“Mrs. Teemore, I need to find a school that can meet the needs of my children. It has been a difficult search, due to their unique needs. I had hoped to find a school before we moved, but the ones I looked at did not have appropriate programs. We have been in the area now for two weeks and I need to get my kids in school. Some friends of mine have told me about your school and suggested I look into it.”
“Here at Learning Time Private School we feel that every child can learn and has the right to be pushed to their greatest potential. We serve grades Preschool through Eighth grade. Our school also includes a variety of additional services to meet the struggling or gifted student. Tell me a little about your children and we will see if Learning Time is a good match.”
“Well, I have two children; Joanne who is eight and in third grade, and Andy just turned eleven. None of the schools I have looked at have had programs that could meet Andy’s needs. He is not toilet trained, speaks only in two to three word phrases, and acts like an early two year old. He isn’t a behavior problem or anything. He is a well behaved little boy, always cheerful, but none of the private schools around appear to have programs to meet his needs.”
“I understand your struggle Mrs. Musee. Here at Learning Time we do have special classes for kids with ‘special needs’ but most private schools in the area do not serve children that low. Our founders felt it was important to provide ALL children access to quality education. The classroom we have for Andy currently has five children in it with two adults. The teacher Mrs. Jones has 20 years as a Special Education Teacher.”
“That is great to hear Mrs. Teemore,” Mrs. Musee said as she started to relax. “Finding a place for Andy has given me many sleepless nights. Having an eleven year old toddler is not easy at times. Joanne’s challenges are different, but just as difficult to deal with and find a placement for. Although she is able to function in a regular third grade classroom, she goes through periods when she struggles with her toileting skills. Most of the time, she is able to function in regular underwear with few accidents. When she is struggling with her toileting skills, I will put her back into Pull-Ups or Diapers depending on the severity of the issues at the time. Most Private schools I have looked at refuse to take a third grader unless they have NO toileting issues.”
“Like I said Mrs. Musee, here at Learning Time we do not hold weaknesses against children and view our job as moving a child from their current skill level to the next. If this involves toilet training, then that is just as important to their education as Reading and Math are. We do not currently have any third graders in the regular third grade classroom with toileting issues as severe as your daughters, but we can accommodate. There is a changing table in Mrs. Jones’ classroom for when she is in diapers and not using the toilet at all. . .”
“No, she doesn’t need to be in Mrs. Jones class with Andy. She functions at a regular eight year old level except for occasional difficulty with toileting,” Mrs. Musee pleaded.
“I understand Mrs. Musee. I am not saying that Joanne should be in Mrs. Jones’ classroom. To address her toileting needs however, we have two places in the building for a child to get changed when they have toileting issues. The office’s health room is used when a child is able to do most or all of the job of cleaning and changing by themselves. If a child needs an adult to change them or clean them up, like when they are wearing diapers instead of Pull-Ups, the changing table in Mrs. Jones’ room is used. That is where we have the staff and facilities to better meet that level of need. She would only need to go to Mrs. Jones’ classroom to get her diapers changed, not to be taught there. If she is able to handle the demands of the regular third grade classrooms then that is where she will be placed,” Mrs. Teemore tried to reassure Mrs. Musee. “If she doesn’t need to be laid down to be cleaned up, and is able to clean most or all of herself up, like when she is in Pull-ups, she can get changed in the Health Room.”
That night Mrs. Musee told her husband all about Learning Time Private School.
“So, they really don’t have a problem with Andy being an eleven year old toddler?” Mr. Musee asked his wife for the third time.
“Honey, Andy isn’t going to be a problem. They don’t even want to test him for entry into their program. They accepted and placed him just on my description of how he acts. They will start him in the ‘Special Needs’ class and treat him at the level he is functioning at. The administrator actually had very few questions about Andy. Joanne was the one we talked about the most. She will be tested with the schools computerized academic test to determine what her strengths and weaknesses are before they place her into a classroom. A lot of the discussion on Joanne however, was about her toileting skills or lack there of.”
“So, are they going to let you send her to school in Pull-Ups?” Mr. Musee inquired.
“Actually, when I told the administrator that Joanne had an accident at the store yesterday, she insisted Joanne wear Pull-Ups for at least the first two weeks. She seemed very adamant that Joanne not wear panties to school till she could prove to them that she could go two weeks keeping her Pull-Ups dry. She said, for sanitary reasons, she would rather be dealing with changing a child’s Pull-Ups or diapers than toileting accidents without protection.”
“Would they really let her be in diapers and in a regular third grade classroom?”
“Definitely, I was getting the impression that they would switch her to diapers if she started having multiple accidents in one day, or multiple poopy accidents in one week.”
“Well,” Mr. Musee said while getting up from the couch. “Sounds like we have a school for our two little ones. Tomorrow go get the money out of the Savings Account for tuition and get them enrolled before the school changes it’s mind.”
A New Reality
“Mom, what do you mean I have to wear Pull-Ups to school on the first day? I am not a baby like Andy is. Why are you treating me like one?”
“You actually have to wear Pull-Ups for the first two weeks Joanne.”
“TWO WEEKS! Everyone is going to think I am a baby. I will never make friends if I go to the first two weeks of a new school wearing Pull-Ups.”
“That is fine Joanne. If you don’t want to go to school the first two weeks wearing Pull-Ups you don’t have to,” Mrs. Musee calmly said as she turned around and headed out of Joanne’s room.
Joanne knew the tone in Mom’s voice did not match her words. Mom also never let her win in situations like this. “M – – M – – Mom. MOM,” Joanne said jumping up from her bed and running after Mom. “What do you mean I don’t have to wear Pull-Ups?”
“It is very simple Joanne, if you don’t want to wear Pull-Ups to school, you don’t have to.”
“So I can wear my panties to school?” Joanne hesitantly inquired.
“Yup, the school said you can wear your panties again once you can go two weeks in dry Pull-Ups.”
Joanne stopped in the hall staring at her mom walking down the hallway. What she was saying didn’t make sense. How can she have to keep her Pull-Ups dry for two weeks before wearing panties, but still have a choice to NOT wear Pull-ups to school on the first day? She had wet her pants three days ago while picking up some stuff at the store for their new house.
“Joanne,” Mrs. Musee said looking at her as she turned into Andy’s room. “Once I get Andy’s diaper changed and have him dressed for his first day of school, I will be in to help you get ready.”
Joanne stood in the hall just staring down at Andy’s doorway. Mom had gone inside to get Andy ready, but she was still puzzled by Mom’s comments. They didn’t make any sense. She couldn’t wear panties till she had been in dry Pull-ups for two weeks, but she didn’t have to wear Pull-Ups to school? If she can’t wear panties, and she doesn’t have to wear Pull-ups, then she would be wearing . . . wearing . . . “NO!” Joanne yelled.
Joanne stomped up to Andy’s door. “MOM, I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL IN DIAPERS!”
“Joanne it is your choice. If you don’t want to wear Pull-Ups, you can wear diapers instead. The school is okay with you wearing either one, but since you had an accident three days ago, you have to wear one of them.” Mrs. Musee finished diapering Andy and started to dress him for the day.
“But Mom.”
Mrs. Musee didn’t respond. She finished dressing Andy and then turned to Joanne who was still standing in the doorway. “Okay, your turn Joanne. Come on over here and I will put a nice clean and dry diaper on you for your first day at your new school.”
“MOM!”
“Well Joanne, you said you didn’t want to wear Pull-Ups on your first day, so that just leaves diapers. So let’s get your diaper on and then get you dressed for the day,” Mrs. Musee said patting the top of the changing table.
“No Mom. I don’t want to wear Andy’s diapers to school.”
“Okay let’s go down to your room and get some of yours. I really don’t care whose diapers you are wearing. But since you decided you were not going to wear Pull-Ups to school, diapers are the only other choice.”
“I’ll wear Pull-Ups. Honest Mom I will. Just don’t make me wear diapers to school. I am not a baby like Andy is.”
“Be nice Joanne, Andy is your OLDER brother. Now come with me down to your room and let’s get you dressed.”
Joanne looked at Andy, her eleven year old brother. He was dressed like a preschooler, which included a preschool character on his bib-overalls. He was sitting on the floor playing with a ring stacker. Shaking her head, she headed for her room. On her way she wasn’t sure if Mom would let her wear Pull-Ups or not. Had she pushed Mom too far? Would Mom let her be a big eight year old, or would she decide that a kid needing to wear Pull-Ups or Diapers to school needs to dress like a little kid.
Walking in just behind Mom, Joanne tried to push Mom towards letting her wear Pull-ups, by going straight over to her supply and picking out a Pull-Up for her to be changed into.
“Oh, I thought you didn’t want to wear those, but if you changed your mind, that is okay. Let’s get you out of your wet night-time diaper and into this dry Pull-Up.”
Very quickly Mom had Joanne’s wet diaper off and had her into the Pull-Ups. Joanne didn’t like that she used a lot of baby powder in the process, feeling that it made her smell like a baby, but she didn’t say anything to Mom.
“Okay Joanne, this will not be your first day in your classroom, but it will be the first day for you and the people at the school to meet. The headmaster said you needed to take a test today, so they can figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. I want you to be a good little girl and try your best on the test,” Mrs. Musee said as she went through Joanne’s closet looking for the perfect outfit for her little girl to wear to school.
Mrs. Musee picked out a frilly pink dress. Upon seeing it, Joanne closed her eyes and sighed. Pull-Ups, baby powder, and being dressed like a five year old was not Joanne’s idea of an ideal start to a new school. To make matters worse, Mom put her hair into pig-tails coming off the top of her head, just adding to the little girl look. Joanne wanted to be a big girl, but as she headed down to breakfast, she didn’t feel like one.
“I only have to wear Pull-Ups for two weeks, right Mommy?” Joanne asked as she followed her mom into Andy’s room.
Getting Andy away from his toys and heading down to the kitchen, she replied, “Two weeks IF you can get all your pee-pee and poopy in the potty. If not, it will be longer.”
“I won’t have any accidents at school Mommy. I promise.”
“Joanne poopy,” Andy said.
“I am not going to poop my pants at school Andy. You do that, not me. No way are the other kids going to find out about my Pull-Ups and Diapers. If I poop my pants at school they will find out, so I am NOT going to poop at school.”
“Joanne diapee,” Andy said. “Andy diapee.”
“That is right Andy,” Mrs. Musee said as she put a bib on Andy. “If Joanne can’t keep her Pull-Ups dry and clean she will be wearing diapers to school just like you do.”
“WHAT! You would make me wear diapers to school like Andy? No Mommy. In diapers you say I have to use the diapers, not the potty. Don’t make me go poopy in the middle of my third grade class, please Mommy. I will be a good girl and use the potty. I promise Mommy. I promise.”
“Joanne, it is not up to me. You will decide if you wear Pull-Ups, Diapers, or panties to school. If you can always use the potty at school, then the school will let you wear panties. If you can’t, then they will put you in diapers. You decide, not me.”
Mrs. Musee poured milk into the kid’s cereal.
Chapter 3:
Starting New
Joanne walked into the school’s office first, followed by Mrs. Musee holding Andy’s hand. As Joanne walked up to the secretary’s desk, she kept looking around the office.
“My oh my, you certainly are a lovely little girl. You look and smell like a sweet little angel,” the secretary commented. Looking up at Mrs. Musee she asked, “Is this little cherub joining our Kindergarten class this year?”
Joanne looked up at her mom with horror. She knew she looked like a baby, and the secretary just confirmed it. They thought she was a kindergartener, not a big third grader.
“No, Joanne here would like to be in your third grade class this year, but I guess if she doesn’t do a good job on the entrance exams today she might be placed into Kindergarten. I wouldn’t mind if my baby was still in Kindergarten. I definitely wasn’t ready for my baby to be a big third grader.”
“Oh I am so sorry Joanne,” the secretary said. “How old is our big girl here?”
“I am eight years old,” Joanne said with pride.
“Well big eight year old Joanne, we certainly don’t have any eight year olds in Kindergarten. Here at Learning Time, we make sure kids are placed in a grade according to their skills, not their age, but the testing will tell us what grade you will be placed in,” the secretary said with a smile.
“And this is Andy,” Mrs. Musee said ruffling Andy’s hair.
“Me Andy.”
The secretary giggled, “Hi there Andy, and how old are you?”
“Me eweven,” Andy replied hugging onto Mommy. “Me big boy.”
“Yes you are Andy. It is so nice to meet you.”
“Mrs. Teemore said he will be in Mrs. Jones’ class. She said he could visit the class today while Joanne was taking her tests,” Mrs. Musee said to the secretary.
“Yes, they were expecting him. I will call Mrs. Jones and let her know Andy is here,” the secretary said as she picked up the phone.
Mrs. Musee got the registration papers out of her purse, and put them on the secretary’s desk. While waiting for Mrs. Jones, the kids were directed over to some chairs.
“Mommy,” Joanne quietly asked?
“What is it princess?”
“Will they really send me to Kindergarten if I don’t do well on the tests?”
“No Joanne, but they may put you back into second grade. That is why it is important that you try your best on the tests today. Show them that you belong in third grade and they will put you in third grade.”
“Even if I am wearing Pull-Ups,” Joanne quietly inquires? “Third Graders don’t wear Pull-Ups, do they?”
Smiling down at Joanne, Mrs. Musee reassured her, “Yes my little princess. If you can do third grade level work they will put you in third grade, even if you are in Pull-Ups or Diapers.”
“Mom!” Joanne quietly expressed her disapproval of mom’s comment about diapers.
Mrs. Jones interrupted the interaction as she came into the office. She introduced herself and then focused in on Andy.
“Me Andy,” he said jumping up from his chair. “You teacher.”
“Yes I am,” Mrs. Jones said with a smile. “I am your teacher, Mrs. Jones. Can you say Mrs. Jones?”
“Mwisses Jones. You teacher. You teacher. You Andy teacher.”
“Yes Andy. Do you want to go down and see the classroom?”
“Me go. Me go. Mommy,” Andy inquired while jumping up and down? “Me go?”
“Yes Andy, you can go with Mrs. Jones down to your new class. Be a good boy for Mrs. Jones.”
“Me good. Me big boy.”
Joanne shook her head back and forth and rolled her eyes.
Mrs. Musee handed the diaper bag over to Mrs. Jones and waved bye as they walked away.
As soon as they were back sitting down, Mrs. Teemore came out of her office and called Mrs. Musee over. “Morning, is Joanne ready for the testing?”
“Yes, but Joanne is nervous. She is also worried that you will put her in Kindergarten, especially since she is wearing Pull-Ups.”
“I am not going to put an eight year old in the Kindergarten classroom.”
“I know, but with her wearing Pull-Ups, she feels more like a Kindergartener at the moment, than a Third Grader. Look at her though,” Mrs. Musee said looking lovingly at her baby girl. “She was so upset this morning about people at school finding out she is wearing Pull-Ups, but now she is playing with the hem of her dress showing her Pull-Ups off to everyone. I am always telling her to put her dress down, and five minutes later it is up again.”
