Building a positive classroom culture begins with teaching children the powerful concept of “bucket filling”—the simple yet profound idea that our words and actions can either fill others’ emotional buckets with kindness or dip into them with negativity.
Introducing bucket filler activities in classrooms is a wonderful way to promote a supportive and empathetic community, enhancing both individual well-being and collective harmony.
This collection of bucket filler activities and ideas provides engaging ways to bring this metaphor to life for students of all ages.
1. Fill The Classroom Bucket!
The idea is simple yet impactful: by performing kind acts or reaching milestones, students earn stars that fill a shared classroom “bucket.”
As stars accumulate, students can see the direct impact of their actions on the community. This visual representation fosters teamwork, motivation, and a sense of responsibility.
Learn more: Poet Prints
2. Sparkling Stars of Goodness
Each student receives a craft stick with a star on top, where they can write a word that represents kindness, respect, or any other positive trait.
These decorated sticks are then placed in a shared classroom bucket, symbolizing the collective commitment to positivity
Learn more: Instagram/@the_miss_education
3. Kindness Jars
In this activity, a jar is placed in a visible area, and students add notes of kindness, achievements, or positive actions they’ve observed in others. Each note fills the jar, symbolizing the growing kindness and teamwork within the classroom.
Learn more: Sparkling in Second Grade
4. Pom-Pom Bucket Filler
For every kind act or good deed a student performs, they earn a colorful pom-pom to add to their personal or class bucket. This tangible reward system allows students to visually track their progress and see the impact of their actions.
Learn more: Meaningful Mama
5. Fill the Teacher’s Bucket with Kindness
Each time a student demonstrates kindness, effort, or helpfulness, they earn a bright magnet on the whiteboard, filling the “teacher’s bucket.”
This interactive approach encourages students to contribute to a shared goal, motivating them to perform good deeds.
Learn more: Teacher To The Core
6. Wear Your Good Deeds
Each student receives a paper hat designed to look like a bucket, with space to write or stick notes about their good deeds. As students perform kind acts or reach personal goals, they can add these achievements to their hats, turning them into wearable reminders of their positive impact.
Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers
7. Catch a Filler, Spot a Dipper
Divided into two sections, one side represents “Bucket Fillers,” where students can recognize and celebrate acts of kindness and support, while the other side highlights “Bucket Dippers,” where unkind behaviors or negative actions can be addressed.
Learn more: 3rd Grade Thoughts
8. A Bucket Filling Snack
This snack idea uses a clear yogurt cup decorated with a smiling face, symbolizing the “bucket” that fills with every good choice.
Topped with vibrant fruits like berries, kiwi, or sliced bananas, the snack visually represents the rewards of kindness and positive actions.
Learn more: Teacher’s Lion Pride
9. Sticky Note Bucket Fillers
Each student receives a few sticky notes and is encouraged to write short, positive messages, compliments, or words of encouragement for their classmates. These notes are then placed on a designated “bucket” area, like a bulletin board or a classroom wall, where everyone can see them.
Learn more: From Pond Blog Spot
10. Bucket Filler Quest
In this activity, students move their pieces along a path on a custom-made board, earning moves by performing acts of kindness or completing challenges that promote empathy, teamwork, and respect.
The goal is to reach the “Bucket of Kindness” at the end of the path, where players collectively fill it by sharing their achievements or good deeds along the way.
Learn more: Teaching Heart
11. DIY Bucket Fillers Station
Each student receives a personal “mini bucket” where classmates can place positive notes, compliments, or words of encouragement throughout the week.
This activity promotes a culture of respect and boosts self-esteem, as students both give and receive uplifting messages.
Learn more: One Creative Kindergarten
12. Filling Buckets with Kindness
The Filling Buckets with Kindness activity draws inspiration from the book “How Full Is Your Bucket”. Each student has a designated “bucket” space on a classroom board. When someone performs an act of kindness or says something uplifting, others can add a tear-shaped sticky note to their bucket, symbolizing a “drop” of kindness. C
Learn more: Creativity in Teraphy
13. A DIY Kindness Activity Sheet
In this activity, each student receives an activity sheet with a blank bucket outline, which they can decorate with drawings, colors, and words that represent kindness to them.
Learn more: Mrs. Davis Jammin Jungle News
14. Dress Up As A Kindness Bucket
Students dress up as “kindness buckets” by creating wearable costumes decorated with positive words, symbols, or images that represent kindness and caring.
Learn more: Pinterest/Kathy Trainor-Bruso
15. Kindness Calendar
Each day on the calendar features a simple act of kindness, such as giving a compliment, helping a classmate, or writing a thank-you note. As students check off each day’s action, they collectively work toward creating a supportive and empathetic classroom.
Learn more: Instagram/Proud to be primary
16. The Bucket Filler Board
At the top of the board, display a definition of a “bucket filler,” explaining it as someone who shows kindness, respect, and empathy toward others.
