The oldest is a pretty good little reader. Because Kindergarten is the new sixth grade {I kid. Sort of} reading is a thing. We didn’t do any baby can read programs. Or BOB books. Or Hooked on Phonics {please tell me that’s still really a thing}. We did/do read a lot with him. He’s a first born. I pretty much read to him 63 hours a day for his whole first year. What else do you do with babies after you change them, feed them, and stare at them? I don’t know if that’s why he’s a good reader or if it just clicked for him but the boy is a heart-eyed emoji over books.
BUT he only wants chapter books. But the hubs had a recommendation at a recent personal development conference for How Full is Your Bucket? for Kids. And what do you know? The Easter Bunny came through and hopped that book right over into B’s basket o’ goods. And I could tell initially, he was a little sore over it. Because he is a chapter book reader. But the reality is, I see him reading any little thing he can get his hands on. So I knew that if he gave it a chance, he’d probably think it was at least, entertaining. He’s still in the judging a book by its cover stage {errrr… so am I, I suppose}.
On the car ride home, he read all the books that were collected amongst he and his bros from the bunny and from grandma and grandpa. We got home, and played outside, enjoying the sunshine. And as we were on a post-dinner walk, he asked me:
“How full is your bucket right now, mom?”
I was taken a little off-guard. I’ve read the adult version and so I know the bucket schtick. But when he asked, I wanted to understand if he understood.
“Well, help me understand what you mean when you ask that, B.”
“Like, how happy are you right now? Like is your bucket empty. Middle. Or Full?”
Gosh I loved that moment. I will write this down, I thought. Because there are moments of parenting where you are so damn proud of your little loves. And this was one of them.
“I’d say mine is 3/4 full.”
“What about yours?”
“I’d say almost pretty much full. I’m pretty happy.”
Best words ever.
We went back and forth. I asked him about different activities at school and how full his bucket feels during them. Adam asked him if he liked certain things because it filled his bucket or if he liked them because it filled other people’s buckets. Gosh. That’s a cool part of parenting, you guys… watching your kid’s brain work. And I loved the book for prompting his question to us. It was a great way to talk about how his crummy moods can affect others {because he can be a moper, a whiner, and a complainer these days. Hormones. I’m blaming six year old hormones. If that’s even a thing}. And how doing things that he enjoys and has a positive attitude about can fill his bucket. And those around him. And maybe, just maybe, the bucket business will help as we attempt to help him understand how rude he can be to the middlest. Maybe. Maybe not. Because, goodness knows we’ve tried many different angles in that plight.
One of my favorite parts of being a mom is seeing the big ways small minds can open ours and get us thinking and looking at things differently. From fresh perspectives. And I love reading with my kids because it offers the same type of gratification. But I mostly loved that, when he reads, he gets so freaking excited about what the words are telling him that he wants to talk about it. He wants to start the conversations. And that, well that, fills my bucket.
So, it’s Monday, and I challenge you to think like a six year old today and ask yourself how full is my bucket? And if it’s empty. Think about why. And think about how you fill other buckets. And if you have a Kindergarten-maybe 2nd grader ish, I recommend checking out the book. {And no, I get no kickback from this… I just dig good stuff.}
I can’t think of any single book that completely changed my life {can you??}, but the collection of words that I have read over time have had a huge impact on my life and my world. And it’s totally rockin’ to see the Kindergartner feeling all the feels for the written word. And even better to hear the best words ever come right out of his chapter book reading mouth.
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