Ready to Understand What Your Child Needs?

Your child may be getting extra help at school, but you may still feel that something is not quite working. Perhaps your child is struggling with reading, writing, or mathematics. Maybe they are working much harder on completing their work than you expected, becoming frustrated with schoolwork, or needing a lot of help to complete tasks that other children seem to manage more independently. You have already asked their school what more can be done. Many international schools

Perhaps the family is moving from another country to Tokyo and they start to wonder: Are there any international schools in Tokyo that will accept my child if they need extra support? The short answer is yes, there many international schools in Tokyo that do accept children that need support or have identified learning differences. Every school is different, and what I think matters most is the level of support your child needs and whether the school has the people and resour

Tutoring can be a great option when your child needs some extra help with a subject or needs to reinforce what they are learning at school. Learning support is designed for students who need ongoing assistance because of learning differences, executive functioning challenges, mild academic gaps, or organizational difficulties. As a Learning specialist my training includes educational therapy, structured literacy, educational assessment, executive function, and working with c

When I started teaching at the Montessori School of Tokyo back in 2006, conversations with parents looked very different from the ones I have today. Montessori parents weren’t asking me, “Can you help my child get better grades?” The conversations were much more about the child as a whole their development, independence, self confidence, and how they were learning. Honestly, I think that was ahead of its time. But... education has continued to change. Open up any Tokyo intern

Does this sound like your child. They are bright, well liked by their classmates, enjoy school but they need constant reminders to start their schoolwork. They have trouble staying with it and often need you to tell them what to do next. Assignments often get forgotten, homework is left unfinished, and you find yourself repeating the same instructions every day. Before we talk about what to do, it helps to understand why this is happening. Starting, managing, and completin

Some families come to us because they are thinking ahead about international school admissions and want to build the academic skills their child will need before the application process becomes urgent. Others come to us because their child is already doing well at school, and they want to keep it that way. They want to strengthen the fundamentals and make sure small gaps do not become bigger ones. Some families come to us because their child needs a level of assessment and le

Attending an international middle school in Tokyo brings a lot more responsibility for students. Students are expected to keep track of more assignments, remember deadlines, manage materials, and communicate with different teachers. International middle school teachers also expect students to take more responsibility for their own learning. If a student receives a low mark on a test, teachers expect their students to know how to approach the teacher themselves, or ask their

Your middle schooler rolls their eyes, slams the door, and shouts, “I’ll do my homework later!” the moment you ask about an overdue assignment for school. Now put that same child in front of me, an outside Learning Specialist. They sit up, open their workbook and laptop, and get to work without an argument. It isn’t magic. When a child is stuck, the way you approach them can either create more resistance or help them get moving. As Learning Specialists, we are trained to reco

Most families whose children attend international schools in Tokyo come to me with a specific concern. Their child is struggling with reading. Math class has become frustrating. Homework takes forever. They aren't keeping up in class. They are having trouble staying focused. They are preparing for an international school entrance assessment. But... Before we address any of these issues and we will, we need to look at the child. How are they feeling? What is happening at schoo