoa!  I've been outrageously busy!  Sorry I haven't been able to keep up!  I'm working on adding all the Bucket Filler pictures!  So, check back soon!

"Fairness"  Character Trait for the Month of December

 

From an early age, you’ve probably had strong

opinions about what is fair and what isn’t. Everyone
does.
Fairness is, however, one of the most difficult
Pillars of Character, or core ethical values, to define
clearly. People often simply see those decisions
that help them as “fair” and those that don’t as
“unfair.”
Only one thing is clear when it comes to fairness:
it is often a matter of perception. Although
some decisions are clearly unfair, there is often more
than one fair choice.
To ensure that choices are fair to as many
people as possible, the rules of the decision-making
process should be very clear to all involved and everyone
should abide by the rules. Everyone must be
treated the same under the rules.

Bucket Fillers for the week of September 14.

Here are our Bucket Fillers for the week of September 7th.  Way to go!

King School’s Character Education Trait for September is TRUSTWORTHINESS

A few things you can do at home to teach trustworthiness.

• Watch for trustworthy behavior and show your appreciation.
• Talk to your child about times in your life (and listen to theirs) when it has been hard to be honest or keep promises.
• Develop family rules and consequences. Explain them ahead of time and then use the consequences in a consistent way.
• Model the behavior your want to see in your child.
• Use a teachable moment! Next time you are reading a book with your child, discuss how the characters in the book demonstrated honesty, or how a character kept promises.

Ready to get started? A quick Review of Trustworthiness:

• Be honest
• Don’t deceive, cheat or steal
• Be reliable. Do what you say you’ll do.
• Have the courage to do the right thing.
• Build a good reputation.
• Be loyal. Stand by your family, friends and country.

Character Education… Because your kids are counting on you.

Character education begins at home. Parents need to help build character; it doesn’t just evolve. Encouraging young people to think independently and to do right are the barebones of character education for parents. Teaching, enforcing, advocating, and modeling the Six Pillars of Character daily will set behavior boundaries that will shape the character of your kids — and yourself. The core universal values we use are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Remember the Six Pillars by its acronym, TRRFCC (terrific). Follow the T.E.A.M approach: teach, enforce, advocate, and model the Six Pillars. Your style will depend on your child’s age, but active and authoritative parenting. Your style will depend on your child’s age, but active and authoritative parenting at every age goes a long way.

To obtain more information go to charactercounts.org

King School is working hard to encourage positive behavior and as we read, "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud. The book explains that we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our good thoughts and good feelings about ourselves. This bucket represents our social and emotional health. When our buckets are full, we are happy; when our buckets are empty, we are sad.

So how do we fill our bucket or someone else's bucket? You fill a bucket when you show love to someone, when you smile, make someone feel special or do something kind. That’s being a bucket filler. A bucket filler is someone who says or does nice things to other people. Bucket fillers are those who help without being asked or give hugs and compliments. By filling other people's buckets, we fill our own bucket too!

 

What is a bucket dipper? Bucket dippers rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task, by saying or doing mean things, by making fun of someone or by ignoring or excluding someone. Bucket dippers act this way because they have empty buckets. They think that they can fill their bucket by dipping into our bucket, but that will never work. A bully is an example of a bucket dipper.

Do we need a lid on our bucket? Yes, to keep the dippers out! The reason that bucket dippers act mean is because their buckets are empty. Their actions usually don’t have anything to do with us, and if we understand that then it helps to keep our bucket full, thereby preventing others from dipping into our bucket.

Always remember that everyone carries an invisible bucket. What can you say or do to fill someone's bucket today? You can say hi, smile, invite a new friend to play, write a thank you note, hold the door, carry sacks for an elderly neighbor, read to a younger sibling, help someone with homework, help tie someone’s shoes, or simply ask someone if they need a hand. There are so many things that you can do to fill someone’s bucket. Remember, when you fill someone’s bucket, you fill your own bucket too!

We need everyone's help in creating a bucket filling school. You can be a bucket filler to anyone; the McDonald’s cashier, the gas station attendant, the waiter or waitress who serves you, the grocery store cashier, the bus driver, coworkers, friends and family or anyone that crosses your path each day. If we remember to be bucket fillers at home, school, work, and in our communities every day, then everywhere we go will be a better place. The little things we say and do affect others in a very significant way and make a difference.