Today we’d like to introduce you to Rivka Fishman.
Rivka, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been a teacher for over 18 years. Meeting the social and emotional needs of my students has always been a top priority for me. Over the years, I developed a bully-proofing workshop/ training program based on Izzy Kalman’s bullies2buddies program that I tweaked and adapted.
After teaching and using these techniques successfully for several years, my five-year-old daughter got a new kid in her class who made her life miserable. It was very frustrating for me to see that the techniques that I had been teaching kids, parents, and teachers in person, over the phone, and at workshops — that had worked so well for so many older kids just didn’t work for younger kids because they lacked the maturity to apply the necessary skills. On a quest to bully-proof my daughter, as well as other younger children with similar experiences, I set out to find a way to adapt these techniques for younger children.
Around this time, my daughter’s teachers introduced books that taught the “bucket” concept, which was created by Donald Clifton. The basic idea behind this is that all of us have an invisible bucket which carries all of our good thoughts and feelings about ourselves. When our buckets are full, we feel happy and when our buckets are empty we feel sad. When we fill other peoples buckets, our own bucket fills up as well. I realized that this was exactly what I needed in order to bully-proof younger kids. As I looked at all of the Bucket books (and there are many of them, by many authors), I was disappointed to see that none of them directly taught kids to deal with mean people. So, I made up my own story.
Each night, at bedtime (because kids are most talkative and receptive when they get to stay up past their bedtime), I told her my story and then my daughter and I would talk about her day and about ways that she filled her friends’ buckets and that other people filled her bucket. Then, as she complained about the mean classmate, we would role play about how she could respond like a Bucket Filler. Soon, she started responding like that in “real life” and the other kid stopped being mean to her.
With the encouragement of my supportive family, I wrote down my story to share with other kids. “Sara the Bucket Filler” was published by Mosaica Press and has taken off like wildfire. It is currently being printed for the third time and it has been less than a year since the first printing! Over this year, I’ve been contacted by many principals, teachers, and parents, asking for advice about bullying situations that they are dealing with. I am passionate about bully-proofing, so I gladly answered all of their questions. Between the wonderful feedback that I received and the fact that I started spending hours every week giving free advice, my husband started asking me why I wasn’t charging people. So, in my “spare time,” I took a Life Coach certification course with an add-on to specialize in Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy Coaching.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely identify more as a teacher than as a businesswoman, and managing the business end of being a Bully-Proofing Coach and Consultant is challenging. At some point, I’ll definitely hire someone to take over everything business related.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sara the Bucket Filler – what should we know?
In addition to selling my book, I do book reads for schools, I coach kids to become bully-proof, and I consult with parents, teachers, and principals about bullying situations. I also give bully-proofing workshops and webinars for parents and schools.
Most recently, I created a training program for camp counselors. I trained over 200 camp counselors last summer. Many of them contacted me, letting me know that on top of helping them keep their campers happy and bully-proof, my workshop has changed them and helped them become happier people.
While I’d still like to find the magic bullet that makes everyone out there be nice all of the time, helping people stay happy despite the mean people that will always exist is my specialty. A quick video that illustrates how I teach this to young children can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PromEPyN7QU.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I truly believe in what I teach others. I know that it works because it has worked for my students, my children, and my clients. I get tremendous satisfaction out of helping others realize that their happiness is in their control.
Pricing:
- “Sara the Bucket Filler” available at sarathebucketfiller.com for $14.99
- Local Workshop for teachers and/ or parents $300
- Webinar $150
- Coaching Session $50 for 45 minutes
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarathebucketfiller.com
- Email: sarathebucketfiller@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sarathebucketfiller
- Facebook: @sarathebucketfiller
- Twitter: @sarabucketfllr
- Other: Pinterest sarathebucketfiller
Image Credit:
Elisheva Golani Photography (head shot and screen shots from video)
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
