Komaba International Playgroup

sayonara - part 2!

2010-06-28T21:39:00.003+09:00

So in true Playgroup style, we had to eat more cake, drink more coffee and tea, have at least one happy birth announcement and one birthday party ............ and only then could we truly say SAYONARA Playgroup!

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS to Rie Sakurai who finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning. we are all waiting eagerly to hear his name and to see him out and about in Komaba with his Mum, who we miss too much.

Happy birthda to Sakura chan, one of our "oldest" playgroup kids who is now 3 yeasr old!

This morning at Fuse Court Ikejiri, our Playgroup Mammies went all out and had obviously been cooking and baking all night long as we had a veritable feast. Chicken, prawn salads, miso cake, chiffon cake to die for, as well as countless other long-sonce devoured treats.

I was handed over some real treasures - a Japanese song book and CD as well as other really special omiyages..... which I will always keep.

Thank you all so much for arranging this party, for cooking all night long and especially for all the precious memories.

Please keep the PLAYGROUP going in September.

Sayonara............. & see you in the park:)

SAYONARA PLAYGROUP....

2010-06-14T19:33:00.004+09:00

Can it really be the end of such a fun era? This morning, on another rainy Monday, Komaba International Playgroup celebrated in style the end of our colourful and unique Playgroup.

Miso Sensei braved the weather and abandoned poor Gen kun who fell sick at the last moment, to bring us the much anticipated "Magical Miso" - which was devoured by all. Akiko whipped up a great soup snack for us all. Thank you:)

Our kids yet again, showed how it is actually possible to eat EVERYTHING on the table in less than 3 nanoseconds and then come back asking for more. Kimiko's multi-lingual cake didn't stand a chance with Etienne and Daniel there.

Thanks to everyone who brought such great stuff to the buffet. We were spoiled with onegiri, wafers, veggy sticks for the miso dipping, fruit a-plenty and of course, lots of cake and cookies.

I have some really funny pictures of the "Graduation ceremony". My favourite is with Kent sleeping soundly in his mother's arms. Have a look at them on picasa:)

It was with much sadness that I announced our imminent departure from Tokyo. We've been here for three and a half years. Etienne and Daniel were born here and know no other "home". Komaba has become our home. And our neighbours and Playgroup buddies have become our friends. We will really miss you all:(

Please keep in touch and if at all possible, I'd love to see the Playgroup continuing. It's such a great group of people it would be a shame to see it end just because I'm leaving. You have each other's addresses, you see each other in the park all the time and you even have the CD. No excuses!! Maybe you could rotate the group and take it in turns to host? This is usually what happens with Playgroups of this nature. Go on..... Jump Jump Jump...... Dingle Dangle till your heart's content and most importantly, EAT CAKE whenever possible:)

I hope to see you all in the park when the weatehr picks up, so for now, it's "mata ne"... not "sayonara" just yet:)

Sayonara, bye bye, au revoir, Auf Weidersein, Ciao......

Eating cake and managing the mayhem...

2010-06-07T20:44:00.004+09:00

I had planned a great 3rd birthday party for Sakura chan this morning. I made my now-near-famous yoghurt cake and had surprises galore. Alas the birthday girl got a cold after planting rice all weekend in Chiba and couldn't make it to Komaba. Too bad..... we ate her cake with gusto and not a morsel was saved.

I hope nobody had intended to start this week by vowing to go on a diet. Our Playgroup "snacktime" just doesn't lend itself to such restrictions! This morning we were spoilt by Maria who brought slimming-plans to a crashing end with her delicious carrot cake. I think it lasted 5 seconds...... even the crumbs were devoured and the plate licked clean by our mob of hungry toddlers. Thank you!! (I'll try and weasel the recipe out of the chef and post it on the blog for next time!)

Alas today is Maria's last day of Playgroup. Andrew will start a mini-summer-camp next week and will thus be kicking up a storm in and around Tokyo Tower for a few weeks. Good luck and thanks for joining all the fun:)

A very big welcome to Saori and Kazuki, who came along with Yukako and Gen and Joe today.

And so that was our last "regular" Playgroup session. Etienne and Daniel were being truly monstrous - I do apologise for that. But who knows what gets into the minds of two-year olds, eh? They got up this morning and decided to try my patience. And boy did they succeed!

Next week is our "Sayonara" party in which we will hopefully get to taste the "mysterious magical miso" of our beloved "Miso-sensei". So carrot sticks and cucumber will replace the calorific menu of today. I might have to make another cake just in case the party menu becomes TOO healthy! See you then, same time, same place.

Billy the Bear, Weekend tips for cool trips and the DAMN MISO!

2010-05-31T21:15:00.006+09:00

Billy the Bear made his great return to Playgroup this morning. Our Playgroup kids hadn't forgotten their old favourite song of "Heads sSholders Knees and Toes" but that didnt stop them placing ears on noses, feet on arms or eyes on toes. Poor bear looked like a Picasso by the end of the morning!

A very big Welcome to Yukako's friends who joined us this morning. Hinako and Sora chan were busy making friends and playing all morning long:)

Akemi's spoiled us all with some delicious litchis. I think we managed to give little bags to everyone on the way home. If you missed out, Sorry! My gang have been devouring them all afternoon.

WEEKEND EXCURSIONS

Today's Eikaiwa topic was "Weekend excursions". Where have you been recently? Any family-friendly places you've been to that you'd like to tell our Playgroup Mums about? We heard about some really great spots. Here are the highlights:

Close to home

Setagaya koen - everyone seeme dot agree that Setagay park is a kids dream park. With its mini-steam engine, pedal-cars and grassy picnic areas, at only 10 minutes from Komaba, it got our Playgroup number-one vote:)

Inokashira Koen - at the end of the Inokashita line is this enormaous park which comes compelte with a zoo, a lake with swan boats, the Gibli Museum for Totoro fans and the best cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo.

Himonya koen - In Meguro ku, Yukako suggested we all take a trip to Himonya park where kids can do pony rides, boat trips and visit the petting park where furry rabbits and guinea pigs await:)

Todai - it might well be the bastion of Tokyo's up and coming intelligensia, but us Playgroup Mums are not shy. It seems we all know that Todai is great for a quiet walk, has several coffee shops and restaurants with terraces perfect for lunches with noisy kids and best of all is the Todai lake. Naoko assures us the "zarigani" there are easy pickings and so any child arriving with their bug-box will go home happy and laden-down with cray fish a-plenty:)

Mishiku no mori - At the other end of Awashima dori, behind Sangenjaya Roof Top Mansions lies the well-hidden Mishuku Forest park, which again is perfect for picnics, kids and ball.

A little further a field:

Hakone - The Black family swear by Hakone and its famous pirate ship which has a captain who walsk aroudn the boat posing for photos with the kids. Any little kids going through the obligatory "pirates are cool" phase (Kaizoku ha kakoiiiiiiiiddesu!"), will love it here.

Takao san - just one stop after Kichijoji lies the beautiful Mount Takao. Sora's Mum loved the mountain hike, the monkey park and the excellent views from the cable car.

Akikawa Keikoku - a little bit further west at maybe 2 hours from Tokyo, this huge park offers camping, BBQ areas, fishing and swimming. Sounds like a great summer place to hang out with kids!

THE MISO MYSTERY CONTINUES!

Damn miso. The mystery deepens. After a full three months in a warm, airtight container, the sticky beany-"ought-to-be-but-isnt-paste" remains unchanged. Naoko suggested that the "good bacteria" required to ferment the beans have died. Asako suggested throwing a dollop of supermarket bought regular miso into the pot, mixing it, stirring thus shaking up the dormant bacteria and see how it all pans out. Yukako reckons the bacteria in our pot are plain lazy and so she has brought "her baby" home to Ikejiri to work her wonders and do her magic. I still have faith that we can have a "Miso-Sayonara Party" on the 14th of June! Fingers crossed:)

I hope to see you all next Monday 7th for our last OTANJOUKAI and second last Playgroup session. Sakura chan is almost 3!

Frogs, senbei & What's your blood type??!!

2010-05-24T20:51:00.003+09:00

It seems that every Monday morning brings the rain. It's not even officially rainy season! Well at least the frogs were happy:)

After our usual jumping, leaping, singing about ducks, Anpanman and Doraemon and the much-anticipated senbei feast, we had a really interesting "eikaiwa" topic. It is a topic that is truly unique to Japan. What is your blood type? And do you believe that blood types can influence or indeed dictate characteristics in a person. Here are our "findings".....

Yukako, Kazumi, Riae and Yolande are all blood group B. People with this blood type are meant to be "my pace" kind of people. Thats is to say a little self-centred and they often like to be alone. On the plus side they are also extremely well motivated and will try hard all the time to achieve their goal.

Yumino and Ai and blood group O which supposedly implies "ozappa", details are not important to this group. They are an outgoing and friendly bunch and very adaptable, helpful and passionate people.

Reiko was our only AO type which should also mean that she is "ozappa" but extremely sensitive, details are important to this group.

