“Ouch, these buttons are too tight,” Tyler complained to his mom as he pulled at the neck of his shirt. “Why can’t I wear a regular school shirt?” “Because today is picture day and it’s your very first school picture and I want you to look nice,” his mom explained. “I bet all the other kids will be wearing regular clothes,” Tyler said trying to persuade his mom. “Some of the other children might be but I bet most of them will be wearing special clothes. What other people do doesn’t matter, I’m not changing my mind; this is what you’re going to wear,” his mom informed him.

Tyler was still tugging at his shirt as he waited for the bus but he knew that his mom’s mind was made up and there was nothing he could say that would make her change it. He just hoped that he wasn’t the only one wearing special clothes. “Probably none of the other moms even know its picture day,” Tyler thought to himself.

When Tyler got to school, he found out that he was wrong, very wrong. ALL the other moms knew that it was picture day and everyone was wearing special clothes. “Uncomfortable clothes, is a better word for it,” Jerome grumbled. Tyler noticed that some of the other boys were pulling at their shirts, too; one poor boy was even wearing a tie. He looked as if he was suffocating and Tyler felt sorry for him.

As they gathered on the Circle Time rug; everyone was chattering about the morning’s events at home. Miranda said, “My mom said to say ‘pizza’ when I get my picture taken.” “My mom said to say ‘Thursday’”, Tyler added. Jerome sat down and then immediately jumped back up yelling, “Aaah! I forgot my mom made me put a comb in my pocket! I’m supposed to comb my hair again before my picture.”

Just then Katie came to find a seat and everyone stopped talking and stared at her with open mouths. “What is that thing on your head?” Brian asked. “This ‘thing’ is called a tiara,” Katie informed him. “I’m going to look beautiful in my picture!” Some of the boys started to giggle. Katie’s feelings were hurt but she tried not to show it by huffing and saying, “Boys, they just don’t know about fashion.” Miranda wanted to help Katie feel better so she said, “I like how it’s really shinny; it’s the biggest tiara I’ve ever seen.” “Thank you,” Katie responded, “It’s nice to know that someone appreciates my taste.”

Miss Nell was talking as she approached the rug. She hesitated slightly when she saw Katie but she was able to finish what she was saying without laughing. She then exclaimed, “I hardly recognize you guys! You all look so nice in your picture day clothes! My mom doesn’t care what I wear for my picture so I almost forgot that today is the big day.” “Miss Nell!” they all giggled, “You’re a grown up!” “I know, I’m just teasing.” She went on to explain that their schedule would be a bit different today due to it being picture day. “I’m sure you’ve all been told to keep your clothes and hair neat until your picture is taken.” That brought on another round of everyone saying what their mom had told them. “I’m not allowed to paint,” Aleisha said. “I’m not allowed to eat a snack, especially if it’s chocolate cookies,” Brian told his teacher.

Miss Nell told them, “Well then, I guess we will just have to sit here and do nothing for the next hour!” They all looked from her to each other and then everyone looked at Jerome as if to say, “You always know everything. Is this what we do on picture day?” Miss Nell started to laugh and said, “Gotcha!” Then they all started to laugh but they stopped when Miss Nell said, “Whoa, don’t get carried away!” She wanted to stop them before they started to roll around on the floor.

“Our centers will be a bit different today,” Miss Nell informed them. “I’ve placed a different activity at each table. I’ll divide you into three groups and tell you where to sit. When I ring the bell, your group will just move to the next table.” That sounded easy enough and it was. They did puzzles, looked at books, sorted blocks and practiced their writing using a pencil. Everyone had fun and more importantly, everyone stayed clean.

Finally the moment arrived. They were to get their order form out of their backpack and line up. Brian stopped to get a drink and yelled, “Miss Nell, I got water all over my shirt!” Everyone looked and saw that the front of Brian’s shirt was completely soaked. Miss Nell rushed over and started to wipe it with paper towels. That didn’t seem to help much. She then sent him into the bathroom to use the hand dryer. She tried to comfort him by saying, “Don’t worry, you can go last. Hopefully, it will be dry by then.”

Everyone handed their form to the photographer just like they had been told and gave their best smile; even Aleisha, who had secretly been scared. She didn’t like strangers and was worried that she wouldn’t like the photographer. But the photographer was a really nice lady. Aleisha especially liked it when the photographer called her princess. Katie heard it and yelled, “Hey, you’re supposed to call me princess! I’m the one wearing the tiara!”

Before they knew it, they were all finished; including Brian. The photographer made sure to take a close up shot so that no one would ever know about the water stain. They went back to their classroom and settled in for the rest of the day. They were all proud of themselves for having survived another new experience.