“Little ones in diapers and Pull-Ups don’t seem to be as careful to hide their undergarments, as kids in underwear are,” Mrs. Teemore said understandingly. “Why don’t we get her started on the tests.”
Next to the Headmasters office was another small room with a conference table and a computer in the corner. Mrs. Teemore logged Joanne into the test and got her started. The gown-ups left her alone to take the test and went back to the Headmaster’s office.
“Mrs. Musee, it is going to take Joanne an hour or two to finish the testing. Have you had a chance to finish the registration paperwork?”
“Yes, I gave them to the secretary,” Mrs. Musee paused in contemplation. “Could we go down and look in on Andy? I am a little worried about whether or not he will fit in.”
“We usually don’t like the parents observing in a room within the first few hours a child starts, but considering it isn’t exactly a regular classroom, let’s go and peek in.” Mrs. Teemore led the way.
As they approached the classroom, Mrs. Teemore set down the rules. “Now, we will look in on Andy. If we can do that from the window next to the door, then that is where we will stay. If we can’t see him from there, we will go just inside the classroom. Try not to interact with Andy. Andy and the staff are working on developing a bond and learning their roles. The staff is also trying to figure out his strengths and weaknesses.”
From the classroom window they could see Andy sitting at the table in the room happily playing with a See’N Say. Andy would pull the lever, listen to the toy and then say the name or sound of the animal. He would clap with glee before pulling the lever again. Mrs. Musee also looked around at the other kids in the room. One of the kids was working on a task involving crayons and paper with Mrs. Jones, while the other children were playing with various toddler and preschooler toys.
The assistant in the room suddenly stood up and looked around the room. She walked around the room stopping momentarily at each child and ending at Andy. Saying something to Mrs. Jones, she took Andy into the back room.
“That is the bathroom,” Mrs. Teemore said. “Looks like Andy needs a poopy diaper changed. Mrs. Jones’ assistant, Teacher Mary, is very good with the kids.”
“Timing is about right,” Mrs. Musee replied. “It has been about an hour since breakfast. He usually needs to be change forty-five minutes to an hour and half after he eats.”
Back in Mrs. Teemore’s office, she started talking about the plans for Joanne, “The academic tests will determine if she is put in second or third grade. At eight years old she would fit into either grade level. I have picked a teacher for each grade level and have already talked to them about Joanne. Both said they would like her to start today after the testing, if that is okay with you.”
“I don’t really have a problem with her starting today,” Mrs. Musee hesitantly said. “However, I didn’t bring any supplies for her to start school today. Since some of their school supplies are still packed away, we were going to go shopping after the testing, once we had the supply list.”
“The teachers know she probably will not have any supplies, but they still welcome her to stay,” Mrs. Teemore said.
“The other concern I have is how she might react if you put her back into second grade. She started this school year in a third grade classroom. She tries really hard to view herself as a big girl, especially considering her older brother. With her having to wear Pull-Ups to school and being put back into second grade, she might need a little bit of time to adjust. It is a lot for a little kid to deal with.”
“The offer is there if you want it. Even if she ends up back in second grade, I would still recommend it. Immediately facing an issue is often better than letting the fear of the unknown build inside.”
The two of them continued to chat for a while until they were interrupted by a kid who was sent to the office for teasing. Mrs. Musee went out and sat in the school office while the Headmaster dealt with the child. It took Joanne just over an hour to finish the Reading and Math tests.
“How do you think you did princess,” Mrs. Musee asked as Joanne was hugging her.
“It started out easy Mommy, but then got hard. I didn’t know how to do all the problems it gave me. Does that mean I can’t go to third grade Mommy?”
“We are going to have to wait and see Joanne. The test wasn’t designed just for third graders. They give the same test to all the kids Kindergarten through Fifth grade. We knew there would be some hard questions, that is part of the test. Don’t worry about it Joanne. We just have to sit and wait for the results.”
Chapter 4:
Andy’s Room
Joanne sat down in the chair next to Mommy and they waited. It didn’t take long for Mrs. Teemore to come out and call Mrs. Musee over to her office. Joanne stayed in her chair.
“Well, the results say her reading skills are at an early third grade level and her math skills are at a mid second grade level. I would like to start her in Third Grade with these results. Based upon these scores, she should do well in Mrs. Renton’s class. Can we start her today?”
“I guess that would be okay. Joanne will just be thrilled she gets to go to Third Grade. She is so worried you won’t let her be a Third Grader.”
Heading back out into the school office, Mrs. Musee saw Joanne again playing with the lace at the bottom of her dress hem. Joanne’s Pull-Ups were on full display, and the closer Mrs. Musee got, the clearer it became that Joanne was wet and needed to be changed.
Before reaching Joanne, Mrs. Musee turned to the Headmaster and said, “Looks like Joanne is wet and needs to be changed. I wasn’t expecting to be here more than two hours, and didn’t bring any Pull-Ups for her to change into. So, I guess her first day is going to have to be tomorrow.”
“What do you normally do if you are away from home and she has an accident, when you didn’t pack Pull-Ups,” Mrs. Teemore asked with a hint of assumed knowledge.
“Well, we always have Andy’s diaper bag and I just put her in diapers for the rest of the day.”
“Are there enough diapers in Andy’s bag to get the two of them through the rest of the school day?”
“There should be,” Mrs. Musee confirmed. “I always keep his diaper bag well packed.”
“Well then Mrs. Musee, I recommend you tell Joanne she will be starting Third Grade today and let us deal with getting her changed. Joanne needs to learn how things will happen here at school, and this will give us a chance to teach her from the very start.”
Mrs. Musee looked at the Headmaster questioningly. “Are you sure about that? Joanne is NOT going to be happy about having to wear diapers to her first day of school here. She made that very clear this morning when it came up as a possibility. You also need to know, Joanne makes no attempt to use the toilet while in a diaper. It is almost like her brain magically stops all her training once a diaper is put on her. She won’t even tell you when her diaper needs to be changed. Because of this I have never sent her to school in a diaper before, even though I have threatened to on many occasions.”
“We can handle it Mrs. Musee. If both Diapers and Pull-Ups are a part of Joanne’s life at home, they will be part of her life here at school. School and home need to work together when toilet training a child, with all steps done at home also implemented at school. You said there are times when Joanne gets frustrated with her lack of progress and just gives up putting in any effort. During these times, you correctly put her back into diapers. Here at school we will do the same thing. The school staff needs to get use to addressing her issues, and figuring out Joanne when it comes to these situations. We might as well start today.”
“If you are sure,” said Mrs. Musee. Going up to Joanne, she congratulated her for doing her best on the testing. She told Joanne that the school wanted her to start in Third Grade today.
“Even with getting those questions wrong, I can still go to Third Grade?”
“Yes Princess. Your new teacher, Mrs. Renton, wants to meet you and have you start in her classroom this morning. I will come back at the end of the school day to pick you and Andy up. Can you be a good girl for Mommy today?”
“Yes Mommy. I’ll be a good girl. I promise.”
“Joanne, I want you to do what the teachers tell you to do, with no arguing. Be a big Third Grader for Mommy.”
“Okay.”
With a final hug, and the secretary giving Mrs. Musee the Third Grade supply list, they said goodbye. Joanne stood in the office next to Mrs. Teemore, watching Mommy leave.
“Well Joanne, we need to get you down to Mrs. Renton’s Third Grade Classroom.”
Joanne’s big blue eyes looked up at Mrs. Teemore and in a mild little voice she asked, “Is she nice?”