I though this was a really fun topic until we really delved deeper - it just got better and better! Do our Playgroup Mums ACTUALLY believe in the theory that character types can be predicted by knowing someone's blood type? Some do believe. Some don't.

I'm sure you all know the famous women's magazine "Anna or Hanako". What you probably didn't know is that 1. Yukako used to work here and 2. the workplace is divided up according to Blood types!! In other words, you will not find any bloody typeO on the editting team as they are not attentive to details!

Also, relationships can be "perfect blood matches" or out and out disasters. B & O is a good match (like Yukako & Mr. Satou). A & O is OK, an A woman & O man is an OK match while an A man & O woman is said to be make the perfect couple (like Reiko and Hiroo!).

Anyway, I'll email you all the article that I saw on the BBC website. It really does make for an interesting read:)

I hope Fumiko chan is OK after her tumble this morning..... we missed your cool dancing!

See you all next week and please please please, BRING THE SUNSHINE!

Happy Birthday, happy announcements, happy tadpoles, the Miso-Mystery of Komaba & lessons in multi-tasking!

2010-05-19T19:43:00.009+09:00

Monday morning with lots of cake, wibbly wobbly jelly, tea, coffee, miso and cucumber...... what more could a Komaba Mum ask for, eh?!

Today we celebrated Kyoka's 3rd birthday party. In spite of having lots of "help" with blowing out the candles, she remained calm and cute as ever. I wonder what a three year old wishes for....

Naoko san shared her happy news with us too. Sakura chan is to become a big sister:) Naoko is due in December and joins our "ever-growing group" of "ever-expanding" Mums. Congratualtions:)

Our little two-legged graden friends caused quite a flurry of excitement as well. The tadpoles all have 4 legs and hopefully be "ribbitting" and leaping about the garden by next week. Anyone want one???? I didn't honestly think that 29 would survive to this point!

And finally, our beloved Miso-sensei took centre stage again. However, knowing what a disastrous history our Playgroup miso has for showing any sign of changes, she came armed with her own batch of home-made stuff too. The beans that were soaked, boiled, mashed and fermented in Yukako's house have done what they were meant to do. They fermented and became yummy miso. Beans from the same batch, which were also soaked, boiled, mashed and fermented and then brought to my house however, did not. They have defied the laws of science and have remained exactly as they were 3 months ago. We moved the miso-pot three times in search of the perfect temperature and conditions but still no change! Something is afoot..... Zenzen wakarimasen:) Any ideas??

When the PG ladies started yelling for cucumbers today, I was filming the miso-tasting with camera in one hand, changing Daniel's pants with another, serving tea, coffee and cake with yet another, thus demonstrating remarkably well how to "multi-task". But you got your cucumber eh? Hope you liked them:)

Thats all for now - see you next Monday for Playgroup or more than likely, in the park between now and then:)

DOMINO-STYLE CHICKEN POX!!

2010-05-17T19:41:00.003+09:00

Monday 17th May Playgroup cancelled due to CHICKEN POX!!

Now that Etienne & Daniel are better, Cian, Sophie and Kate are spotty demoons.
They're probably not infectious anymore, but just to be on the safe side.

Let's meet Wednesday instead, the 19th May - same time, same place.

And dont forget, its Kyoka chan and Yuki kuns birthday:)

Golden Week adventures....

2010-05-10T20:55:00.004+09:00

After a nice Golden Week break, it was lovely to see you all back at Playgroup this morning. Fumiko chan is still the best dancer in Tokyo, Sakura chan takes "pretty in pink" to a whole new level, Daniel still the grumpiest two year old on the planet and Kyoka chan still throwing excellent poses for the camera:)

Our snacktime eikawa topic was "Golden Week Adventures". Where did you go? What did you do? Any recommendations fro the group? Our Playgroup really is the BEST source of "day-trip" advice I know: So here follows a brief summary of our trips and trots about Tokyo and beyond.....

1. Kowaba mura in Gunma ken - where you can "foster" an apple tree and take care of it for and entire year. For your pruning troubles, you will be rewarded with its juicy fruit, which of course you should pick yourself. Everyone seemed really enthusiastic about this place. SO have a browse through the website for contact details of 川場村りんご園
http://itp.ne.jp/contents/kankonavi/gunma/mikaku/gun_mik07.html

2. Kasai Rinkai Park 葛西臨海公園
Built on reclaimed land, this enormaous plark features a bird sanctuary, an aquarium and a ferris wheel. There are man-made paddling pools but you can "fish" for shellfish. And best of all, its only twenty minutes from Komaba in the car. If you take a wrong turn, the worst can happen is you'll find yourself in Disneyland (it's one turn before Disneyland!). Eitherway, you and your kids will have blast!
http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/park/format/index026.html

3. Yokohama's Hikawa Maru 氷川丸 & Chinatown. This 12,000 tonne boat anchored in Yokohama harbour at Yamashita Park, was used from 1930 to 1960. Kids can clamber about and "steer" the boat from the Captain's cabin. And a trip to Yokohama of course wouldnt be complete without some tasty Chinese snacks. Gyoza and Nikuman...OISHIIII!

4. Shimoda on the Izu peninsula. Long before Yokohama, Shimoda welcomed the first American ship to Japan. This lovely seaside town is only 3 hours from Tokyo, it has postcard-like torquise blue-green waters, white sand at Shirahama and of course an excellent "floating" aquarium for the kids. Have a look at this website and you'll want to go!
http://www.izu.co.jp/~p-boo/

And thats all for now...... I'll look forward to seeing you all next week for Kyoka chans's brithday party. We are planning on having (and eating!) LOTS of cake:)

Tadpoles, frogs, miso & sunshine:)

2010-04-26T20:24:00.002+09:00

Finally a bright and sunny Monday morning! I think Spring has finally arrived....

Today we had some very special guests to entertain our little folk. Yesterday, Cian's poached a batch of tadpoles from the a murky pond in Yoyogi koen. He has been taking great care of them in our hastily converted home-made "pond". In fact, he has been checking on the hour, every hour for signs of legs. Alas, no signs of "frogs" yet. There are about 30 tadpoles in there though. If they don't chew their way out of the "pond", we're hoping to see at least 1 frog survive!

Keeping in theme, we had fun with our new and very silly "Speckled Frog Song". Again, all colouring credits must go to Cian, Sophie and Kate:)

And at last, Yukako got to peek at her Miso. However, her "mixing plan" had to be abandoned as absolutely NO fermentation had occured. It just shows how cold my kitchen is. I swear in the winter time, it feels colder in there than being outside. I've moved the Miso upstairs, found a nice sunny spot and so I hope by the next Playgroup we should see at leasta vague resemblance to th magical miso we are all anticipating:)

I dont know if anyone realised it was actually Jyoji's birthday today? He's been having parties all month long though so we kind of let it slide without much fuss. Alas, it was also his last visit to Playgroup as he'll start Nishihara yochien next month. So "Bye bye" Jyoji, but no doubt, we'll see you in the park.

I hope everyone has a fun Golden Week. See you afterwards for our final few sessions of Playgroup. Keep checking the blog for schedule updates. Ciao.

Koinobori :)

2010-04-19T20:56:00.003+09:00

Finally, a sunny Monday morning! As ever we had a full house of bouncy, genki kids. But today, they had to work hard for their senbei.

To celebrate the 5th of May "Children's Day", we made our very own Koinobori (carp streamer). Some of the kids were delighted to have their hands smeared with paint, but there were some who put up a brave fight. Sakura chan was confounded by the choice of colours available. She finally was convinced to participate ONLY for pink. In the end, it took three of us to hand-print Fumiko chan. She's really strong for such a little thing! But it was Aurora's refusal that endured. She even had her poor Mum paint her hand. Aurora watched carefully. Smiled. And then absolutely refused to get in on the action. Aki kun roared his disapproval. Kento snarled in disbelief. Only little Lui was mellow about it...... he didn't even wake from his nap!

We managed to get 17 prints in all and then a little later, my gang joined in on the fun. Have a look next time you pass by the house. It looks really cool! Next time, can someone teach me this song????

屋根より高い鯉幟
大きな真鯉はお父さん
小さな緋鯉は子供たち
面白そうに泳いでる

See you all next time then, Yukako's magical miso will be making a star appearance!

The biggest birthday cake in the world.....:)

2010-04-12T20:21:00.006+09:00

That makes three Mondays in a row that we've been rained out, right? April weather is so unpredicatable in Tokyo. Yesterday I got sunburn in the blazing heat of Setagaya koen and today, it's back to woolly jumpers and central heating.

Anyway, the kids didn't care either way. They jumped, bounced, whinged, fought, sang and ate like troopers. A very big THANKYOU, MERCI BEAUCOUP and ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU to Yolande and Huge for sharing the world's biggest birthday cake with all your playgroup buddies. We all really enjoyed it. How many okawaris were asked for?! Also THANK YOU to Kimiko who brought another cake which we didnt even get to!

I'm going to go see Rie in Toho Byoin tomorrow and bring her the lovely card we made. I'm sure she'll like it. There are some very cute drawings there by the kids:)

And finally, as everyone was getting ready to leave this morning, I was given the very best Japanese lesson. I've often heard the term "ishokenmei" and seen the kanji (which my computer can no longer type:() but I didn't really understand the meaning. Today, Joe kun was battling with his zipper (see the photos on picasa!) and Yukako said "ishokenmei"...... Bless him, he was struggling for ages and ages. Now I get it:) Yoku Gambatta ne..... but even more so. Thank you Joe sensei:)

See you all next Monday and let's hope the rain stays away as I want to make a big KOINOBORI. See you then.

April showers....

2010-04-05T20:05:00.004+09:00

We just haven't been lucky these days with the weather on Playgroup days, have we? So much for our "hanami picnic" again today. Thats' two weeks in a row that we've been rained out:( Though I'm sure many of you passed the weekend in and around Tokyo, gazing at the sakuras, hanami-ing to your hearts content, so we won't worry too much. Cian assures me that tomorrow the rain will stop. He is CERTAIN of this fact because apparently his buddy Sei-kun told him so - therefore it MUST be true:)

As ever, our bouncy, genki kids didn't let the rain dampen their spirits. We danced and jumped and leapt about until snacktime, when yet again, literally thousands of senbei were devoured at a speed that quite frightens me.

A very big welcome to our newest member, Kazumi Thoms and Aurora chan. I hope you'll make it back next week to join the fun:)

And it was great to see Kyo-chan and Gen-kun back too. Most of you missed their impromptu piano recital at the end of class today. They were both amazing. We'll have to invite them back and have the Sato-duo perfom a duet or a mini-concert one day. Really, they were great.

And to Rie san in Toho byoin, we're thinking of you:) Take care....

See you next Monday (no Playgroup on Wednesday!)

Happy Birthday Kento & carrots galore :)

2010-03-29T13:48:00.006+09:00

It might have been a dull and chilly March morning, but our Playgroup kids made up for the weather with their dancing, singing and all-round "genkiness":) Jump jump jump, up, up, up and Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, as always, being the class favourites.

Kent kun turned one this week so we had a little birthday party. The yoghurt cake lasted about five seconds. I think Yumino san liked it:)

And finally, a very big welcome to Fumiko-chan's Grandma Suzuki Keiko san who came this morning for the first time. Rie san has been taken into Toho Ohashi hospital. We're thinking of you:)

A very big THANK YOU to Naoko san too for the great organic, home-grown veggies. I'm sure we'll all be having carrots for dinner this evening:)

No Playgroup this Wednesday 31st March. See you all next week for "hanami Playgroup on Monday 5th April".

Saint Patrick's Day Playgroup - part 2!

2010-03-17T20:02:00.005+09:00

All the pregnant ladies showed up for our Paddy's Day Playgroup - part 2:) Green and gold felt badges were cut out and stuck and then promptly forgotten amidst the usual senbei fiesta. What is it about Playgroup snacktime that makes our children capable of eating SO many senbei??? We sang our silly songs again, Leprachaun Stew & There was a Little Leprachaun - much to the delight of Etienne and the old favourite petit escargot even got Hugo humming along too.

Yolande kindly invited the Playgroup Mums and their husbands to the ADIWA annual dance. (African Diplomat's International Wives Association). It takes place on the 10th of April from 4pm until 10pm at the French Lycee in Iidabashi. As well as some African cuisine and the promise of good music and dancing, be forewarned. You'll have to be a little creative and recite your own poem to your man as part of the after-dinner entertainment. Any haikus in the making??? Gambarimashou ne:)

Next week we're having our own well-earned haru-yasumi break. No Playgroup Monday 22nd or Wednesday 24th March. See you all for Monday 29th otanjoukai and the hana-mi in Komaba Koen. Don't forget to bnring your bento!

Miso mixing & St. Patrick's Day fun :)

2010-03-15T12:58:00.003+09:00

It might have been a little bit early to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, but that didn't deter the ever-genki little folk of Komaba International Playgroup. This morning we got offto a flying start with some old favourites. Koki was looking particularly happy as he 'jumped jumped jumped':)

Most of you missed yesterday's parade on Ometesando where there really were an amazing number of leprechauns. They were the inspiration behind our special Paddy's Day features: the funny poem "Leprechaun Stew" and then the song "There was a little leprachaun".

Yukako san (hereafter known as Miso Sensei) was in great form today as she got to open up her miso-mix. This amazing concoction has been fermenting in the underground cellar of the kitchen here for the past month. Have a look at the little video clip to see what semi-fermented boiled and mashed soya beans look like!

A very big Thank you to Kimiko for the doruyakis which didn't last long once the kids saw them and also to Asako san for the yummy cake. Everyone is asking me for the recipe! You'll have to write it down for us next time.

And finally, a very big Thank You to the Momo-gumi girls who did a cracking rendition of "Okiku nattara nani naru". Again, check the video clip below for Sophie's "Irashaimasen". Too funny:)

Next Playgroup will be this wednesday the 17th (the REAL St Patricks Day!). After that, Monday 29th. And immediately after the 29th session, we'll all head to the park for our hana-mi. Bring you bento and lets hope its a nice sunny day.

International Women's Day surprises galore :)

2010-03-08T19:43:00.004+09:00

Well well well.... no-one could've planned our 'International Women's Day' Playgroup session better than it turned out. Not only did Yolande and Hugo rejoin us from their very long sojourn in Gabon, but three extra surprises were in store.

First Yoldande brought back her won very special 'omiyage' from Gabon. She's already 2 and a half months pregnant. Next in the door was Yumino san - who, bless her - is still reeling in the shock of being told it's twins. Not bad going eh? That'll be four Ushiki kids under four years eh??!! And finally, Reiko arrived and stunned us with her happy news too. So out of a group of 9 women, including Rie san, four of you are pregnant. I'm sure this is statistically interesting or bizarre or an anomoly of some sorts. Isn't Tokyo's birth rate supposed to be in the downward slope?? Well apparently whoever came up with this theory hadn't visited Komaba International Playgroup. Congratulations to you all - and before you ask, NO! There is nothing special in the water here, nor did I spike your morning tea with ancient Irish fertility herbs:)

Our Snacktime English task of "The two best things about being a woman today" was an interesting one after all the early morning revelations. Giving birth and wearing cute dresses seems to be what ou Playgroup ladies are into. (I'll show you the fruits of your labour next week and put all your little gems into a collage of some sort.)

Ryunosuke and Jyoji joined the girly-themed day, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the spirit of things by donning high-heels for the entire class - much to the amusement of Sakura chan who now an old hand at heels, was instructing them on how best to negotiate that tricky tatami-room step.

Eh voila. What more can I add to such a lovely morning. From here on, I'll be pestering you about taking your iron and folic acid supplements, serving only decaffenated beverages and insisting you eat LOTS of chocolate.

See you all next week for Saint Patrick's Day fun and silly games.

*** Don't forget: no playgroup on Wednesday 10th due to Yochien's Parent-Teacher meetings.
*** Click on the video link below to see your favourite Jump Jump Jump song :)

Lori Ikawa's Baby Sign Class :)

2010-03-01T20:11:00.011+09:00

March got off to a flyng start this morning with Playgroup welcoming Lori Ikawa from Nakameguro, along with baby Mika. Our much anticipated 'Baby Sign Class' (or more correctly A.S.L Amercian Sign Language) packed out the house with 35 people signing, singing and having fun.

We sang Lori's original 'Where is Bear?' and learned signs for 'where', 'feelings', 'hungry', 'cold' and 'happy'. And little Mika demonstrated all too clearly how little kids ask for milk in sign! Then we even managed a great rendition of the ABC song to sign - and all this was before snacktime. My gang were still humming away to 'Where is Bear' when I put them to bed!

For our spur-of-the-moment grand finale, Eric Carle's 'Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you See?' demonstrated how it's not just Playgroup's new favourite kamishibai. It is also simple to sign it. Click on the video link below for a refresher and for a good laugh at us doing the 'monkey impression'!

I know many of you had heard of Sign Learnning before this morning, but it wasn't it nice to see how easy it is in practise? A very hearty THANK YOU to Lori for making the trip this morning. Anyone interested in continuing Sign Learning with their little ones should contact Lori directly through her website. http://www.lori.jp Lori has a variety of learning materials for Sign Learning including DVDs, books and flashcards. She has generously offered a discount on materials for anyone connected to today's Playgroup:)

*** REMINDER*** Just a reminder for new members: please bring along a photo of your child so we can add them to the Birthday Train. It seems like ages since we've had a Playgroup Birthday Party! We usually have a small birthday celebration for all the children born in the same month.

*** NEW RESERVATION SYSTEM*** Due to increasing numbers, I've had to introduce a "Reservation System". If you plan to attend Playgroup, please email me the day before to let me know. Similarly, if you cannot make it, please email me and let me know as that way another Mum can join for the day. With limited space, I think it's best to keep numbers small so that we can all enjoy Playgroup activities to the full. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation on this one:)

*** MARCH SCHEDULE *** Please continue to check this website for changes to March Playgroup schedule. My kids have lots of holidays coming up (Cian's French School holiday and also Yochien's end of term break). Josie, my super-helper, will also be away for a while. So I won't be able to manage a full house, my five monkeys PLUS hosting Playgroup activites single-handedly. I'm sure you understand:)

Meanwhile, have fun. Enjoy the Springtime. Practise you Sign. And see you in the park!

