The Readin’ Room

First of all, some of my friends make fun of me saying the word, ‘toileting,’ instead of ‘potty training.’  So laugh if you want, I’m sticking with toileting.  Anyways, when I was toilet training my oldest, she enjoyed reading on the toilet, much like all of us.  So what I would do, I would assemble some of her favorite books along with some appropriate bathroom titles and leave them in a basket in the bathroom.  I found that when she read while learning to use the toilet, she made sure to finish her business in the bathroom.  When I was teaching, I found that some children will go a little bit in the toilet, say, “I’m done,” and when you get them dressed they end up finishing somewhere else.  This gets very frustrating, especially when you are not at home or just getting ready to leave.  Some of my favorite bathroom book titles include: 

I think these are hilarious stories.  Preschool aged children are fascinated with body parts and all the kinds of things that those body parts entail.  I think this is a great way to include literacy as part of their daily routine, so to speak.  When she was exhibiting the signs of being ready to learn how to use the toilet such as:  being able to undress and redress and to verbalize the elimination process, I would sit and read to her, but now she just ‘reads’ on her own.  I found that by not making this routine stressful, the process was easier for her to master.  Since she was ready to learn how to use the toilet and since she had some entertainment, she was willing and able to let go, pardon the pun.  I purchased many of these stories through Amazon, but they can also be found at your local bookstore.

Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray      

The Gas We Pass The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho  

Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg

Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi

The Story of the Little Mole Who Went In Search of Who Dunit by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch