She Reads!
It's the end of second grade and E is reading for pleasure. She's finding quiet little moments in the day to dig into her book. I know some children learn to read at age 4 or at least by age 6. She certainly could read very basic phonics books in first grade, but she didn't enjoy it. Throughout her second grade year, she has become more and more fluent and able to read to me more and more easily, but not truly enjoying it. I've been thinking a lot about this and have decided she has crossed some developmental bridge which now allows her to want to sit quietly and become absorbed in a book---it is this action that she needed to grow into more so than reading fluency.
What is her favorite book? A series of "Weather Fairy" books--very forumulaic with the same characters and same general plot in each one. I think that one of the hardest parts of reading for beginners is figuring out character names--they frequently don't follow phonics rules. While I find these books complete drivel, she cherishes them and lovingly arranges them in her room, reading each one. Do I care? Only a little. We'll keep right on reading the good stuff out loud--between school and evenings at home, she's surrounded by beautiful words and literature.
Though I've always loved books, I had a lot of trouble with reading until I was eight. I used to read aloud to my parents to practice and found it so difficult. Then one day I was reading aloud to Mom and it just kind of clicked. I could read faster and faster. Since then I've loved reading.