Potty Mouth and Potty Training: Our Journey and the Books We've Enjoyed Along the Way

Early childhood is full of "moments".

Some of them are exciting and adorable - that first smile; a giggle; first steps; a hug; a kiss; or the moment your child utters the words "mommy" or "I love you".

These are the moments that make parenthood a joy, and I was sure to catch all of these "moments" on video.

Some early childhood moments are not nearly as adorable - cutting teeth (a.k.a., endless crying); weaning from the bottle (a.k.a., more endless crying); learning to sleep through the night (also termed the CRY it out method and so by definition equates to even more endless crying); and my personal favorite - getting rid of binky (which is endless crying mixed with whining, screaming, and tantrums).

These are the moments that I was sure that our video camera wasn't anywhere near me, for fear that I might be caught having a "moment" of my very own.

Right now we are in what has been the longest early childhood "moment" yet.

Potty training. 

Not sure why this potty chair is so happy!

Oh, I'm sure in some households this is a short and sweet process. I'm sure some kids decide one day that  underwear is the coolest thing on earth, and never turn back.

That hasn't been quite our experience. In fact, at 2 1/2 years old, baby bookworm has been potty training for over a year.

SAY WHAT?!

Yep. Baby bookworm had this peculiar obsession with her potty chair at a very young age. In fact, at 15 months "poop" was such a fond word of her hers that it became her favorite greeting.

"Poop" as a greeting!  We would be in line at Walmart and the cashier would turn to baby bookworm and say something like, "Oh, helping mommy today?" and what would baby bookworm say?

"Hi! Poop."

The same words were uttered when greeting our neighbor, or her music class teacher, or just about anybody.

Most people would laugh, of course, which only reinforced the behavior. Occasionally I'd get a puzzled look, feel my face blush, and just walk away rather than saying "yes, my child did just say poop to you."

"Poop" wasn't just a new vocabulary word for her, though. Baby bookworm was a pro at pooping on the potty at the young age of 15 months. There were weeks that would go by without my having to change one. single. poopy. diaper. SCORE one for me!

I thought, "wow...this potty training thing is EASY! People actually write parenting books about this topic?!? What a waste of 25 bucks."

Now, fast forward to present day. You would think that given her early start at using the potty, baby bookworm would be fully potty trained by now.

You would think.

Well, she's fully pooped trained. We're still working on the pee part.

Luckily for this early childhood "moment" there are children's books that can lighten the mood and stress of the whole process....

Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel is a classic.



If you are looking for something a little less anatomical and more comical, Bear in Underwear by Todd Doodler is a fun book with a lovable character.



A Potty for Me! by Karen Katz is a "lift-the-flap instruction manual".



Potty! by Mylo Freeman is a colorful book with animals that asks "Does your bottom fit on the potty?"



Virginia Miller's On Your Potty! is about a little bear who gets to his potty just in time.




From personal experience, I can't promise that any of these books will actually help with potty training. Remember, we're only poop trained over here.

But, in theory, they should.

At the very least they will give you a little chuckle (if you are into potty humor, that is), possibly make you blush, and give you a slight sense of embarrassment if you were to read them to your child in front of your father-in-law.

I'm hoping to have a happy ending to our potty training "moment" very soon.

And once we've thoroughly exhausted all of the potty themed children's books, I will be going out to buy my very own potty training book made especially for parents.

So much for saving 25 bucks after all.

Happy Mother's Day: Motherhood and Me

Happy Mother's Day to all moms everywhere! Here's what baby bookworm had to say about her mommy when I asked her a couple of questions.

Keep in mind she is just approaching 2 1/2.

What's your mommy's favorite color? 

"yellow"

Correct she is! Yellow is so cheery and happy.

What's your mommy's favorite food?

"Italian food"

Close. I do like it, but my favorite is Indian food.

Who is your mommy's favorite singer? 

"Bon Jovi"

NOPE. I did see John Bon Jovi once at the Jersey shore and he sang Wanted Dead or Alive with the cover band at the bar which was really cool. BUT...not a fan. I don't think I really have a favorite singer. I guess this was a trick question.

What's your mommy's favorite thing to do? 

"Jump rope"

Now she's confusing me with my husband who jumps rope religiously. I like to read (has she not seen my blog?). And watch independent films.

What color are your mommy's eyes? 

"Green"

Correct. She knows her colors.

How old is your mommy? 

"55 months"

Hmmm...interesting.