Scones, organic veggies and busy Playgroup days...

2010-02-22T19:21:00.008+09:00

Maria has been spoiling us for two weeks in a row with her delicious home-made scones. Not a crumb was left. Everyone asked for it and so here it is. The closely guarded secret family recipe:) Bring along your samples to Playgroup any morning - home-made treats, sweet or savoury - are ALWAYS welcome!

And Naoko treated us as well today to home-grown organic vegetables. Supermarket-bought veggies here are always so fake-looking. It seems at times they have been scrubbed and polished to the point that they look like plastic toys. So this morning, it was really refreshing to see some earthy soil-encrusted carrots and potatoes. I'm sure they were all heartily devoured at dinner tables around Komaba this evening. Thank you Naoko:)

A very big welcome to Nobuko and Misa Barnes, as well as Madoka and little Daichi who joined us this morning. I hope you'll come back and join the fun next week.

You wouldn't believe how many email inquiries I've received about Playgroup this month. I think the article in Tokyo Family magazine might have something to do with it. Or indeed the fact that if you do a Google search using the keywords "Tokyo" or "Komaba" and "Playgroup", Komaba International Playgroup comes up. Whatever the reason, it's great! We have lots of new Mums and kids joining the fun. I know many of you are going back to work in the Springtime, early April when the hoikuen starts its new 'school year'. In the meanwhile, it's lovely to see so many new faces and to see that Playgroup is indeed living up to its original aim: providing a meeting place for Mums in the area, as well the kids.

Remember no Playgroup on Wednesday - so see you next week, Monday 1st March for Baby Sign Language:)

See you soon :)

Maria's Scones Recipe

Ingredients:

450g self-raising flour
pinch of baking powder
pinch of salt
50g caster sugar
110g unsalted butter (diced)
1 egg lightly beaten
50ml double cream
200ml milk
1 egg beaten with 1 tblsp water for glazing

Method:

Sift slour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Stir in the sugar.
Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add egg, cream and enough milk to moisten.
Mix well until it is a soft doughy texture.
Gather the dough in a ball and roll out onto a floured surface.
With a rolling pin, roll to 2.5cm thick and cut into with a round cutter.
Place on a greased baking sheet and glaze with the egg/water mix.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for about 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown)
Serve warm with butter, jam and fresh whipped cream and a cup of hot tea :)

The Tooth Fairy & Billy the Bear :)

2010-02-18T11:03:00.006+09:00

We had a full house Wednesday morning with lots of new Mums and kids joining in the fun.

It's SO cold in Tokyo these days we had to sing and dance and shake ourselves a lot more than usual. But between our old friend Billy the Bear and and old favourite tune of Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes, we were well warmed up by snacktime, when yet again our kids showed us how to devour ten senbei at a time:)

A very big welcome to Elizabeth and her girls Sophie and Emily, who are adding to our reputation of "twin capital of Tokyo"! Also Akemi Ishida and her little boy. We hope you'll come back to play again:)

Coffee time conversation topics are always fun, especially when we discover new things about various cultural practises relating to children around the world. My Cian just lost his first tooth and was delighted to learn about an Irish tradition of the 'tooth fairy', who visits little kids and swaps their lost tooth for a coin or a treat of some sort. (Cian got a very cool shaped Hong Kong dollar:)) In France they say a little mouse visits. Our Playgroup Mums told us the Japanese equivalent. There is no fairy. And surprisingly for me, no oni involved. Instead, in Japan when a child loses a bottom tooth, the tooth is hidden under the floorboards of the house. If they lose a top tooth, then the tooth is thrown up over the roof of the house! Most of our Playgroup kids don't even have all their baby teeth yet though, so it'll be a while before we see our Mums out flinging dentures over their rooftops in Komaba.

Remember no Playgroup next wednesday 24th:)

Monday 1st of March, a great treat in store with SIGN LANGUAGE FOR KIDS, taught by an American teacher and mother of three, Lori Ikawa, living in Naka-Meguro:)

Take care and stay warm!

Rainy days make GREAT Playgroup days!

2010-02-15T19:54:00.008+09:00

On such a miserable grey winter's morning, it was great to see so many of you brave the elements and come to sing our silly songs and dance our crazy dances:) There was little else we could have done in this awful weather, eh?

We had lots of new faces today too. A very big welcome to Mariko and little Yuki kun, as well as Megumi and Nina chan, who joined us today from Ikejiri. We hope you'll make it back next week:) And Andrew's big brother Jamie (age four and a half) who was on mid-term from British School, joined the fun and found a new friend, Joe.

Some of this morning's highlights included Yukako's funny "Pan song" - we'll have to get you to do that one again! And of course, the eagerly awaited, home-made Kamishibai. Eric Carle's Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see? went down a treat. The chief "colourers" were Cian, Sophie and Kate, so they'll be delighted that the Playgroup kids liked their work:)

And finally, here are the dates that I;ll have to cancel Playgroup. My kids 'social calendars' are fast filling up and so I'm trying to juggle all their events!

Wednesday February 24th - NO PLAYGROUP (Komaba Yochien's otanjokai for Sophie & Kate)

Wednesday 3rd March - NO PLAYGROUP! (Cian's French School holidays)

Wednesday 10 March - NO PLAYGROUP! (Cian's French School - more holidays!)

Monday 22nd March - NO PLAYGROUP! (Public holiday - I'm going back to visit Hokkaido!)

See you all soon, mata ne;)

MAGICAL MISO!!

2010-02-10T18:26:00.005+09:00

Playgroup took a cullinary twist this morning as Yukako treated us to a MISO DEMONSTRATION. We were truly spoilt as she had done all the hard work at home. Beans had been washed, soaked boiled and mashed. All we had to do was add salt, komekoji and mix mix mix. Then for some dango shaped balls of the miso mix - it was easy to see we had been practising in the sandbox with our kids:) But the most fun part was the 'throwing' of the miso-dangos into the container. After the mixture was all 'flung' iinto place and patted down, a small layer of salt capped it off. And with much ceremony, a pretty ribbon was tied around the tubberware container and it was placed in its cold dark subterranean home in our secret kitchen cupboards. Oh! how we are looking forward to seeing it next month to mix in the salt and then 'bury' it again until summertime. We all thought a 'Summertime Miso Party' sounded like a great idea to celebrate the wonderful endeavours of Yukako. Hontoni otsukaresamadeshita! Arigatougozaimashita:)

After our chef departed, we went back to our Valentine Craft Photo frames. Rie proved her artistry again and put us all to shame with her beautiful creation.

Meanwhile the kids were being SOOOO good. No-one whined. No-one cried. We weren't paying them ANY attention but they were good as gold! Apparently this is the trick - ignore them!! Jyoji decorated his head with some sparkly pearls, Daniel was besotted as ever with little Lui, Fumiko tried snacking on the miso-mix and Koki threw a few cups around just to remind us he was there.

All in all, an action packed, interesting, educational and fun morning for all.

See you next week:)

Valentine's Day - little artists :)

2010-02-08T21:21:00.002+09:00

Our little Playgroup artists went to town today with their photo frame decorations. I'm sure the Dads will LOVE their photo frames, which were stuck and coloured and decorated this morning with much affection:) Today's 'best photo moment' is a hard call. Asahi kun decorated his forehead with cute heart-shaped stickers while Andrew scribbled all over his face.....

A very big welcome to Yoko Kitamura and Hitomi chan who joined us today. I hope you'll make it back next week.

See you all next week for more fun and games!

Komaba Yochien Kids Choir!

2010-02-03T20:27:00.004+09:00

This morning we were treated to a rare visit by some of Komaba Yochien's Momo Gumi kids:) Yochien had a day off today and so Playgroup had the pleasure of welcoming Kasumi chan (Koki's big sister) and Miu chan, as well as Sophie and Kate. The girls 'taught' us two great new songs for our repetoire. Okikunatte naninaru and the Obake song. We also learned that when four little four year-old girls get together, they generate a lot of giggles, play with ALL the pink toys, love ALL the Purekia cards and might fight over pink fluffy high-heeled princess slippers.

A very big welcome to Sandrine and Benjamin who joined us from Hiroo today. Benjamin was being very camera-shy, but I got a nice shot of him in the end:)

Thanks to Yumino and Yukako too for writing down the words of the songs Oni no pantsu and Basu ni notte. I'll eventually get around to making some cool posters for these songs:)

And for those of you who missed our plots and plans for next week, Yukako has kindly offered to do a Miso demonstration during next Wednesday's Playgroup. Surpassing herself on her New Year's Resolution to make 4kg of miso this year, she has already made 8kg of the stuff! Otsukaresamadeshita. I'm really looking forward to seeing how little white beans get turned into the much-loved miso-shiro.

