u/AliMamma

We are moving to Christchurch in July with our two-year-old. He was set to attend a small Waldorf preschool when he turned 3. I was pleased to see Christchurch had a large Steiner school but couldn’t really access many reviews.

What’s it like? Anyone have experiences with the preschool and kindergarten program? What about upper grades and high school?

Any other schools you can recommend. The public school system where we are (US, underfunded, ridiculous constant state testing) is abysmal but hoping (for our pocketbook) it may be better in NZ.

Our main goal for elementary is plenty of outdoor time with a focus on social skills and well rounded formal education with a focus on the arts as well as STEAM. No state testing or minimal.

Be mindful of who you have come into your home postpartum. Not all help is helpful.

I am a postpartum doula and new mom. I am a huge advocate for a village but also know we need to be mindful of who is in that village and whether they are actually helping you.

For example. I have a client with newborn preemie twins. MIL was absolutely sure they didn’t need to hire me as “she can handle it all”.

Guess what. She can’t.

I’ve watched her make this postpartum moms life more challenging. Constantly berating her and giving poor advice.

Then the cherry on top (when I finally intervened) is watching her cook chicken, half hazarding wash was the chicken chopping board and set it dripping all over to dry with moms pump parts and the bottles.

Thank God I saw and was able to properly sterilize everything.

If this is your MIL, your mother, your sister. Set boundaries now.