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This is a classic example of intrinsic motivation:

My daughter is six years old and she is learning to read. At night we have been reading her The Hobbit and she has declared that it is the best book ever written. She is keen to read have more Tolkein read to her, but we’re wary of reading Lord of the Rings to her at bedtime. It’s a little gory for her age right now.

Last week, my daughter confessed to her grandmother that she was secretly teaching herself to read so that she could read Lord of the Rings by herself, without us finding out about it.

Naturally, I am doing nothing to dissuade this! She is indeed teaching herself to read (she is a homelearner, so no school for her). And she is starting to show a rather indiscreet interest in someone called Frodo.

That’s what it’s all about. Learning from the inside out.