See you all at Playgroup next week for a Valentine themed craft day and now, a Miso Demo..... fun fun fun:)

Setsubun Playgroup

2010-02-01T21:22:00.006+09:00

Setsubun might well be the official beginning of Springtime, but this morning it felt very wintry indeed. We had to dance about far more than usual to keep warm!

After our usual leaping about and name your favourite song introduction, we indulged in the funny Japanese tradition of Setsubun's mamemaki. Beans are thrown to represent the chasing away of evil spirits. Our Playgroup kids might be young, but without any hints or direction from the Mums, they quickly copped on to the aim of the game. As the mame and peanuts were scattered about all the little folk were soon throwing themselves about shamelessly chasing nuts and beans about the tatami room. I think they were meant to eat one bean per year of their age - not one kilo though, right??!!

Anyway thanks to Reiko for the excellent rendition of Oni no pantsu.... tsuyo-zo tsuyo-zo. What are the rest of the words...... hyaku nen de yowarenai yo???

And here's the link to the magazine article about our Playgroup. I'll have copies for everyone next week! www.tokyofamilies.com/sections/entry.php?id=413

Maybe see you in the park to make snowmen ;)

Stay warm....

The Little Bunnies Playgroup!

2010-01-27T20:14:00.004+09:00

This morning, we made up for our small numbers with the energy levels of all those present! Fumiko chan has to be given special mention for her great boogy-woogy dance. Too cute:)

After warming up with our usual Jump Jump Jump and Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, we went on to learn a new hand-poem called Little Bunny. Suffice to say, there was lots of ear wiggling and hopping about, as well as playing peek-a-boo with squirrels.

During snacktime, our Playgroup kids got to colour their very own "bunny o-mens". By the end of class, there were some truly original bunnies leaving the house. Stripey ones, pink ones, orange blue and polka dotted ones to name but a few. I think I even saw a speckled duck waddle past?

Thanks again to Yukako san for her fabulous and ever-evolving rendition of Basu ni Notte. It always gives us a good laugh:) And to Yumino for her "goro goro rokketto" and the setsubun number , the name of which I already forget. (I'm going to ask you write it down next time!)

And so ends our classes for the month of January. Time flies eh? See you all in February for a new series of fun get-togethers. Don't forget to bring a photo for Monday 8th February and Wednesday 10th for our "Valentine theme craft day". We're going to decorate our own photo frames and present the framed-photos to the Dads as a Valentines gift from the kids!)

See you soon.

Billy the Bear O-men :)

2010-01-25T20:58:00.004+09:00

Anyone would be forgiven for arriving a little late or sleepy to Playgroup. It is, after all, very early on Monday morning. But what a wake-up call it is! Jump jump jump and Dingle Dangle Scarecrow soon had us all on our toes, gasping for coffee time. Then we introduced Billy the Bear to the group. Poor Billy ended up resembling a Picasso at times with his feet being pinned to his head and his nose on his elbow. But it was all good fun.

Thanks to Asako and Koki-kun for the obake song. Finally, I understand what Kate has been singing these past few days. When she isnt sure of the words though, she mumbles and then makes something up, so her version was a bit different!

During snacktime today we made Billy O-men and the kids showed off their colouring skills.

A very big Welcome to Yasuko and her two little boys (Nanami & lui's twin!) who came from Daizawa this morning. I hope you'll all make it back next week.

See you all soon!

Playground games around the world

2010-01-18T19:36:00.004+09:00

Playgroup kicked off the week on yet another bright and sunny Tokyo winter's morning. Welcome back to Ryunosuke and Reiko. Its been too long, but we're glad you're both better and back with us:)

Today's 'theme' was 'Playground Games'. An old favourite of mine was "Dusty Bluebells". We wove in and out and made trains and I had serious flashbacks to cold Irish winter mornings in the playground. But during our coffee break, we all pondered the same question: do children today still play these games? They seem so old fashioned now and low-tech. Do the kids just play Playstation and swap keitai ringtones during break now? Perhaps we are simply getting old! In spite of the incredible geographical disparity between the various 'playgrounds' we grew up around, all the games were remarkably similar. Red Rover Red Rover 、in Ireland has its parallel in Japan with the much gentler version of 花一門目(check my kanji please!)； the Irish jumping game of elastics has a Japanese equivalent called ゴムとび、"What time is it Mr. Wolf" is remarkably like だるまさんころんだand everywhere it seems (England, Ireland, Namibia and Japan) has a version of tag or 鬼ごっこ。

A very big THANK YOU to Kimiko for being resident translator for today's kamishibai. I made a gallant effort but gave up after seven pages.

See you all soon:)

Happy New Year Playgroup!

2010-01-13T21:34:00.002+09:00

After long winter break, Playgroup started up again this morning to some livelｙ songs and dances, some fairly spectaular toddler fights and of course, lots of fun.

Some great news from Rie san. Fumiko is to become a big sister this coming July. Congratulations! おめでとうございます！

Welcome to our new member Ai Matsumoto and little Yu, who is only four months old. But he was smiling all morning so I think he loved his first session of Playgroup.

Today's coffe-time conversation topic was all about New Year'ｓ resolutions. We have all vowed to do remarkably similar things and most importantly, we're all postponing the obligatory diet until tomorrow. But Yukako's plan to make several kilos of home-made miso was by far the most interesting. One day, we'll have to get her to teach is exactly how this is done.

After snacktime, some of our little artists got to work and produced some interestingly coloured tigers. And we rounded off the morning with 'Story time'. My new Kamishibai isn't ready yet so our poor hard-working chameleon story had to get another airing. I promise to have some new tales for next week!

I look forward to seeing you all next week for more fun and games and songs and stories:)

Christmas Party Fun :)

2009-12-23T21:05:00.006+09:00

On a bright and sunny winter's morning, we finally had our long awaited Playgroup Christmas Party. Forty festive Mums, Dads and kids celebrated the end of a great first term by singing, dancing and basically having lots of fun. It was so nice having entire families together for the morning. It's not often we get to meet the Dads - so an extra special Thanks to those who made it:)

Our usual 'Snacktime' was turned into a veritable feast! Thanks to everyone for bringing such delicious treats for the buffet/banquet. It was all promptly devoured. How are we ever going to return to 'senbei and apple' after today?!

While our children demonstrated a phenomenal capacity for 'snacking' by eating their body-weight in apple pie, kara-age and fruit-slices, Mums and Dads teamed up for a Christmas Quiz. After much humming and hawing, it was unanimously decided that George, Ringo, Michael and Johnny were not in fact the names of Santa's reindeers. Ako saved the reputation of Japan by knowing two. For the record, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen and of course, Rudolph. Jesus was born in BETHLEHEM (not Paris, Nazareth or Tokyo), he was visited by THREE wise men (not five!). They brought gifts of gold frankincense and myrh, not chocolate, sushi and senbei. And to get there, they followed a STAR. They did NOT do a google search using the key words of Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Oh how we laughed!!

For those who didn't hear about the personlised Santa messages........ you HAVE to visit this website! It is called the "Portable North Pole". Basically, you send your emil address, a photo of your child and then the REAL Santa replies with personalized message. It is really cool! You can show it tomorrow evening while putting them all to bed:) http://portablenorthpole.tv/home

And finally, an extra special thanks for your generous donations to our chosen charity 'Second Harvest'. In the true spirit of Christmas, our Playgroup members donate to chosen charity each year. Second Harvest is a Food Bank charity, a Soup-Kitchen, for the homeless of Tokyo. All money received today will be sent to this very worthy cause. Please visit their website (日本語　or English) for the history and details of the work they do. http://www.2hj.org/

And so ends a wonderful first term of Playgroup fun. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as me and my kids did! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope Santa visits you all and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2010 for more Playgroup fun and games. (Next Playgroup meets Monday January 11th, 09:30)

See you then!

(PS - plese send me any photos you took today and don't forget to click on the link above for December 2009 to see ALL photos from today!)

Welcome little Lui - our youngest member !

2009-12-21T21:24:00.005+09:00

These cold and frosty winter mornings can't keep the kids away from Komaba International Playgroup! We had a full house this morning with Mums, Dads and kids galore.

A very big WELCOME BACK to Kimiko, who made her great return to Playgroup with Jyoji and baby Lui. While Jyoji protested, demanding a jaunt in the park beforehand (reminding his Mum that he is still boss), Lui became our youngest PG member. The toddlers of the group were fascinated by this lovely new toy, while certain Mums were definitely clucky!

Sakura chan, after a long absence came back in great form and seems to have adopted Fumiko chan. The girls were getting long great and had some type of Gekki-ninja game going.

And so finally, our much anticipated Christmas party countdown has officially begun. Start cooking, baking or prepping whatever it is that you're bringing. But most of all, don't forget to bring your partners. We want to see lots of silly Santa hats and for everyone to be prepared to sing Jingle Bells till they're blue in the face, to dance and bounce to 'Jump jump jump' and then to flip and flop to Dingle Dangle Scarecrow till the cows come home.

I'm off to make mincepies for Wednesday ...... See you all soon:)

2009-12-16T21:41:00.005+09:00

I think this week's Playgroup has been like the calm before the storm. I hope all the colds and flus clear up in time for next weeks' party!