What's your mommy's favorite TV show? 

"Super Why"

Nope, but I think that must be hers. I really like The Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead, and Oddities.

Here's what some bloggers had to say on Motherhood over at Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom.  What does being a mom mean to you? What is your favorite part of being a mom?

To me, the best part of being a mom is seeing how my daughter has grown and developed over the past few years. I love seeing little bits of me and my husband in her, and how she has become her own person as well. I love helping her to learn and discover the world, and preparing her to be independent (someday - hopefully not too soon).

Have a great one!

An Example of Making Connections on a Trip to the Zoo: Not Only a Learning Strategy but An Essential Life Skill

One of my favorite learning strategies is "making connections," and baby bookworm and I do this any chance we get.

Why?

Simply put, making connections between new knowledge and something already learned helps to organize the information in our brain and make it more meaningful.

According to Ellen Galinsky, author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, "making connections is at the heart of learning -- figuring out what's the same and what's different, and sorting these things into categories. Making unusual connections is at the core of creativity. In a world where people can google for information, it is the people who can see connections who are able to go beyond knowing information to using this information well."

Sounds like an essential life skill to me.

This past week we used our making connections learning strategy while on a trip to the Living Treasures Wild Animal Park in Donegal, PA. It is a fun animal park where you can not only feed all of the animals, but get a pretty up close and personal look at them. I was surprised at some of the animals we found, too - a tiger, plenty of monkeys, kangaroos, a zebra, and the largest bear that I have ever seen in person. Baby bookworm enjoyed it very much, although she was hesitant to feed the animals from her hands (as was I). We walked through the park several times, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves - which was awesome.

In addition to the coolness of getting a great view of all of these animals, we had a little learning adventure too.

Here's how I made the most our our trip to this unique zoo nestled in the mountains of Western, PA.

PRIOR TO OUR ZOO VISIT:

• I grabbed baby bookworm's interest and primed her knowledge of the topic by reading a few zoo-themed books such as:

(Click on the images for more information from Amazon)

If you have a child with a short attention span, A Children's Zoo is probably your best bet!

• Following reading, I asked baby bookworm questions about our upcoming trip like, "What animals do you think we'll see?" or "Which animal was your favorite that we read about?" or "What is the smallest animal you think we'll see?"

WHILE AT THE ZOO:

• I made connections back to the books that we read. For example, we saw two zookeepers cleaning out the Bison exhibit, so it was a great opportunity to connect back to the book A Day in the Life of a Zookeeper. (Remember to make your connects as explicit as possible)
• We took the time to read a little about each animal, although I kept the focus to: where the animals live in the world, and what they eat. 
• To keep the learning going I would also ask baby bookworm questions like, what sound does this animal make? How many legs does this animal have? What color is this animal? 
• I tied the animals we saw to any other experiences baby bookworm may have encountered with that animal.  

AFTER THE ZOO:

• We had a discussion about what we did and saw. 
• I asked baby bookworm a bunch of questions such as:
• which animals had stripes? or spots?
• which animals were big? short? 
• which animals were fast? slow?
• which animal had horns? a shell? sharp teeth?
• We flipped through our books again, but this time we reflected on our trip to the animal park. For example, we looked at the Mammals book and identified the mammals we saw, and those we didn't and maybe why we couldn't see them at this zoo!

So that's it.  With just a little extra work - we made the trip to the wild animal park not only more fun but a better learning experience. Try making connections on your next field trip!

Goodnight iPAD: Screen Free Week April 30th to May 6th

This week is screen free week. What does that mean? Well, if you would like to participate it means that for one week you turn off your screens.

iphones, ipads, TVs, Macs, PCs. I'm honestly not sure if e-readers "count" - but it's the one time of the year when families, schools, and communities are encouraged to turn off their screens to "read, daydream, explore, enjoy nature, and enjoy spending time with family and friends."

Obviously I'm not participating 100%. So, yes, I'm being hypocritical in writing a post about screen-free week, during screen-free week.

But....while I won't be unplugged 100% this week, I do vow to turn our screens off more than I normally would.

In all honesty, baby bookworm and I don't watch a ton of TV anyway (I watch the occasional episode of Big Bang Theory, and she watches the occasional episode of Caillou or the Backyardigans on Netflix streaming). We do a lot of screen-free activities - read books, play games, go to the park.

I do know that there are parents out there who don't let their children watch ANY TV.

