Wonder: Finding Out What It's All About

Kindness is "in" now, but what do we really need to do to show it? Every day is a new day to show kindness in all we do!

We've all read it. We've seen the movie. We've laughed. We've cried. And then thought about what it all means. The message is clear. We all need to chose to be kind to those around us, but what does that mean? Here is what it is and what it isn't.

Wonder What It's Not

My son's entire middle school is reading the book Wonder (affiliate link) and then going on a field trip to see the movie. That's great, but what should they be doing with the message behind the book?

This weekend I spent about $10 and my entire Sunday afternoon working on his "Kindness Project". He and a group of friends decided to make cookies for every staff member in the school and then hand them out in the morning. I bought a mix instead of bake and breaks, just to get him working in the kitchen. His other friends made sugar cookies and Oreo balls. The idea is that they will give each staff member 3 treats and be kind to them.
Kindness is "in" now, but what do we really need to do to show it? Every day is a new day to show kindness in all we do!

Now, the question is, did they learn the true message of the book or something else? I truly believe they learned something totally different from the message of the book. They learned to work as a team. They learned that some things won't work out like you think they will.  They learned how to solve problems to make things work the way they need to.

I'm not sure they learned the true message of the story.

Wonder What It Is

My son is pretty intuitive when it comes to books and the message they convey. He read the book on his own back in fifth grade and told me what he had learned. 

The message is simply that we need to be kind and accepting of others, regardless of our own thoughts and notions. 

There it is. We don't have to give up our entire weekend making cookies. We don't have to go out of our way to get up early and go hand out cookies to teachers or anyone, for that matter.
Kindness is "in" now, but what do we really need to do to show it? Every day is a new day to show kindness in all we do!

We just simply need to be us. We simply need to show kindness in our every day actions and be friends with others by putting our own feelings aside.

We need to "Choose Kind". All the time!
Kindness is "in" now, but what do we really need to do to show it? Every day is a new day to show kindness in all we do!

Project update:  Today they got to school early and handed out cookies, along with everyone else in the 8th grade English class. The teachers didn't want every type of cookie, so my son ended up giving them to his friends. He said the cafeteria workers were most excited. The office staff asked them to sing, so they sang Christmas carols for each teacher. He then gave up his lunch to deliver the rest of the cookies to the teachers they missed in the morning. It definitely was a learning experience, though not the right one.

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Kindness is "in" now, but what do we really need to do to show it? Every day is a new day to show kindness in all we do!


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