Today we had a small and cosy group. In spite of some i-pod-related technical difficulties, we managed to sing, jump, bounce, march and row our way to snacktime where yet again, my children demonstrated how to eat their body weight in senbei and apples. Mums and Dads were treated to some yummy quiche today (recipe to follow!)

A very big welcome beinvenu and よこそう　to the Sasaki family (Bryce, Satchiko and Kai) who are back in Komaba for the holiday sesaon from Washington. It's always fun to welcome new members. Kai seemed right at home and was making great friends with Akihisa. They're currently in competition for who has the biggest smile:)

So next Wednesday is our much anticipated Christmas party. Please email me the names of everyone who is coming and don't forget to bring along something for the 'feast' that will be snacktime!

See you soon:)

Jingle Bells, boys and buggies....

2009-12-14T20:40:00.005+09:00

For our first Playgroup session of the week, what better way to start than with a good dose of Christmas cheer, several renditions of Jingle Bells and the old favourites of Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, Row row row and パンダ、ウサギ、コアラ！

A big thank you to Maria for our seasonal snacktime treat of yummy mincepies. ごちそうさまでした！And bon voyage - our newest Irish Mum and kid duo are heading back to Ireland for Christmas holidays. We look forward to seeing you in the new year.

For those of you who missed our Jingle Bells playgroup, I should explain this blog entry's title (Jingle Bells, boys and buggies) Today's fight was between two fine sturdy Irish lads over a buggy. Yes, a baby-car. A sroller. Call it what you will, but it was all very funny. I did try to intervene and referee but finally I just gave up and took some funny photos instead of them roaring their heads off. In the end, we had to thank Maya-chan for breaking them up.

See you all on Wednesday for more songs, dance, fights and snacks :)

Billy the Bear :)

2009-12-09T13:26:00.004+09:00

There might not have been so many of us this morning, but our seven 元気 toddlers made sure that there was still plenty of noise, lots of jumping, hopping and music, a healthy dose of whining and of course the inevitable fistycuff, instigated today by my very own Etienne, whose reluctance to share ANYTHING was made crystal clear to all!

A very big Welcome and ようこそto Ryota kun who came with his buddy Joe. We hope you'll be able to come and play again next week. And Eco chan came back briefly and then fled. I hope you'll be back next week!

Today we sang an old favourite Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes and then went on to play with Billy the Bear. Billy is our resident expert on learning body parts. The kids had great fun pinning his ears in place, then his nose, then his feet. It was at times like watching a work of modern art or a Picasso in the making as poor Billy's features often ended upside down. For our Playgroup toddlers, it seems that ears and eyes are interchangeable:) よくがんがったね。

See you all again next week!

Origami wonders, 一本橋 and sayonara

2009-12-07T21:57:00.005+09:00

In spite of many of our members having been struck down by winter bugs and flu, Playgroup continued and the kids had fun.

Our bizarre, yet terribly original Handprint Christmas Tree is still under construction. More hand prints were added..... I think it still needs some tinsel or silver disco balls. Leave it with me. I'll be inspired one of these days:)

Setsuko san's (a.k.a. origami sensei) hidden talent came to the fore this morning. 'Origami queen' eh? I thought we'd manage to twist and fold one or two little Christmas tree affairs, but Setsuko san's skill has ensured that we can properly decorate the entire house with origami wonders (trees, lillies etc etc) for a very long time!

And then between 一本橋 , Jump Jump Jump and Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, we were all exhausted by snacktime. These kids are running rings around us!

Yolande and Hugo's sayonara? No please don't leave:( One of Komaba International Playgroup's first Mums was Yolande, who came with her little boy Hugo. This week they'll be heading back with the rest of the family to Gabon on a long, long flight via Paris, for the Christmas and New Year. However, depending on paperwork and what-not, we might not see our favourite Gabonese duo until the summer time. We'll miss you both and hope you'll be back next year. Gardez le contact s'il vous plait. Vous allez nous manquer beaucoup:(

See you soon, またね　a bientot.....

Let the Christmas Season begin!

2009-12-02T21:31:00.003+09:00

It is December and so there will be no holding me back with the Christmas songs. Be prepared to listen to Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to town and Deck the Halls. I love this festive season, with all the decorations, lights, songs and events that go with it.

We started making our very own Playgroup Handprint Christmas Tree this morning. Hopefully by next week, we'll have handprints from all our members and so we'll start decorating it. Silver bells, stars, holly, tinsel, red-nosed-reindeers, mini-santas and little elves. We'll have some busy craft sessions ahead of us:)

See you all next week for more Craft sessions......

Reiko's Raisin bread - but where is Reiko?!

2009-11-30T12:48:00.003+09:00

On a cold and wintry November morning, we managed to keep warm and toasty at Playgroup today. The old favourite warm-up tunes of 'Up Up Up' and 'Jump Jump Jump' plus the most recent salsa number of 'La Vaca Lola' kept us all bouncing until snacktime.

Sometimes senbei and apple just cut it. I thought I might have made too much of 'Reiko's Raisin bread' but it seems the little folk quite liked it and so it went down a treat. Not a crumb left over!

A very big hearty 'Welcome' 'Failte Romhat' 'Bienvenue' & ようこそ to Maria and Andrew who joined us this morning, coming all the way from Hiroo. We look forward to seeing you next week and hope the rest of the group will be back to say Hello too!

I can't believe that tomorrow is December already. How the year has flown by..... this means it'll be Christmas songs and festive feast recipies from now until the end of the year. Get ready to jingle your bells and welcome Santa to town:)

See you all soon..... またね。

Thanksgiving :) ありがとう! Merci! Danke! Thank you!

2009-11-25T20:22:00.005+09:00

After a very loud and very 元気 beginning, where we danced and jumped and salsa'd like La Vaca Lola and then rowed our boats and dangled about like scarecrows, we really deserved our breaktime coffee and snack. But as ever, there was work to be done.

To celebrate Amercian Thanksgiving Day (which is tomorrow), we decorated a 'Tree of Thanks' with coloured paper leaves upon which we had written notes or names or little things in our lives for which we are grateful. I'm sure all the Dads would be chuffed to see that they were given a special mention, as well as many grannies and of course, the kids.

Our 'apple and senbei' snacktime diversified a little as we indulged in the festive spirit and as we were spoiled with yummy pumpkin pie. To a chorus of 'MORE' and 'ENCORE' and 'おかわり', the poor pie was rapidly devoured. It must have been good!　

Today was Ako and Ricky and Chia's last official Playgroup session as Ako is back to work on Monday. We'll miss you:( But we'll all keep in touch and we'll look forward to seeing you all back for the party on the 23rd.

Thats all for now. Keep checking the Class Schedule section for class theme updates during the coming weeks.

Hola Komaba!

2009-11-18T13:07:00.006+09:00

Abel is back! And so not to be outdone by Dagmar's lovely German song on Monday, he treated us to our first spanish song La Vaca Lola. We were tangoing and hablo-ing in Spanish by coffee-time. Thank you for this great song. We love it!

For a recap of the lyrics, music and a video of Abel's La Vaca Lola, and many more lovely Spanish kids songs, click the link that follows:

http://wannajugarwithmigo.blogspot.com/2009/04/video-of-week-la-vaca-lola.html

Then the french tune of the day Tourne Tourne Petit Moulin also went down a treat, in spite of technical difficulties with the actual windmill. I may need some engineering assistance on this one! I just can't seem to make the blades stay in place :<

With Spanish, French, Japanese and English songs all now in our repetoire, our kids are fast becoming little polyglots!

A very big Welcome to Nathalie and little Hanae who joined us this morning. Hanae chan felt right at home by the end of class. We look forward to seeing you next week and for you to meet the rest of the group.

Remember that next Monday is a public holiday, so no Playgroup. See you Wednesday 25th.

See you soon, asta luego, さよなら、またね、au revoir et a bientot!

Guten morgen Komaba!

2009-11-16T20:17:00.006+09:00

Much to the amusement of my family, I awoke this morning with no voice and couldn't speak, let alone sing. So what a treat it was to have Dagmar teach us that great German song. We certainly spiced up our Playgroup repetoire with the introduction of Alle meine Entchen. This is very catchy tune came with really funny actions that all the kids seemed to love. By the end of the morning we were all waddling like ducks schwimmen auf dem See!

We also had some serious 'craft work' to complete today. We made our 'Christmas Party Invitation Cards' and I hope they were all dutifully carried home to various Mums and Dads and Grannies. It was nice to see Gen Sato kun here to help his Mum today with making the card:) Christmas might seem like a long way away, but in fact it's only another 6 weeks. I hope everyone has 'saved the date' for our end of year extravaganza:)

And last but not least, everyone gave Kimiko a great big round of applause for NOT being at Playgroup! Baby Lui finally arrived and so we wish her well and look forward to seeing her soon.

Auf weidersein und danke Dagmar..... それでおわります！。ダグマさんありがとうございます！

Singing in the rain!

