I am reading to enjoy myself.

Noah and I have been focusing on being aware of the reading strategies we are using, and what we are doing as a reader every day. He has a space in his reading log where he specifically writes what he is working on as a reader--on making text-to-self connections, figuring out the problem and solution, identifying the characters, etc. It hit me yesterday that I don't want to create an environment where reading takes place only to work on a specific skill or strategy. Noah and I had a lovely conversation about how we can pick up a book all the time just because we love, love, love to dive into a good book! He later picked up Green Eggs and Ham--"I don't think I will be able to make many connections to this book--but I think I would like to read it just for fun."

Today Madison informed me that she was working on two things as a reader during her independent reading time. "I am focusing on making meaningful connections with the story. But also, I just was to read to enjoy myself."  Magical :)