Via - "August Through the Peephole"

 

When hearing the chapter, "August Through the Peephole" by Via, students couldn't resist drawing what she described.  They wanted to make sure you know, though, they weren't being mean by drawing Via's description.  They were visualizing August, and we are curious about what he looks like.  Hearing Via's point of view is fascinating because she's such a perceptive, sensitive person.  We talked a lot about her character traits and what it must be like to be August's sister.  "August is like the sun" is a metaphor she used about how he is the center of the family, and all of them orbit around him.  We talked about how the sun even has a magnetic pull and so does Auggie.  Via has learned to cope without a lot of adult help.  We're reading, though, about how this year, with Auggie going to school, the "cosmos" is shifting.  It's also interesting to hear about genetics and how Via thinks about her own chances of having a child like Auggie some day.  This week we're going to discuss that.  As technology gets more sophisticated, how does that affect us?  What choices will we make when we know more about might happen?  Via is young, and it's hard for her to fully understand the impact of having a disabled child - how hard it must be, but also how much her parents love him.  She also loves Auggie, though, and knows how much worth he has even with his disorder.  There's so much to think about in this book!  Several students have expressed they'd like to hear from the mom and dad.