2009-11-11T20:09:00.004+09:00

This morning saw only the hardiest of folk out and about in Komaba. Where is this awful rainy spell coming from? It felt like an Irish November morning out there today:(

But we still had fun. We spent an inordinate amount of time in the cupboard. Sakura tried on may pairs of high heeled slippers and will now undoubtedly pester her mother to buy something similar very soon. Maya was terribly busy with her dumper truck full of multi-coloured balls while Naume was contented with the buggy. Chia was bored by it all and took a nap on the couch.

Thanks to Dagmar's Mum in Austria who sent some delicious 'fruity bread'. Etienne tried to finish the entire loaf himself, piggy that he is.

During snacktime, while Etienne was busy eating his body-weight in senbei, the Mums got together some good suggestions for Playgroup class 'themes'. So keep an eye on the 'Class Schedule' section of the blog as I slowly upload information and dates.

See you soon and have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Ryunosuke!

2009-11-09T12:12:00.005+09:00

What a lovely sunny day for a birthday party. It doesn't feel at all like the middle of November.

As usual, we sang and danced and pranced about, much to the amusement of our children. Five little monkeys, Five little ducks, Three little speckled frogs...... and so we really deserved our snacktime treat of birthday cake! Ryunosuke is two. He was a bit surprised by the birthday maybe as I made his cake a week too early, but it didn't stop us all from digging in:)

A very big Welcome, Failte and ようこそ to Yoko and little Liam who came all the way from Nihonbashi to join us today. Liam was acting very shy at first but I think by the end, he was having a ball and making new friends. We hope to see you both next week:) It was also nice to meet Naoko's daughter Shiori who helped out with Naume and Maya.

And what can I say about Kimiko? She's still here, drinking raspberry tea and singing 'up up up'.

Perhaps the funniest addition to Playgroup today was the cow. Where did it come from???

See you all soon....

Five little monkeys.... five little ducks......

2009-11-05T12:34:00.007+09:00

It seems we know lots of songs that count from one to five. Those five little monkeys jumping on the bed? The five little ducks who went swimming one day? And another one I recall about a little fish biting your finger. So many songs, so little time!

This week, shogakko is on holidays so we had Joe's big sister joining in the fun. It's always nice to welcome siblings to Playgroup, so please, any other school holidays, bring the big sisters and brothers along.

It was also great to see Dagma back at Playgroup, our hardest working Professor-Mum. We might take advantage of you beign with us next week and get you to teach us a German song? :)

And we noted Kimiko and Jyoji weren't with us........ have you any news??

See you all next Monday for Ryunosuke's birthdya party:)

ABC's :)

2009-11-02T20:32:00.006+09:00

For the first time today, we did the Alphabet. I think Ricky impressed everyone with his vocabulary skills, although he seemed cross that there was no zebra at the end. He's right though - a zipper is not nearly as cool as a zebra.

Singing the traditional alphabet song can get a bit tedious, so it's always fun to find new versions. Etienne loves Elmo and so will sing ABC for hours if he sees the little red monster doing likewise. Have a look! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML8IL77gQ3k

At one point, we also had a room full of hopping, bouncing, sleeping and jumping bunnies. Thanks to Kimiko who introduced us to this great action song 'Sleep little bunnies'.

A very big Welcome to Naoko Sakurai san who will be bringing Maya and Naume to Playgroup while their Dad, Abel is away. Naume let us know in no uncertain terms, that today, she wanted her Mum. Even Elmo couldn't distract her!

I hope the weather won't keep you all away over the next few months. It is getting quite chilly these mornings, but we Playgroup Mums and Dads are hardy folk and so we struggle on. I hope to see you all next time.....

HALLOWEEN PARTY FUN FUN FUN!　楽しかったよ！

2009-10-28T20:16:00.005+09:00

At today's Halloween Party, we had pumpkins, fairies, princesses, ballerinas, bats, cats, pirates and dragons - not a bad mix for a bunch of little kids, eh?! But they were all SOOOO cute. Thanks to the Mums and Grannies who have been sewing these past few days to make such lovely costumes.When you see the photos, you'll se it was worth all the effort.

What fun it was to dress up and play party games and sing and dance and then feast like kings. Our snacktime today was transformed into a real banquet. Thank you so much to everyone who brought such yummy treats to the party. Next week it's back to the usual せんべい　and apple, OK?!

We also welcomed a new Playgroup Mum, Mizue and little Motori. We hope you'll come back next week.

Maybe we'll see you again in Komaba 4 chome, where there is a Halloween Trick or Treat event on Saturday night.

See you soon またね。。。

Scarecrows and Caterpillars....

2009-10-26T21:11:00.005+09:00

The wonderful display of scary scarecrows （かかし）lined up in the rice field of Komabano Koen inspired today's Playgroup theme. Who ever thought that Anpanman could be made look so fierce and used to ward off big bad crows! But colourful and fancy and all as those stuffed specimens are, they wouldn't have lasted our action-packed session this morning. How many times did we sing and dance to 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow'? How many encores?? How many 'again's?? How many もいいかいs ?? We definitely earned our cups of tea afterwards!

Much to everyone's surprise, Kimiko san made it to PG today. Although it was great to see her in such great form, we all dearly hope that you will NOT be here for the next class and that you will be granted your wish of midnight labour! We're all thinking of you during this final countdown!

I think all the kids had already heard our story 'A Very Hungry Caterpillar'. This was a special request by Ricky. Any other special requests for storytime? Just ask!

And finally, there remains a mere 36 hours before the much anticipated Halloween Party. My five monkeys are getting SO excited now - just two more sleeps! We have games and treats galore and hope you all remember to bring some snacks to add to the party buffet.

See you soon...

Pumpkins, i-pods and playgroup!

2009-10-21T21:15:00.004+09:00

Playgroup has gone 'hi-tech'!! I have a new i-pod and am very happy to no longer have to fight with my aging CD collection. I have been assured that i-pods are very easy to use. But I must confess that I am a bit of a technophobe and am capable of breaking anything electrical/technical/computer-related, simply by looking at it. Luckily today, Ushiki san (our 3rd Playgroup Dad to visit!) saved me from utter embarrassment and "synchronised" the i-pod with the computer and so we could all dance and prance about as usual:)

A very big Welcome to Asako Suzuki and Koki-kun who came today. We hope you'll be back next week:)

Today's 'Five Little Pumpkins' poem shows how yet again, I am inclined to pick songs or poems that even vaguely refer to my own 'five little monsters', but today's poem was cute, was it not?? (For our new members, I should warn you that I will at some stage teach the song 'Five little ducks' and also 'Five little monkeys'...:)

Not for the first time today, we saw the Playgroup Mums have been hiding their artistic talents, as there were some very impressive Pumpkin-collages produced by the end of the session. (see the photos for October 2009!)

I hope to see you all next week for Moonday (regular Playgroup session, with the theme of SCARECROWS) and of course on Wednesday, our much anticipated FANCY DRESS HALLOWEEN PARTY. Don't forget your kids costume and also to bring something for the 'party buffet' -savoury or sweet. なんでもいいね：）

またね

Halloween Craft Day - silly spiders & very cool bats!

2009-10-19T20:44:00.008+09:00

Our first Halloween craft day brought out the 'artist' in everyone. The once scary-long-legged black spiders were transformed into rainbow coloured cuties with multi-coloured eyes. And as for the bats? Batman has found some new rivals for the title of 'World's Coolest Bat'. Setsuko san should get a medal for her felt-winged-wonder!

In spite of all our Mums and Dads being utterly immersed in their crafts, we did manage to learn a funny new Halloween-themes song. Three black cats..... I still don't know how to explain or translate the word 'hullabaloo' so if anyone has a suggestion, please feel free to post a comment on the blog!

A very big 'Welcome back' to Abel, Maya and Naume who returned to Playgroup this morning after a long summer holiday. We missed you!

And finally, we will all be thinking about Kimiko over the next few days as she eagerly awaits to birth of Jyoji's newest sibling, any day now.....

See you soon:)

Bonjour!

2009-10-14T21:20:00.002+09:00

Today's Playgroup session was our first 'French' class. Isn't it amazing how quickly the kids start to chant along to the songs. They weren't a bit bothered by the fact it was an entirely new language!

It was great to welcome Kimiko san, her Mum and little Jyoji. Setsuko san is our first official Grandma of our new Playgroup. We hope to see you all back next week.

A very big Merci to Yukako san whose lovely rendition of Basu wo Notte had all of us laughing and all the kids asking for more, Encore, Again, Mo Iikai! We'll have to get you to teach it to us again.... And to Teresa for the Korean song.

And finally, I hope you are all preparing your kids costumes for the Halloween Party on Wednesday 28th October. Anyone who usually comes on Monday, please feel free to come to the party too! It should be lots of fun.

Don't forget your kids photos for the Birthday Train.....

Au revoir et a bientot!

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear...

2009-10-07T16:14:00.007+09:00

When is this rain ever going to stop?? Many thanks to those of you who braved the downpour this morning to come to our very special 'Teddy Bear' Playgroup session.

