The HSK Empty your Bucket Challenge

Are you ready for the Happy Sensitive Kids Empty your Bucket Challenge? Of course you are! You can jump on it at any time, wherever you are in the world. You can take part as a family, or do the activities individually – or mix and match.

What is the Empty your Bucket challenge?

In short, it’s a list of activities for you to do whenever you like, wherever you like. Some activities are general and others get you using one of the many Happy Sensitive Kids tools or resources. Some are just for fun, others are specifically to help create calm and empty buckets in your home.

The list is divided up into five sections:

• Calm and relaxation
• Get outside
• Food
• Get creative
• Other

You simply choose an activity, do it and check it off the list. Can you check off the entire list? Of course you can – that’s the spirit.

Share your Progress and the Fun

Let me know you are taking part by commenting below, or nudging me on Twitter or Facebook with #HSKEmptyYourBucket. I would love to see photos and see how far you get with the list. Get others participating too.

The Challenge List

You can download the list here:

Here are some ideas to help you with each activity on the list.

Calm & Relaxation

My Feelings Thermometer

When overwhelm or frustration take over tempers flare. The Happy Sensitive Kids feelings thermometer is a tool to help your child better understand their emotions. It helps them understand why they feel angry and learn that anger usually doesn’t come out of nowhere, that it gradually builds after a sequence of frustrations. You can read lots more on this here: How to Help a Child Recognise Anger, as well as download the thermometer.

Create a bucket box

Having a bucket box (a calm down kit) ready for when overwhelm takes over is a blessing. You can read all about the why and the how here: How to Make a Calm Down Kit to Help Your Highly Sensitive Child. The post contains tips for what to put in a bucket box too, but each child is different. Think about what calms your child when they are overwhelmed.

If it’s a cuddle from you then put some cuddle vouchers in their bucket box to remind them to come to you for comfort.

HSK Tip

Read your favourite book

Reading is incredibly calming. It may help a child to read alone, or sit with you and read together. Either way, it’s a great bucket emptying activity. Bonus points if you download the Happy Sensitive Kids bookmark (free) and post a photo of your child’s favourite book with the bookmark in it.

HSK bucket activity

I have had such great feedback about this downloadable bucket activity. It’s totally free, and helps you identify your child’s bucket fillers, as well as their bucket emptiers. You can learn more here and download the activity. Again, remember to share your photos of you doing the activity together using #HSKEmptyYourBucket.

Bucket of bubbles

This bucket emptying activity literally involves a bucket. The short version of what do to is this:

Fill a bucket with some water and a few drops of washing-up liquid.

Give your child a long straw (we make a long straw ourselves by fitting five or six regular sized straws into each other). Put the straw in the bucket and blow through the straw. How many bubbles can they make in the bucket? Can they get the bucket to overflow with bubbles or are they too busy giggling?

This is a perfect activity for a photo opportunity!

Make a worry headband

This is a great activity for young children who worry lots about things. This monster worry headband idea was created by a fellow mom to help her highly sensitive children. And it’s brilliant! Head over here for all the details and images to help you make your own.

Put your worries on a cloud

Another activity to help little worriers. I helped one of my sons when he was smaller by putting his worries on a cloud. You can find this Happy Sensitive Kids cloud meditation here.

Go cloud watching

Cloud watching is calming. Lie down on the ground and study the clouds above you. What shapes do you see? Do you see the cuddly legless elephant in the picture in this post?

Try some yoga

Yoga is not only a lot of fun, it’s a great calming physical activity. Yoga is actually a great tool for highly sensitive children (8 reasons why here) and there are so many great resources for children out there, like Kids Yoga Stories for one.

HSK Survival Kit

Put together a Happy Sensitive Kids survival kit for those trips out and about. You can find everything you need here.

Have a screen free day

This may not be a popular one with your children, but it’s a great way to relax and focus on other things. If you struggle with electronic devices in your family there are lots of tips here. You are certainly not alone. Switch off the devices!

