A teacher at home

The Bean is finally potty trained thanks to my very excellent modeling and scaffolding. It reminded me of this:

My teacher friends will have probably seen this in countless trainings. On the far left of the spectrum would be the Teacher-Mommy allowing the Toddler-Student to observe careful modeling of the potty process. "Moooooommy, you went potty like a big girrrrrl!"

Guided Practice involves asking the Bean "Do you need to go potty?" no less than 50 times per day, balancing her on the big toilet when she refuses to use the potty chair, and making careful decisions about outings (How long will we be gone?) and naps (Should I force her to wear a diaper?)

I am proud to announce that we're finally to the right side of the diagram. Bean knows when she needs to go, climbs up and teeters on the edge of the seat by herself, and is sleeping Pamper-free. My anecdotal records indicate that we have yet to use a public restroom and she only flushes on one in five trials. I'll put that in next week's lesson plans.

With potty training and the yard sale under my belt, I've accomplished my two major goals for the summer. Now we can relax! Thanks for reading my blog.

“Gradual Release of Responsibility” Model of Explicit Instruction: Reprinted from Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, P. David Pearson and Margaret C. Gallagher, “The Instruction of Reading Comprehension,” page 337, under the terms of the Access Copyright licence agreement, renewed in 2004.