Kay Chick's Fostering An Appreciation For All Kinds Of Families

This week’s reading “Fostering an Appreciation for All Kinds of Families” by Kay Chick really stood out to me. Growing up I always enjoyed reading. From picture books to novels, I loved readings new books. I think part of this was due to the fact that I was an only child, so instead of playing with siblings I found joy in reading a good story. Chick mentions that literature allows children and their families to see themselves in the books they read (16). Looking back at all of the books I have read and enjoyed, I often enjoyed books that related to my life in some way. I liked when I had similar characteristics with a character in a book as that made me feel more connected with the book. It made the experience more enjoyable. That being said,

Furthermore, these feelings were often present in school as well. I remember being in elementary school and often being one of the only students in the class who were an only child. Everyone would ask me what it was like and I did not really know how to describe it. I remember talking about this with my parents and feeling upset. However, I recall my Mom one day bringing home a book about being an only child and reading it to me with my Dad. I really enjoyed the book and soon realized that there were lots of advantages to being an only child and my favourite one at the time was not having to share my toys. Another point that stood out to me in the reading was that picture books help young children understand and model what is important in society (Chick, 15). This point really stood out to me as I have experience this as a student teacher. Growing up I always enjoyed when teachers would read to the class. That being said, I really never stopped and thought about its purpose. Being on the other side as a student teacher, I have seen the value of reading picture books to students. Including a read a loud as part of a lesson goes a long way and really allows students to further comprehend the main