Today we had 2 special guests. Billy the Bear, our newest game! and of course Cookie Monster, who joined the kids for snacktime and sang along to his own theme song. The kids were in great spirits as they danced and sang and we even learned a new Teddy bear 'poem':)

In the Springtime (or whenever the weather gets a little better!) we can have a real Teddy Bear's picnic. We'll go to the park, bring your favourite teddy and we'll have a picnic in the woods. We might even bring along Cookie Monster.

Our special guest Cookie Monster assures me he had a great time in spite of the rain, though wanted to know why there were no cookies today!

For next week, please remember to bring your kids' photos for the Birthday Train'.

Also please check that you have signed a 'Disclaimer' form.

And Member registration continues! Anyone who hasn't signed up yet, please do so soon.

Any questions, please drop by the house or send me an email.

See you soon!

Tea and Cookies :)

2009-10-05T21:21:00.006+09:00

It might have been a dull Monday morning, but everyone seemed in great spirits as we danced about to 'I'm a little teapot' and the group favourite 'jump jump jump' which left all the mammies exhausted and in need of our cup of tea. I hope you liked the cookies! I meant to show the kids this funny song from Sesame Street. Click on the link for the 'Cookie Monster' song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye8mB6VsUHw

Thanks to Ricky for his lovely rendition of the 'Monday Tuesday....' song. And to Naoko for the 'ton ton ton Anpanman' song. Daniel was still singing that this evening at dinner.

Our story today was written by the Japanese Princess Takamado. It's called 'Katie and the Dream Eater'. And although I think all the mums appreciated the wonderful illustrations of the baku, I don't think the kids were terribly interested. Perhaps we'll have to re-think 'Story Time'? Any ideas what else we can do during this time?!

And finally, a very big Welcome to Kumiko san and Hajime kun who started today. We hope to see you back again next week:)

Please check the 'Class Schedule' section on this blog for updates and a sneak preview to this month's class topics and events. You still have lots of time to think of costumes for Halloween!

See you soon.

Our truly 'International' Playgroup :)

2009-09-30T21:19:00.009+09:00

Wednesday's Kids!

This morning it was raining cats and dogs, so an extra special 'Thanks' to everyone who braved the weather to come and sing, dance and have fun at Playgroup.

A very big welcome to our newcomers Chie and Eko chan, Teresa and Seung Kyu, as well as Jill and Jacob. We hope to see you back again next week. Don't forget your kids's photos so we can add them to our ever-expanding 'Birthday Train'.

We are living up to the name 'International Playgroup' as this morning we welcomed our first American and Korean Mum. Our members really do come from all corners of the globe: Japan, France, Ireland, Gabon, America, Korea, Guatemala and Austria. We'll soon have our kids singing songs in ten different languages!

See you soon.

Birthday Party fun :)

2009-09-28T19:44:00.008+09:00

After a short break for 'Silver Week', it was great to see everyone again this morning. As ever, our kids were all in great form, singing and dancing and keeping us on our toes. Luckily, our song of the day was Row row row your boat so we could at least sit down!

Today was an extra special day for Ricky and Rina. They were our first Playgroup Birthday kids. Ricky turned three this month and little Rina is one. We ate cake, drank tea and sang Happy Birthday. I hope we can celebrate all the kids' birthdays like this with a joint party on the last Monday of each month. (This way, we always have a great excuse to eat cake!)

And to top off our action packed お誕生会, we read a new kamishibai. The Dragon's Tears （竜の涙)　is a traditional japanese tale of a birthday boy inviting the dragon to his party. Very fitting for our Birthday Playgroup:)

See you all soon:) またね。

Singing, dancing and shopping:)

2009-09-16T20:07:00.007+09:00

A very big welcome to our newcomers. Yumino, Kyoka and Akihisa as well as Satoko and little Masanori. We're glad you could make it this morning. Kyoka chan was still dancing in the genkan as she left, so I think we can assume she had fun:) The 'Heads, Shoulders knees and toes' song is always a great wake-up song for the little ones. During coffee time, we chatted and we browsed through the 'Foreign Buyers Club' Halloween catalogue. It was just like shoping from home:) And for anyone who didn't make it this morning, you missed out on some very yummy shortbread! This week, though, I did remember to take the group photo.

Next Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd are public holidays, so no playgroup:(

I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday the 28th.

Any questions or comments, feel free to email me or drop by the house.....またね。

I can sing a rainbow!

2009-09-14T20:04:00.005+09:00

What a great way to kick-start the week. A house full of toddlers, a room full of colourful stuffed toys and a host of enegergetic mums. Little did we know how much exercise this Playgroup would entail! After a few rounds of 'jump jump jump' and 'up up up', our favourite ten little toddlers did a great job with the Colour Game. Special mention for Fumiko chan whose dance was truly something to behold:) And during our well-earned coffee break, I must thank everyone for sharing their stories about their wonderful wedding dresses. I think the Mums liked the kamishibai at the end more than the kids though. We'll have to try A colour of his own again next week.

I COMPLETELY forgot to take the group photo today. You'll have to remind me to do so every week.

Thanks to everyone who signed up as members today:) I'll have your receipts ready next time.

I've added all the kids photos to the Birthday train.

Don't forget your Disclaimer forms next time.

Check the next blog entry for the Class Schedule between now and December.

See you soon!

Little boys and their toys:)

2009-09-09T20:41:00.007+09:00

Today we had a smaller class than Monday, but the kids didn't seem to mind. In fact, it was like a 'Little boys club'. This worked out really well in fact as we invented a whole new game called 'where's the blue car?' Playgroup parents had a great 'work-out' to the old favourite 'jump jump jump'. And then over coffee, we peroused the new 'KIP magazine library' as the 'little boys club' demonstrated how to eat two bread sticks at once while precariously balancing twenty cars on their laps. To round off our class, we had our first English 'kamishibai'. Putting five two year old boys in the same confined space for a couple of hours is reall too funny!

Looking forward to seeing you all next week.

If you haven't registered yet, please do so next week.

If you can't make a class you are registered for, please email me and let me know.

Or if you want to come to a session you aren't registered for, just email me the day before.

See you soon!

Our 1st new Playgroup session!

2009-09-07T22:38:00.004+09:00

Thanks so much to everyone for coming today and making our new Playgroup such a great success. It was lovely to welcome you and your very 元気 kids. I know we're going to have lots of fun:) Don't forget your photos next time for the 'Birthday Train'. See you soon!

WELCOME! FAILTE ! よこそう！BIENVENUE !

2009-06-09T13:52:00.004+09:00

Welcome to the new Komaba International Blogspot!
I hope this will make it easy for everyone to keep up to date with what is happening at Playgroup.
Soon, I will post a Class Programme for the new Playgroup term which starts on the 7th of September.
Please feel free to post you comments.
See you all in the park!
Dana
X

Komaba International Playgroup

sayonara - part 2!

SAYONARA PLAYGROUP....

Eating cake and managing the mayhem...

Billy the Bear, Weekend tips for cool trips and the DAMN MISO!

Frogs, senbei & What's your blood type??!!

Happy Birthday, happy announcements, happy tadpoles, the Miso-Mystery of Komaba & lessons in multi-tasking!

DOMINO-STYLE CHICKEN POX!!

Golden Week adventures....

Tadpoles, frogs, miso & sunshine:)

Koinobori :)

The biggest birthday cake in the world.....:)

April showers....

Happy Birthday Kento & carrots galore :)

Saint Patrick's Day Playgroup - part 2!

Miso mixing & St. Patrick's Day fun :)

International Women's Day surprises galore :)

Lori Ikawa's Baby Sign Class :)

Scones, organic veggies and busy Playgroup days...

The Tooth Fairy & Billy the Bear :)

Rainy days make GREAT Playgroup days!

MAGICAL MISO!!

Valentine's Day - little artists :)

Komaba Yochien Kids Choir!

Setsubun Playgroup

The Little Bunnies Playgroup!

Billy the Bear O-men :)

Playground games around the world

Happy New Year Playgroup!

Christmas Party Fun :)

Welcome little Lui - our youngest member !

Jingle Bells, boys and buggies....

Billy the Bear :)

Origami wonders, 一本橋 and sayonara

Let the Christmas Season begin!

Reiko's Raisin bread - but where is Reiko?!

Thanksgiving :) ありがとう! Merci! Danke! Thank you!

Hola Komaba!

Guten morgen Komaba!

Singing in the rain!

Happy Birthday Ryunosuke!

Five little monkeys.... five little ducks......

ABC's :)

HALLOWEEN PARTY FUN FUN FUN! 楽しかったよ！

Scarecrows and Caterpillars....

Pumpkins, i-pods and playgroup!

Halloween Craft Day - silly spiders & very cool bats!

Bonjour!

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear...

Tea and Cookies :)

Our truly 'International' Playgroup :)

Birthday Party fun :)

Singing, dancing and shopping:)

I can sing a rainbow!

Little boys and their toys:)

Our 1st new Playgroup session!

WELCOME! FAILTE ! よこそう ！BIENVENUE !

HALLOWEEN PARTY FUN FUN FUN!　楽しかったよ！

WELCOME! FAILTE ! よこそう！BIENVENUE !