God bless them.

I wish I was one of them, and I think I possibly could be if I weren't home with a non-napping two-year all day. A mother needs her sanity at some point, and I thank Caillou for my 20 minutes from time to time.

Of course, when baby bookworm was a baby we did have a no screen policy, as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. But now that she's a big-girl two-year old. Game on. (ha ha - just kidding. They still say to limit TV viewing to a couple of hours).

The computer, honestly, is more my vice. I have a tendency to try to write while my daughter eats breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Mostly because it's the only time I can! And, much to the dismay of my husband, I am a COMPULSIVE Facebook checker. I know it's an issue. My iphone has been my downfall.

So...this week I do vow to check Facebook less. Lots less, in fact. And, I do vow to not let baby bookworm see me at the computer. 

Like mother, baby bookworm likes the computer, too. I've been amazed at how quickly she learned to manipulate my laptop! She knows how to access the internet and go to "pbskids.org". She also plays with iphone apps at least once a day.

In honor of screen-free week, however, I'm going to try to limit (if not exclude) her screen time. Yes, and mine. Sigh.

It is a good thing though, I know. We have become an over-techy society. We are tuned in and checked in at all times.....  In fact, if I don't have my iphone with me I often panic!

This week baby bookworm and I read a great book that I think captures our reliance on technology quite well.

Check it out. You can even read it online at We Give Books, for free.

 

It's a parody on the classic book by Margaret Wise Brown - Goodnight Moon.

It will make you chuckle, and it will make you think at the same time. Your child will likely know of every single thing mentioned in the book, so he's likely to enjoy.

Oh, but I suppose if you are truly participating in this screen-free week's celebration - then wait till next week!

What do you think about "our" obsession with technology and screens? A good thing or a bad thing? 

No Materials Required: 15 Things To Do with Twos and Threes that Only Require Your Mind

The great thing about helping your child learn or practice new skills is that sometimes it doesn't even require materials.

No materials means no money either, which is an added bonus.

I've compiled 15 fun things to do with twos and threes that only require your mind!

1. Play I Spy. We like to practice our colors while playing I Spy.
2. Pretend to play musical instruments. We like to do this to the tune of All Around the Mulberry Bush and sing "This is the way we play our trumpet [insert other musical instruments here], play our trumpet, play our trumpet; this is the way we play our trumpet, all through the town."
3. Play Simon Says. 
4. Have a pretend tea party.
5. Sing a song. Baby bookworm loves Wheels on the Bus, the alphabet song, and Jingle Bells.
6. Identify parts of the body. I ask baby bookworm, "Can you show me your ankle?" "Can you show me your elbow?" Of course, this would be a great game to play with a baby too if you keep it simple. Sometimes we even play this game in another language.
7. Clap the number of syllables in words (or your names). For example, Ap-ple - two syllables (and two claps). This one might be difficult for some twos and threes, but with some practice they might become quite skilled at it.
8. Get moving! Dance, skip, jump, run, climb stairs, tip-toe, leap, gallop. We are currently working on gallop and skip.
9. Play follow the leader. Do something and see if your child can mimic you. I try to start out my doing one movement. Then two movements together, then three, and I see how many movements she can follow in a row.
10. Make and bake a pretend cake. Ask your child to name the ingredients you'll need, and then go through the steps to make a cake. This is great for sequencing. 
11. Play a color game. What we do is sing the following song to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell..."Spaghetti sauce is red, spaghetti sauce is red, I can think of lots of things that are the color red." Then the child names something else that is red such as a strawberry. You follow along with other objects and colors.
12. Play a naming game. I pick a category and ask baby bookworm to name as many things as she can that fit the category. For example, "Things You Find at the Beach"....  (think Family Feud for kids).
13. Count. As high as you can. Backwards, or by 2's, in another language, by 10s. You can make this one as easy or as challenging as you'd like.
14. Make up a story. Baby bookworm likes stories that begin, "Once upon a time there was a little girl..." I often ask her, "What comes next?" and she'll add something to our story.
15. Play hide & seek. Now, chances are if your child is hiding, he'll jump out to reveal himself, but it's still super fun.  

So put away your fancy toys, your iphones and ipads, and turn off the TV. Use the best learning tool you've got - your mind!

Here are some of my favorite books with kids who are quite imaginative. Maybe read one of these and tell your child you're going to "be" like Harold and Max!

Click on the images to find more info on Amazon about these books.