I had flag patrol this morning. For the first two weeks of the new school year, all students at our elementary school meet in their neighborhood group. They walk to school together two by two as a group. The oldest student in the group is the leader. Mothers stand on corners along the way with flags like this one.

This hat was Little Brother’s when he was in first grade. First graders wear yellow hats throughout their first year of elementary school. The style may be different in different areas of Tokyo and Japan. Yellow is easily seen on these gray, rainy April days.