Below, provides each student with a small “mini bucket” where they can write and add notes about acts of kindness they’ve observed or participated in.
Learn more: Apple for the Teach Blogspot
The cutout features the question “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” prominently displayed in the classroom, with space around it where students can write their names or specific acts of kindness they have performed or witnessed.
Learn more: Pinterest/Brit B.
18. Kindness Bingo
The game board is filled with different kindness-related tasks, such as “Help Someone” “Made Someone Laugh” or “Read to Someone” As students complete each task, they mark off the corresponding box.
Learn more: Morgane Michael
19. Color Your Way to Positivity
In this activity, each student is given a printable bucket template, which they can color and decorate however they like. On or around the bucket, they can write positive words, acts of kindness, or goals for filling others’ buckets with kindness.
Learn more: Coloring Nation
20. Bucket Filler Crossword
The crossword puzzle includes clues related to acts of kindness, positive traits, and key vocabulary from the Bucket Filling concept.
As students work to complete the crossword, they can reflect on the meaning behind each word and how it relates to creating a kind and supportive classroom environment.
Learn more: Coloring Nation
21. Classroom Gratitude Buckets
Each student has a small, bucket (or envelope, jar, or cup) where classmates can drop in gratitude notes throughout the week. These notes can include expressions of thanks, compliments, or words of encouragement.
Learn more: Pinterest/Ashley Zimprich
22. Write to Fill the Bucket
This activity encourages students to think deeply about the impact of kindness and positive behavior. Using a chart with three sections labeled “Looks Like,” “Sounds Like,” and “Feels Like,” students describe what a “bucket-filling” environment is in each category.
Learn more: Crafting Connections
23. Bucket Filler Door
The door idea is decorated with a large bucket graphic and colorful “drops” or “stars” representing acts of kindness. Each time a student performs a positive action, they can add a new drop or star to the door with their name or a brief note about their good deed.
Learn more: Pinterest
In this activity, students are given paper cutouts where they can write or draw a positive action they’ve done or witnessed. The act of cutting, pasting, and sharing reminds students to actively reflect on their positive actions, while also celebrating the kindness of their peers.
Learn more: Elsa Support
25. Seven Days of Kindness
This idea is a week-long initiative to inspire students to practice and celebrate kindness daily. Each day focuses on a different act of kindness, creating a daily challenge for students to participate in.
Learn more: Oasis Academy
26. Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
Heart-shaped notes are available for students to write positive messages, compliments, or acknowledgments of kindness they’ve seen in others. Students can place these heart notes into their classmates’ cups, filling each cup with kind words and encouragement.
Learn more: Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
27. Happy Buckets, Happy Faces
In this Idea, create a bulletin board or wall display featuring a large bucket image labeled “Bucket Fillers.” Below or around the bucket, place small, individual photos of each student, each attached to their own mini bucket or name tag.
Learn more: Pinterest/Bucket Filler-Official
28. Fill Each Slot with Good Deeds
This idea is a creative and organized way to celebrate kindness in the classroom, using a shoe rack as a display for individual student “buckets.” Each slot of the shoe rack holds a small bucket or container labeled with a student’s name and photo, making it easy for classmates to identify each other’s buckets.
Learn more: Jammin in the Jungle News
29. Class Board of Good Deeds
Set up a large board and attach paper cutout cups, each labeled with a student’s name. These cups serve as individual “buckets” for each student.
Learn more: Pinterest/Really Good Stuff
30. Together We Fill the Bucket
Each time a student performs an act of kindness or helps others, they add a “drop” (like a pom-pom, paper heart, or colorful bead) to the bucket.
As the bucket fills, the classroom can celebrate with a small reward or recognition, reinforcing the impact of their efforts.
Learn more: Everyday is Creative Day
31. Kindness Board
Next to the bucket, include speech bubble or textbox cutouts of examples of how they show kindness in these ways.
Learn more: Pinterest/Kellen Oldt
32. Bucket Full of Sunshine
Every time a student performs an act of kindness, demonstrates helpfulness, or brings joy to the class, they can add a pom-pom to their bucket, symbolizing a “ray of sunshine” they’ve shared with others.
Learn more: Pinterest/Teaching Ideas
33. Spread Kindness Bucket Filler Board
Students can contribute by adding their ideas or examples, such as “Helping Others: I helped a friend pick up their supplies” or “Respect: I listened when my classmate was speaking.”
Over time, the board fills with real-life applications and reflections on kindness, creating a collective vision for a kind and caring classroom.
Learn more: Pinterest/Jessica Linenger
34. Art from the Heart
This idea is a cost-free, creative way to encourage kindness and community in the classroom.
Using only markers and paper, draw a large bucket in the center of a bulletin board or wall space, adding the phrase “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” Above or around the bucket, sketch small hand-drawn “drops” or “hearts” that students can fill in with acts of kindness, positive words, or names when they do something nice for others.
Learn more: Pinterest/AB