Book club: Wonder

In an effort to bring our parent community together, WSF hosted our first book club event on Oct. 3rd. During a summer planning session, one board member mentioned her son reading the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio and described its role in the Choose Kind movement.  That message of kindness resonated and we decided to choose Wonder as our inaugural book. 

Wonder tells the story of Auggie, a 5th grade boy with a severe facial deformity who transitions from being homeschooled to attending a local middle school where many of the children are unkind to him. Each chapter is told from various perspectives including Auggie, his sister, his best friend, giving multiple viewpoints of Auggie's struggles. 

Our group comprised of a mix of parents and parent/teachers. The conversation revolved around parenting practices as they relate to bullying and building empathy in our children.  We discussed the ways in which we have encountered bullying with our children and how we worked through those situations.  Additionally, we shared ideas on how we promote empathy and kindness in our children. 

We look forward to continuing our theme of "Kindness" throughout the year.  

Our conversation was so lively that we forgot to capture a photo before some of the attendees left! This was the portion of the group still around.