September in Tokyo brought lots and lots of rain, 35 consecutive days with rainfall! We’ve sung songs about thunder and raindrops and even songs about the sun but it just kept on raining! We’ve still managed to stay happy and cheerful and at the start of the September,our guides showed us a big box that was delivered to us. When we opened it, we weren't sure what it was until we were half way through building it! It turned out to be a trolley to store all our lunchboxes and w

Why the Dandelion? When you first think of a dandelion, you may picture something delicate, a soft white seed head floating gently on a spring breeze. But if you have ever tried to pick a bright yellow dandelion from between the cracks of a pavement or a garden bed, you know the truth; the dandelion is anything but fragile. It is one of the brightest, strongest, and most resilient little flowers in the world. When we were in the early stages of establishing our small Montesso

Easing into the New School Year: A Calm, Unhurried Guide for Tokyo Families Late August in Tokyo brings a quiet shift in rhythm. As the summer holidays start to wind down, our thoughts drift towards the upcoming school year. For guides and teachers, we have had some time to sleep in, relax, and do all the things we didn’t have much time for during the school year, and, as the weeks pass, we start to miss the children in our care and wonder how they have grown over the holiday