Make your own chill tent

You can of course buy a chill tent, but you can also make one and have a lot of fun doing so. You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you like. If there’s a carpenter in the house, then let the ideas flow (here’s one my husband whipped up). Otherwise think along the lines of a sheet and some poles….. and voila you have your own chill tent. Throw in some cushions and fairy lights (grab the Christmas box from the attic) and you’ll be fighting over who goes in the tent first.

Spend an afternoon in your local library

I love our little local library and my two youngest boys are so enthusiastic once we get them away from their gaming consoles and into the library. It’s a great place to sit quietly and read comics, magazines, books or scour the shelves for an audio CD or a DVD. Just being in a library is calming.

Get Outside

Get out into nature

Simply go for a walk in the woods, around a lake, in the local park or head to the beach. Nature is soothing and calming. It is that easy.

Go fruit picking

Who doesn’t love filling baskets with handpicked fruit? Research local pick your own places and spend an afternoon there.

Have a picnic

Head to your favourite spot with a picnic basket full of goodies and a football or frisbee. Heavenly!

Camp in your backyard

In lieu of going away this year (yup, the COVID-19 pandemic strikes again) we bought a new tent. The idea is that we will camp in the back garden. The kids will love sleeping in a tent for sure and the great thing is that you don’t have to pack the car up and travel. So much less work!

It’s a win-win because everything you need is close by in the house and if it’s a disaster you can crawl back into your own bed.

Don’t forget to share those photos of tents in the back yard with #HSKEmptyYourBucket.

Plant a herb garden

Long lasting pleasure and so many other reasons why planting and growing a herb garden is a great activity to do with children. For more reasons read 8 Reasons to Create a Children’s Herb Garden.

Explore your home town

Quite often the attractions and sights nearest to us are the ones that remain unexplored. Explore your home town and see it through the eyes of a tourist. Do your research online before you head out and plan your day visiting the local sights.

Share a photo of something you walk past all the time but have never paid any attention to. It could be a museum, a statue, a memorial, a plaque. Tell us a little about it using #HSKEmptyYourBucket.

Watch a sunset

Not much explanation needed here. Choose a loved spot and watch the sun go down, or discover a new place to see the sunset. Perfect photo opportunity.

Have a camp fire

What is there not to love with a back yard camp fire? Popcorn, s’mores, sausages, bread…… the possibilities are endless. In Dutch there’s a perfect word for the camp fire in the garden experience – gezellig.

Go stargazing

Like cloud watching, but at night. Lie on the grass in your local park or garden on a clear night and gaze at the stars. What constellations can you recognise? If you have a telescope then dig it out. National Geographic has a wonderful article on stargazing with kids. There’s no way your kids won’t love this activity.

Go somewhere you have never been

Easy peasy. Pick somewhere you are yet to explore and head there. Throw a dart at a map (you might want to restrict the size of the map to avoid disappointment when your child hits the other side of the world with their dart) or head out and follow road signs to an unknown place. Hopefully there’s some fun waiting for you in your unchartered destination. Take a snapshot and share it!

Go foraging in the forest

You can go the whole hog and buy a book and delve into foraging with your children or you can simply use google and see what you come up with.

There are lots of great tips and ideas out there to get you started. Like this article.

As kids my brother and I often headed out with our parents to pick berries growing in the wild, or hawthorn, rose hips or elderberries and my parents made wine with our pickings. There are so many things you can do with the results of foraging. You can use dandelions in baking, for example.

Don’t forget to take a photo of the results of your foraging.

Food

I imagine this will be a popular section with your children.

Eat ice cream

Better still, make your own ice cream. If this is not the first activity to be checked off I’ll eat my hat.

Pick a country….

Ask your child to pick a country. Any country. Now find a recipe together for a dish that originates from that country. It can be savoury, a meal, a snack, a dessert or a drink. The possibilities are endless but remember you many need to do a little planning beforehand to make sure you have the ingredients you need.