“Oh yes Joanne. Mrs. Renton is very nice and does a lot of fun things with her students. When she heard you were coming, Mrs. Renton planned a special class art project. She has been waiting for you to start school before doing it.”
Joanne smiled up at Mrs. Teemore.
“Before we go down to class however, we need to go into the Health Room. Mrs. Allen can you join us please?”
“Sure,” Mrs. Allen said getting up from her secretary’s desk.
Confused, Joanne went into the Health Room with the two adults.
In the Health Room Mrs. Teemore knelt down to Joanne’s level. “Now Joanne, here at school we need to make sure kids are not going around school with wet or messy pants. So if you are wearing Pull-Ups or Diapers we need to check you several times throughout the day to make sure they are dry and clean. If they are not, we will need to get you into dry and clean pants. If you are wearing Pull-Ups, you will come here to the Health Room and Mrs. Allen will check them to see if you are still dry and clean. So, let’s check your Pull-Ups and make sure you are in dry and clean pants before heading down to Mrs. Renton’s classroom.”
Joanne didn’t know how to respond. She stood there with her hands down by her side holding down her dress. Joanne didn’t want to show Mrs. Allen her Pull-Ups, after the comment made when she arrived this morning. Mrs. Allen already thought she was a little baby Kindergartener, if she saw that she was still wearing Pull-Ups, she would know she was just a baby that didn’t belong in Third Grade.
“Joanne,” Mrs. Teemore prodded. “Are your Pull-Ups dry and clean?”
“Yeah,” Joanne hesitantly said.
“Can you show me your dry and clean Pull-Ups?”
“See,” Joann said lifting up her dress looking straight at Mrs. Teemore. “I am a big girl.”
“We know you are a big girl Joanne,” Mrs. Teemore said looking at the wet Pull-Ups and then giving Mrs. Allen a knowing look. While stopping Joanne from lowering her dress, Mrs. Teemore turning her around and said, “Now let’s check to see if you are clean or messy. We need to check to make sure there is no poopy in the Pull-Up.”
“I’m a big girl, I go poopy in the potty.”
“We know Joanne, but sometimes the poopy sneaks out and goes in your pants, doesn’t it.”
“No!”
“Well I don’t see any poopy. Good Girl Joanne,” Mrs. Teemore said putting down her dress. “Let’s go.”
Mrs. Teemore took Joanne’s hand and led her out of the Health Room. They quickly arrived at Mrs. Jones’ classroom.
As they entered the classroom, Joanne quickly looked around the room. Upon spotting Andy, tears started to well up in her eyes. “Mommy said I could go to Third Grade. Do I have to be in Andy’s class because I’m wearing Pull-Ups? I’ll use the potty. I pwomise,” Joanne said as tears started to flow. “I don’t want to be in Andy’s cwass.”
Andy quickly came over when he saw Joanne in the room crying. “No cwy. No cwy Joanne. Fun Toys.”
Mrs. Jones quickly came over and reassured Andy that Joanne would be okay, and he needed to get back to work and let the grown-ups help Joanne.
Mrs. Teemore brought Joanne into the bathroom, signaling for Teacher Mary to join them.
“This isn’t your classroom Joanne,” Mrs. Teemore tried to reassure Joanne. “This is the only changing table in the school, so when you are wearing diapers or have poopy pants this is where you will come to get changed.”
“You said I no poopy,” Joanne got out through her tears.
“That is right Joanne, but you are wet and we need to get you changed into a dry diaper.”
“I wet?” Joanne lifted up her dress and looked down at her Pull-Up and feeling it.
Mrs. Teemore looked up at Teacher Mary and non-verbally indicated that she was to step in at this point.
“Joanne, I am Teacher Mary. I work in this room and when you need my help, I will be the one changing you.”
“Te . . Teacher Mary?”
“Yes sweetheart. Why don’t we get you up onto the changing table and out of that wet Pull-Up.”
“Your Mom said she didn’t pack any extra Pull-Ups for you today since she didn’t expect for you to be staying all day, but you could use one of Andy’s diapers,” Mrs. Teemore interrupted.
“Are you Andy’s Little sister,” Teacher Mary inquired with added joy to her voice?
“Yeah,” Joanne said in a daze.
“Well,” Teacher Mary continued. “When I was changing Andy earlier, I noticed a diaper in his bag that was smaller than the rest. I guess that one is yours. Why don’t I get that one out and get you into a nice clean and dry diaper. You wouldn’t want one of Andy’s big diapers anyways, would you? Much better to wear one that is your size, if we have one available, isn’t it now?”
While this was all going on, Mrs. Teemore quietly slipped out of the bathroom.
“Oh, these are size 7 diapers, Big Girl diapers. And look, you have Elmo on your diapers, how cute,” Teacher Mary rambled on trying to calm Joanne down as she got everything out.
In a barely audible voice Joanne said, “Yeah cute BABY diapers.”
“No, no Joanne, these are size 7 diapers which are way too big for babies. Only Big kids wear these. They are for big kids like you who haven’t yet learned how to get all there pee-pee and poopy in the potty.” Teacher Mary rambled on trying to calm Joanne down, “Now, let’s just tear the sides of the Pull-Ups and get those yucky wet Pull-Ups off. Clean you up with a wipe so you don’t get diaper rash, sorry this is going to be cold. Then we . . .”
Teacher Mary quickly got Joanne changed out of her wet Pull-Up and into the diaper. By the time she was done, Joanne had stopped crying. Joanne thought Teacher Mary was treating her as if she was lower functioning than Andy.
“There you go Joanne, a nice clean and dry diaper for you. I know the first day at a new school can be scary, with a lot of things to worry about. But now you don’t have to worry about your pee-pee and poopy, just focus on getting to know the school and the other kids. Let the grown-ups worry about dealing with your pee-pee and poopy today, you just be a cute little girl.”
As they re-entered the classroom, Andy came running up and gave Joanne a big hug. “Joanne betta? Diapee dwy?”
“Yes Andy,” Joanne said reluctantly cracking a smile. “I am all better now and I now have a dry diaper on.”
“Goodie,” Andy said clapping and dragging Joanne over to the table where he had been working. “Cow Mooo. Cow Mooo.”
Joanne looked down at the picture he was pointing to. It was a copied outline of a cow that he had been scribbling all over.
Andy picked up a non-colored on sheet and handed it to Joanne. “Joanne cowor. Cowor Cow.”
“I can’t color right now Andy,” looking to Mrs. Teemore for help and hopeful confirmation. “I have to go down to my class. This is your class, NOT mine.”
“Otay,” and with that Andy sat down and continued scribbling all over his cow picture.
“Who dat Andy,” a little girl at the table asked?
“Sissy Joanne,” Andy said with a smile.
Mrs. Teemore came up and directed Joanne to the door. “Your in diapers now Joanne, so when your teacher tells you it is time to go get changed, this is where you will come. Now let’s go meet Mrs. Renton, and the rest of your classmates in Third Grade.”
Chapter 5:
Third Grade
Mrs. Teemore brought Joanne down the hall to the Third Grade Classrooms. Joanne could hear her diapers making a ton of noise with every step. They stopped in front of a bulletin board with a tree and multi-color leaves on and around it that looked like kids had made them. The board read, ‘Fall Into Learning In Mrs. Renton’s Class’.
“This is it Joanne, ready?”
“No,” Joanne quietly said. As they both stood there in silence, Joanne took a deep breath and squeezed Mrs. Teemore’s hand very tight. “Just take me down to Kindergarten or back to Andy’s room. Mrs. Renton doesn’t want a baby in her class.”
Mrs. Teemore got down on her knees and looked Joanne right in the eyes, “Now you listen very carefully Joanne. Mrs. Renton wants you in her class. She knows you have trouble getting your pee-pee and poopy in the potty and sometimes have to wear Pull-Ups or Diapers, but she still asked to be your teacher. Mrs. Renton wants YOU in her class.”
“Weally?” Joanne asked on the verge of tears again.
“Really Joanne, she really doesn’t care about the Diapers and Pull-Ups. She heard about a smart cute little girl coming and she wants to meet that Third Grader.”
“The other kids are going to tease me.”
“Mrs. Renton and I will not allow that Joanne. Here at Learning Time we have a strict rule about teasing, it is NOT allowed. If anyone is caught teasing, they get in big trouble and their Mommy and Daddy are called. If any of the kids tease you, just tell Mrs. Renton or any of the teachers in the school and they will make sure it never happens again.”
Looking at Joanne, Mrs. Teemore smiled and squeezed her two hands before standing up. “Let’s go meet Mrs. Renton and the other kids.”
Joanne reluctantly went with Mrs. Teemore into the classroom. Dressed in a little kid’s frilly dress, with pigtails, and diapers, she definitely did not feel like a Third Grader as she walked into Mrs. Renton’s Third Grade classroom.
They found all the kids sitting quietly at their desks working. Mrs. Renton was kneeling down next to one of the desks helping a child. It only took a few seconds for them to be noticed and have all eyes on them.
“Well class, it looks like we have a new student,” Mrs. Renton said coming over to Joanne. “Welcome. I am Mrs. Renton.”
Joanne meekly smiled at Mrs. Renton.
“Mrs. Renton, meet Joanne Musee,” Mrs. Teemore did the introductions. “She just moved here from Denver. I am sure you and your students will make her feel welcome.”
“I have a spot over here next to Sally set up for you Joanne,” Mrs. Renton said while directing Joanne over to a desk next to a girl with black wavy hair. Upon reaching the desk Mrs. Renton reached inside it and pulled out a name tag, placing it on the desk.
“It already has her name on it,” Sally said in surprise. “How’d you do that.”
“Teacher Magic Sally,” Mrs. Renton said winking at Joanne. “Okay class, everyone back to work on your math sheet while I get Joanne settled in.”
While Mrs. Renton was up getting Joanne a pencil and worksheet, the headmaster handed her a note and slipped out of the room. Mrs. Renton quickly looked at the note that just had four words on it – ‘Diapers Today, just changed’ – and then smiled over at Joanne who was looking straight at her.
“Don’t worry Joanne,” Sally quietly said before Mrs. Renton got back. “We are just doing addition with regrouping today.”
Looking over at Sally’s worksheet, it looked like something Joanne could do. Then she looked around the room, most of the kids were focused on their math worksheet. The room had a lot kids work posted at various places around the classroom. There was a corner of the room with books and some computers at the back of the classroom.
“Here Joanne,” Mrs. Renton interrupted her observations. “Do as much as you can before we switch subjects in about ten minutes. If you have any questions, Sally here can help you learn how we do things in this class.”
“I’ll help her Mrs. Renton,” Sally happily said.
Mrs. Renton ignored the chatter between Sally and Joanne over the next ten minutes.
After about ten minutes Mrs. Renton told the class to hand in their papers and return to their seats.
“Class, I have a special project for us to do that I planned when I heard we were getting a new student. I am hoping this will help Joanne learn about all of you and be something fun to do. We are going to write about ourselves and draw a picture of ourselves to hang up in the hall. I have a special large sheet of paper for you all to draw a picture of yourselves from head to toe. I don’t want just your face or just your top, I want to see your whole body in the picture and the picture is to take up the whole page with the top of your head at the top of the page and your feet at the bottom.”
Once the murmur stopped Mrs. Renton continued, “Our writing assignment is going to tell Joanne and others about you. Maybe the easy way to start this is to turn it around and ask all of you what you would like to know about Joanne.”
“How old is she?”
“Does she have any brothers or sisters?”
“Does she like to play Jump rope at recess?”
For several minutes the children continued to throw out questions they wanted to ask Joanne. Then Mrs. Renton went to the board and started to narrow down the questions and put some of them up on the board. It took about five minutes before one of the kids was instructed to hand out writing paper, and Mrs. Renton outlined the assignment.
“Class, the first paragraph will tell the reader things like name, age, hair and eye color, along with information about your family. Your second paragraph will tell the reader about what you like to do, favorite color, and other information that make you different from other kids. Your third paragraph . . .”
Mrs. Renton was interrupted by a collective groan.
“Like I was saying, your third paragraph will be about what you want to be when you grow up, including an explanation of why you want to be that. You are all third graders now and you need to learn how to write three paragraph papers. Now, you need to have at least your first paragraph done before you can go to morning recess, so start writing. The recess bell rings in fifteen minutes.”
Turning to Sally, quietly Joanne asked, “Does she always give long writing assignments?”
“No, we have only had to write paragraphs twice before, and those were only two paragraphs.”
“Figures she would make things harder on my first day.”
Both girls giggled as they wrote their names on the papers. Joanne found that Mrs. Renton tolerated some conversation during the assignment, but it couldn’t get too noisy in the room. Mrs. Renton also gave countdown warnings at 10 and 5 minutes till the recess bell.
When the recess bell rang, Mrs. Renton asked who had finished the first paragraph. Everyone raised their hands. She dismissed everyone to recess, asking Sally and Joanne to stay.
“Sally, why don’t you go have recess with Molly and bring Joanne. I bet she would love to meet her.”
“Can we really? Joanne you are going to like Molly,” Sally said with glee.
“Sally go pick out two books you two can read to the kids in Molly’s class while I talk to Joanne for a minute.”
As soon as Sally had bounced off to the other side of the classroom, Mrs. Renton kneeled down next to Joanne’s seat. “Joanne, your wearing diapers today and we need a way for me to tell you to go get your diapers changed without me saying it out loud to the whole class. I figured a secret code would work, so when I pull on my ear, that means you need to go get checked or changed. It can work the other way too, if you get my attention and pull on your ear, it will tell me you need to go get changed.”
“What if the other kids find out?”
“I don’t think it is going to be a problem, but we can deal with that when it happens. Don’t worry; I won’t let anyone tease you Joanne. Now go with Sally to meet Molly, it looks like Sally is at the door waiting for you.”
Chapter 6:
Siblings
“So who is Molly,” Joanne asked as they headed down the hall.
“Here, you take this one, it is her favorite,” Sally said handing Joanne a book called, ‘Biscuit Goes to School’. “Molly’s my sister.”
Looking down at the book and flipping through a few pages, “So, is she in Kindergarten?”
“No, she is my twin sister,” Sally said skipping down the hall.
“And . . . this is her favorite book,” Joanne questioned with confusion? The book was clearly for Preschoolers or Kindergarteners. How could this be a Third Grader’s favorite book?
“You are going to like Molly and the kids in her class. They are real fun to play with and there are neat toys in there. Mrs. Renton let’s me and one other kid from the class have a few recesses a week in Molly’s classroom.”
“Doesn’t your sister’s Third Grade class go outside to recess like ours?”
“They have recess, but not at the same time. Anyways it is more fun in her classroom than playing with her outside.”
Joanne wasn’t looking where they were going. She was trying to figure this out and looking at the book. The book Sally had in her hands was also a Biscuit book. Were they supposed to read these to the Third Graders in Molly’s classroom? Joanne was looking at the Biscuit book in confusion as they entered a classroom. She stopped looking at the book and looked at the classroom they had just entered.
Without thinking she blurted out the first thing that entered her mind, “But I don’t need to be changed.”
“What Joanne,” Sally asked in confusion?
Joanne looked at Sally’s confused expression, “Umm, Uh. What are we doing in Mrs. Jones’ classroom?”
“You know Mrs. Jones? How do you know Mrs. Jones, this is your first day?”
Before Joanne could answer, a girl looking exactly like Sally came up and hugged her from behind, “Hi Sally. Hi Joanne.”
“What,” Sally questioned looking at Joanne? “How do you know Molly?”
Before Joanne could answer, Sally turned around and looked at the girl hugging her. Sally asked, “Wait a minute. Molly, how do you know Joanne?”
“Joanne Andy sissy,” Molly said in a matter of fact manner, and then walked away.
In a dazed state Sally said to no one in particular, “Who is Andy?”
“Andy is MY brother,” Joanne explained. “He is the one over there playing with the Fisher Price School Bus next to Molly.”
“What? Who? Where?” Sally looked at Joanne, then turned to look at her sister and the new boy playing next to her. “So you have a brother in here. Do you think Mrs. Renton knew that when she put you next to me?”
“Yeah, Mrs. Renton probably knows about Andy,” Joanne said. In an effort to change the topic she asked, “So Sally, what do we do in here during recess?”
“Well, we read a book to one of the kids in the class, then we play with the kids. I gave you Molly’s favorite, so you can read to Molly. I will read to your brother. That way we are sharing our brother and sister.”
The two girls giggled as Mrs. Jones approached. “Hi Joanne. Hi Sally. Are you two here to play with the kids?”
“Yes Mrs. Jones,” Sally said with a smile as she grabbed Joanne’s hand and headed over to Molly. “Molly, Andy it is story time.”
“Joanne,” Andy said clapping. “Scoo bus. Scoo bus.”
“Yes it is a nice School Bus Andy. Now it is time to hear a story. This is Sally. She is going to read you a story about a dog named, Biscuit.”
“Biscuit story? Me want Biscuit story. Sally wead me Biscuit,” Molly pleaded.
“Not today Molly, but Joanne here is going to read you, ‘Biscuit Goes to School.”
“Biscuit Go School, yeah,” Molly clapped. She then stood up and dragged Joanne over to a bean bag chair in a corner of the room and pulled her down into the chair. Sitting next to Joanne, Molly said, “wead, wead Biscuit.”
Joanne read Molly the story and on Molly’s insistence, read it a second time. After reading the story, Molly got down on the floor with a toy car, pushing a button on top of it. The car rolled over and bumped into the bean bag chair Joanne was still sitting in. Sliding forward out of the chair and onto the floor, Joanne pressed the button and sent the car back to Molly.
While the car was going back and forth, Joanne would occasionally look over to Andy and Sally. After the book, they started playing with the school bus. Sally showed Andy how to put the people into the seats on the bus. She also showed him about a magic back door where a wheelchair could get on the bus. Andy would try to copy Sally, but not always have success with his efforts. Sally was always very helpful when he struggled and assisted him to achieve his goal.
Sally would occasionally look over to Joanne and Molly. Her focus however did not end up on what Molly and Joanne were doing, but on Joanne and something that didn’t make sense. When Joanne slipped out of the bean bag chair, her dress slipped up around her waist. Then with her legs spread to receive the car going back and forth, Sally could easily see Joanne’s diaper. It was the same kind of diaper Molly wore. Sally did not question what she was seeing, she just didn’t understand. It did explain Joanne’s statement when they entered the room. Joanne must come here to get her diapers changed.
Teacher Mary came up to Joanne and Sally and told them that recess was over and it was time to go back to class. After saying goodbye, the girls headed back to Mrs. Renton’s classroom.
Sally started to slow down on the trip back, “Joanne . . . you need to be more careful at school not to show off your diapers.”
“I don’t wear diapers,” Joanne lied.
“I saw them Joanne, they are the same type Molly wears. I won’t tell anyone. I promise. Mommy has threatened to send me to school in diapers when I call Molly a baby.” In Sally’s best impersonation of her mother she said, “Sally stop teasing your sister. Maybe I should just treat you like Molly and send you to school in diapers, then you would learn how hard she has it.”
“My mom doesn’t like me teasing Andy either.”
“Yeah, Andy is just like Molly,” Sally said.
“No, not really.” Joanne paused for a moment. “Sally, please don’t tell the other kids I am wearing diapers.”
“I won’t, but you need to be more careful. Everyone in Mrs. Jones’ room could see your diapers. Since almost all the kids in there wear diapers or Pull-Ups it doesn’t matter, but you need to be careful other places in the school, especially in a dress. Molly shows off her diapers all the time while wearing a dress. I’ll help remind you not to show your diapers.”
The two were silent the rest of the way back to class.
When they got back to class the other kids were just settling down to continue on their project. Joanne was surprised by the disappointment in the other kids, that they didn’t get to go down to Mrs. Jones’ classroom.
“I had fun playing with the new kid,” Sally said to a boy giving Joanne a wink.
“What you do, play dollies with Joanne,” the boy replied.
“No, Molly was saving the Barbie dolls for when you go down Billy. I had fun playing with the new boy in Mrs. Jones’ class,” with that Sally turned around and got to work on her paper.
Joanne heard the murmur going around the room about a new boy in Mrs. Jones’ class. Several of the kids tried to get Sally to tell them about the boy, but she ignored them and continued working. Every now and then she would look over to Joanne and the two girls would giggle.
Sally finally go so fed up with the bugging, she turned around and said in a fairly loud voice, “Stop it already. You’re asking the wrong person anyways. Joanne knows more about him than I do.”
“Okay everyone back to work,” Mrs. Renton interrupted. “Joanne can tell you all about Andy during lunch recess. IF she wants to, and if I was her, I wouldn’t want to if everyone under the sun was bugging me. Now Get Back To Work!”
The room went silent as everyone shut up and started writing. Joanne and Mrs. Renton looked at each other and smiled, before Mrs. Renton non-verbally prompted Joanne to also get to work.
It wasn’t long before everyone had their three paragraphs done and handed in. The next assignment was self portrait. Shortly before lunch Mrs. Renton started calling kids up to the front of the class to read their report to the class. She said it was a way for Joanne to learn about everyone in the class. Just before lunch, about half the kids had read their reports. When Mrs. Renton called Joanne up, she said she would be the last one to read their reports before lunch.
“It is about time, this is the report we have all been waiting to hear,” Billy blurted out.
“Billy,” Mrs. Renton reprimanded. “For that statement I should make Joanne go last, but for Joanne’s sanity at lunch, let’s hear her report.”
Joanne went up to the front of the classroom, more scared than she had been entering the room at the beginning of the day. Mrs. Renton handed her the report she had written. Joanne stood in front of the class in pure terror, unable to move or speak. Sally prodded her onward.
“My name is Joanne Samantha Musee. I am 8 years old. I have blue . . .” Joanne read through her report not looking up from the paper. There was a quiet hum throughout the room when she read that she had a brother named Andy. She ended her report by telling everyone about wanting to be an astronaut and starting a colony on Mars.”
Everyone clapped as Joanne brought her paper back over to Mrs. Renton. Handing the paper over, Joanne heard Mrs. Renton sniff two times and then saw her tug on her ear. Joanne put her head down and started heading for the door. She heard Mrs. Renton telling the rest of the class about finishing the pictures of themselves after Lunch and hearing the rest of the reports. Joanne slipped out of the room with few kids noticing.
Joanne’s Secret
Entering Mrs. Jones’ room, Joanne found everyone sitting down at two tables. Most of the kids had bibs on and were sitting in from of a tray of food with a sippy cup. Andy was one of the kids wearing a bib and drinking from a sippy cup. Teacher Mary was cutting up some food on Andy’s plate. Upon seeing Joanne, she got up from the table and joined Joanne.
To Joanne’s displeasure, she had to wear one of Andy’s diapers, when her poopy diaper was changed. His were bigger and a lot noisier since they didn’t have a ‘cloth-like’ backing. Teacher Mary quickly had her changed and heading back out into Mrs. Jones’ classroom. Joanne wasn’t too sure she wanted to go to the cafeteria for lunch after this.
Joanne was surprised to see Sally talking to Molly when she entered the classroom.
Upon seeing Joanne, Sally said goodbye to Molly and headed over to Joanne. “Done? Let’s go to lunch.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“When I saw you leave the classroom, it wasn’t hard to figure out. I bet even Molly could have figured it out. I waited to be the last one out of the classroom and asked Mrs. Renton if you had come down here to get your diapers changed. Then I asked if I could come down and help you get to lunch.”
“Did any of the other kids ask where I went?”
“Not that I noticed. Come on, let’s go to lunch. I want to get there before the fifth graders, they always take the good seats.”
Reluctantly Joanne followed Sally.
After passing a few classrooms Sally stated, “Those diapers make a lot of noise. Are they different from the ones you were wearing earlier?”
“They’re Andy’s. I can’t wait till I can get my panties back.”
“You don’t always wear diapers,” Sally asked with surprise?
“No, Mom said I had to wear Pull-Ups to school for the next two weeks because I wet my pants at the store last weekend.”
Sally, confused over the contradiction between what Joanne said versus what she knew Joanne was wearing, was unable to get any more information because they had entered the cafeteria. Sally showed Joanne the lunchroom procedures, and then they got a seat by the windows, with some of the other Third Graders.
“What took you two so long,” one of the girls from Mrs. Renton’s class asked.
“We were checking in on Molly and Andy before coming to lunch,” Sally said smiling at Joanne as she sat down.
At lunch the other kids asked Joanne a lot of questions about where she moved from and what her likes were.
Joanne was surrounded by kids all the way through lunch and recess. She was worried that kids would hear her noisy diapers, but in all the questions, no one asked about the noise. Joanne was happy to go in from recess, it meant an end to the crowds of people and back to just her and Sally.
The afternoon went quick. The class finished their pictures of themselves and got to hang them on the bulletin board replacing the tree and leaves. The rest of the students did their oral presentations of their reports. Afterwards, there was a spelling activity putting the words in alphabetical order.
Joanne was feeling like a member of the class as they lined up for Music. Once the class was quiet, Mrs. Renton led them down the hall. Sally was in front of Joanne and could hear the diaper crinkling as they walked. Ellen, directly behind Joanne, could hear crinkling that sounded like someone was unwrapping some hard candy. Another class was still in Music when they arrived, so they had to wait out in the hall.
Ellen whispered to Joanne, “Could I have a piece of candy?”
“I don’t have any candy,” Joanne said confused.
“Yeah you do. I heard you unwrapping a piece when we came down here,” Ellen insisted.
“Ellen, no talking,” Mrs. Renton said.
“But Joanne has candy and is not sharing it.”
“Joanne,” Mrs. Renton said coming up to the kids. “Give me the candy.”
“I don’t have any candy Mrs. Renton,” Joanne stated.
“Yes she does,” Ellen insisted. “I heard her unwrapping the candy in her pocket as we walked down the hall.”
Sally went wide eyed and stared at Joanne.
“Let’s see what is in your pockets Joanne,” Mrs. Renton calmly asked.
Confused, Joanne said, “I don’t have any pockets in this dress Mrs. Renton.”
“Mrs. Renton,” Sally interrupted. “Joanne doesn’t have any candy, it was her . . . umm . . . her . . . you know.”
Mrs. Renton looked at Sally for a moment with confusion and then figured it out. Looking at Ellen she said, “Well Ellen, she said she doesn’t have any candy and she doesn’t have any pockets to hide any, so you must have heard something else. Now it is time to be quiet in line. So, no more talking please.”
As Mrs. Renton headed back to the front of the line, the other class came out of the Music room. Joanne stood there trying to figure out what had just happened. She started to move her fingers along the frills and ruffles near the bottom of her dress. Very shortly the class was on there way into the Music room.
The kids went to take there spots on a three tiered set of risers. The Music teacher stopped Joanne at the door.
“Hi Joanne, I am Mr. Oliver, the music teacher. We have been practicing for the Christmas Program. Everyone has a spot where they are to stand for the program, now we need to find your perfect spot. Hmmmmmm,” Mr. Oliver said looking back and forth between Joanne and the kids on the risers.
“You are a little one aren’t you, hmmmmmm. Joanne,” Mr. Oliver asked getting down in front of Joanne holding both of her hands. “Do you know the song Jingle Bells?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you sing some of it for me?”
“Okay . . . Jingle Bells . . . Jingle Bells . . . Jingle all the ways,” Joanne meekly started, more saying than singing. “O what fun . . . it is to run . . . on a one horsey . . . open sled . . . A.”
Some of the other kids in the room were giggling, but were silenced by a stare from Mr. Oliver.
“That was a good first try sweety. Now I want you to sing it again, but this time, sing it nice and loud. Pretend you are in the gym and your Mommy and Daddy are way on the other side of the gym. Let’s hear your nice pretty voice sing it nice and loud.”
Joanne tried to turn to look at Sally, but Mr. Oliver had turned her so her back was to the kids and was still holding both of her hands. “Okay,” Joanne said taking a deep breath. “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the ways, Oh what fun it is to run on a one horsey open sleeeeed-A”
Several of the kids clapped at the end making Joanne smile.
“That was much better,” Mr. Oliver said with a big smile. “We need to teach you a few of the correct words, but with that nice strong voice and intonation, let’s put you in the front row, center.”
Mr. Oliver brought her over to the center of the first row and put her directly in the middle. Joanne looked around and found Sally one row back over to one side and Ellen was two rows back on the other side. There was a girl on one side of her and a boy on the other. Mr. Oliver handed out a packet of songs and then went up to a podium in front of the class.
“We will sing through the first two songs with the papers and then try them without the papers.”
They sang Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells and then were instructed to put their papers on the spot behind them. Then they went through the same two songs again. Joanne switched from a nice strong voice while reading the songs, to a quiet timid one once the papers were put down. Joanne would look down at her dress and started playing with the lace and frills at the hem of her dress.
“Class,” Mr. Oliver said when they finished the two songs without the papers. “Let’s practice those songs again without the papers, but this time I will be playing on the piano.”
Groaning throughout the room stopped with a look, as Mr. Oliver headed over to the keyboard. Joanne didn’t like singing without the papers since she didn’t know all the words. She played more with the hem of her dress.
They were half way through their fourth time singing the two songs when Mr. Oliver noticed that Joanne was wearing a diaper, because she was playing with her dress and exposing the diaper. He made a mental note to tell her parents to have her wear bloomers or shorts under her dress on the day of the Christmas Program. After the fourth run through, he had the kids sit down and look at the packet of songs. He had the group sing through all five songs in the program.
Joanne was relieved when she saw Mrs. Renton enter the room. The group finished the song they were on and then lined up. Once the class was lined up, Mrs. Renton asked Joanne to go down and check on Andy while pulling on her ear.
Chapter 8:
End of Day
Joanne was humming Jingle Bells as she walked down the hall, trying to remember the correct words. As she walked into Mrs. Jones’ classroom, she found the kids sitting on the floor listening to a story.
“Hello Joanne, come on over here and listen to the story till Teacher Mary is done changing Molly,” Mrs. Jones stated.
“No, I am just here to check on Andy. Mrs. Renton told me to come down and check on Andy.”
“Oh sweety, I am sure she just told you that so the other kids didn’t know you were coming down to get your diapers changed. Come over here and have a seat next to your big brother.”
Joanne stopped smiling as she faced the reality. As she walked over to Mrs. Jones, she recalled Mrs. Renton pulling on her ear when she gave the directions. Sitting down she looked at Andy, he was sucking on his thumb smiling at her. Joanne rolled her eyes up and shook her head back and forth.
“Let’s see, where were we?”
“Cor-roy go in cave,” one of the kids in the class said.
Joanne was upset about being tricked by Mrs. Renton. She was sent down to get changed when she wasn’t even wet or messy. Joanne pulled up her dress and looked at her diaper to confirm her thoughts. Andy’s diapers had a strip on them that changed color when they were wet, to Joanne’s utter disappointment, she could see the line had changed color. Quickly putting her dress down, she focused on Mrs. Jones.
“Yes, Corduroy had climbed into what he thought was a cave,” Mrs. Jones said. “It wasn’t a cave though, was it? Who knows what it was?”
“Bag cose,” Andy said smiling with pride.
“Yes, Corduroy had just climbed into a bag of wet clothes that he thought was a cave,” Mrs. Jones confirmed. “Who can guess what will happen next?”
“Me, me, me,” a boy about Andy’s size said while raising his hand.
Mrs. Jones looked around at the kids and noticed that everyone had their hands up, including Joanne. Turning to the boy she said, “Marcus, what will happen?”
“Cord-a-roy get all wet and go for a train ride,” Marcus said with confidence.
“Well, let’s keep going with the story and see if Marcus is right,” Mrs. Jones said opening back up the book. She started reading where she had left off from.
Before the story was over, Teacher Mary and Molly came back and sat down to listen to the story. Joanne didn’t get up to get changed, because she wanted to hear the end of the story. While Mrs. Jones was asking the kids questions about the story, Teacher Mary brought Joanne back to get changed.
Teacher Mary quickly set out getting Joanne up on the changing table. “Let’s get you changed and back to class. The day is almost over; you don’t want to miss the end of your first day.”
“Yes I do.”
“Oh Joanne, it couldn’t have been that bad. You made a friend, didn’t you?”
“Sally?” Joanne quietly thought about whether or not Sally was her friend.
“Looks like you didn’t quite get all your poopy out this morning, just a little bit to clean up here,” Teacher Mary said as she wiped Joanne’s bottom.
“Do you really think Sally is my friend?”
“Yes Joanne, Sally needs a true friend just like you do. I’ve see the way she cares for you, almost the same way she cares for Molly. She would only do that for a sister,” Teacher Mary snuggly taped up the diaper. “Or, a friend.”
Joanne thought about what Teacher Mary had said all the way back to class. Was Sally really her friend? Had she made a friend on the first day of school, a friend that knew she sometimes wore and used diapers? Entering class, the other kids were in groups of two drilling each other with math problems. Getting to her desk she found Sally waiting for her.
“Took you long enough,” Sally said jokingly.
“It’s your sister’s fault.”
“Oh,” Sally asked questioningly?
“She took forever getting her diapers changed, so I got to enjoy story time. Mrs. Jones was reading ‘A Pocket for Corduroy’.”
“I like that story. I have a teddy that looks like Corduroy,” Sally said with a smile.
“You might want to read it to Molly tonight. She missed a lot of the story getting changed.”
The two of them giggled as Sally handed Joanne half the stack of math flash cards she had and they started to drill each other. Several minutes into the activity, Joanne’s mind drifted back to the conversation with Teacher Mary. Was Sally really her friend?
They did many more math problems before Joanne meekly asked, “Are you my friend?”
Sally giggled.
Joanne was heart broken. She just knew deep in her heart that the giggle meant Sally wasn’t her friend.
“Oh we are Best Friends you silly,” Sally said taking Joanne’s hands and getting down into her line of site. “Best friends.”
“Really?”
“Really. Best Friends,” Sally confidently stated.
The two girls continued to do the assignment with occasional side talk. Sally couldn’t ask the question she wanted, since other kids were close by. Sally was disappointed when Mrs. Renton told everyone to put stuff away and get ready to go home. This meant she wouldn’t find out today about why Joanne was in diapers, when she said she came to school in Pull-Ups. The girls said bye to each other as they headed off to their moms who were waiting in their cars.
“Did you have a good day sweety,” Mrs. Musee asked Joanne as the car door closed.
“It was okay, but it would have been better if I didn’t have to wear diapers.”
“Sorry princess. Tomorrow I will make sure you have enough Pull-Ups to change into . . .”
Mrs. Musee was interrupted by the car door opening and Andy climbed into his car seat. Mrs. Jones helped Andy get strapped into his seat. She told Mrs. Musee how good Andy was today and that she was looking forward to seeing Andy again tomorrow.
“I am really glad you were a good boy Andy,” Mrs. Musee said.
“Me good boy. Me good,” Andy said clapping his hands.
Mrs. Jones said goodbye to Andy and started to close the door.
“Say Goodbye to Mrs. Jones Andy,” Mrs. Musee stressed.
“Bye-Bye Teacher,” Andy said holding up his hand and opening and closing it at Mrs. Jones.
“Bye Andy. Bye Joanne,” with that, Mrs. Jones closed the door and walked away.
“So, did either of you make any friends today?”
“Yeah, I made friends with Sally,” Joanne said as the car pulled out of the school driveway.
“Did anyone find out about your diapers Joanne,” Mrs. Musee asked with concern.
“Sally had to have found out,” Andy answered for Joanne. “Joanne was showing off her diapers to everyone in my class after she read Molly that Biscuit book. Sally and I could easily see them from where we were. Oh, and you know Joanne, Molly thinks you are her friend too. She talked about you a lot after you read her that Biscuit book.”
“She doesn’t count,” Joanne insisted. “She is in your class, not mine.”
“That may be Joanne,” Andy said. “But she is Sally’s twin sister, so she is your age.”
“Okay you two,” Mrs. Musee tried to stop the coming dispute before it got out of hand. “So, Joanne has a new friend named Sally, who has a twin sister in Andy’s class who also likes Joanne. Sounds like Joanne had quite a day. Did anyone else find out about the diapers?”
“No one in my class,” Joanne said.
“That is good. Did you like your teacher?”
“Mrs. Renton was nice. She set up a secret code when she wants to tell me to go get my diapers changed. She just tugs on her ear.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Andy, how about you? Do you like your teacher,” Mrs. Musee asked.
“She was great mom. Both Mrs. Jones and Teacher Mary treated me like I was just a little kid. They even put a bib on me at lunch time, and had me drink out of a sippy cup. Can I really go back and play again tomorrow Mom?”
“If you can keep convincing them that you are two years old, then you can stay. And as I have said before, you have to keep up with your school work. If you start falling behind, I will not let you go to Learning Time anymore,” Mrs. Musee stated.
“Thanks mom,” Andy acknowledged. “I am ahead at the moment, or at least I will be once I finish my paper on the Oregon Trail.”
“You haven’t finished that yet,” Mrs. Musee questioned?
“It is almost done mom,” Andy tried to calm her. “I have four out of five pages. I should be able to finish it up this afternoon.”
“Well Andy,” Mrs. Musee said in a very motherly tone. “No more reading the Harry Potter books till you are done.”
“Oh Mom!”
The End