We did something similar when the Eurovision Song Contest was on in May. We drew participating countries out of a hat and each chose a snack from that country. It was a spectacularly tasty evening, even if the music was sometimes not to our taste.

Try a food you have never eaten before

Head to the supermarket or local shop and choose something you have never eaten. Or try a recipe in a book you have at home that you are yet to try. Or choose an untested item on a restaurant or take away menu.

Take a photo and let us know if you liked it!

Create your own mocktail

Mocktails are all the rage so why not try to create your own. What flavours do you love? How are they if you combine them all? Use a fancy glass and decorate it. Give your mocktail a name. Show us your creation.

Make pizzas

Making your own pizzas beats shop bought ones hand down. Choose your favourite toppings and get baking. Yum.

Have a BBQ

Get the kids involved with the BBQ menu and the preparation. The great thing about a BBQ is that the kids can go off and play when they are done with eating.

Make your own pasta

There’s something magical about homemade pasta, rather than just tipping it out of a bag. And don’t worry, you do not need to have a pasta machine in house to make pasta. Try this recipe by Jamie Oliver. Enjoy! And of course, don’t forget to show us the results.

Eat dessert for breakfast

Because why on earth not?

Get Creative

Unleash your creativity

Choose one (or more) of these 50 ideas to unleash your creativity.

Make a bird feeder or house

This is a lovely activity for children to get stuck into. You can make a bird feeder out of so many items that you have lying around the house from drink cartons, a chipped tea cup or a wine bottle to grapefruit skins and Lego. More than ever, some species of birds need our help and you can create a haven for them in your backyard: How to Create a Bird-Friendly Backyard.

Make a card for someone

Make a card for a loved one. Hand draw it. Paint it. Write a poem. Send a message. Whatever you like. Make someone’s day.

Create a family scrapbook

What a lovely keepsake! Choose a theme, print out some photos and decorate to your heart’s content.

Do a science experiment at home

Try a bit of science at home. Keep it age appropriate to keep the interest optimal. There are 23 experiments here to get you started.

Delve into your family tree

Start creating your family tree and get the children involved. It’s a great activity to help your children understand more about their family roots. Collect names and dates, and add photos if you have them. Make it as visual as possible.

Start a journal

You can start a journal together, or individually. You can make it a themed journal, or use a notebook to capture your thoughts. There are no rules, and no boundaries. You can read more about journaling here: A Child’s Journal is a Surprisingly Powerful Tool.

Write a letter to a loved one

Do you have grandparents who live at a distance from your children? A friend that moved away? Write a letter and share your news. Include a photo or collage or newspaper clippings.

Make a happy list

What makes you happy? Make a happy list, and more importantly grow your happy list.

Make a gift for someone

Where do your talents lie? Use them to make a gift for someone. For a friend or family member perhaps. Or the mailman or health worker.

Build a fort

Grab a sheet, cushions or a blanket and build a fort inside. Or collect branches in the woods and get building outside.

Colour a HSK page

Grab your coloured pens, pencils or paints and colour one of the HSK pages. You can download a page here. Post a photo of the finished result.

Other Ideas

Declutter

Tackle an area that is cluttered in your home and donate unwanted items. Think big (a room) or small (a drawer). Clutter is no friend of the highly sensitive.

Act of kindness

Think big or think small. Bake a treat for an elderly neighbour. Help someone with a chore. Donate your time. Surprise someone with a good deed.

Choose a greener way to do something

Walk or cycle instead of taking the car. Swap out a chemical product for a natural one. Buy second hand instead of heading out to buy new. What greener way can you think of doing something? This is a great way to get children thinking about the environment and challenge the way you do things.

Choose a HSK affirmation

Download and print a HSK positive affirmation here. Turn those negative thoughts around and start working on a growth mindset. You can make your own affirmation too!

Over to You

So that’s it, a long list of activities you can try your hand at over the coming two months. Be sure to let me know how you are getting on – and keep sharing your achievements.

If you haven’t already grabbed the list download it here: