u/sunnymorninghere

Hello beautiful Waldorf community. I’m about to cry writing this. I need your help, come to circle time with me please.

So, my 4 year old son started preschool recently. And we decided to move to Arizona for it, because we thought the school was great. The school is a Montessori, and it’s super cute and small.

However, my little one is not thriving. I’m giving it some time because we don’t have an abundance of evidence yet, but he doesn’t seem engaged, he doesn’t really know any classmates names ( he’s been 3 weeks). He comes back and clothes are perfectly clean.

I ask him what songs they sang? What did he do? And he doesn’t really say much. I’m so heartbroken.
Before moving here, he was attending a preschool that emphasized play, they read books, crafted, built, played with kitchen, etc. Now, it’s all about independent learning, and I’m not sure if that’s where my little one would thrive.

Does anybody here have experience with transitioning from Montessori to Waldorf? Or do you think Waldorf is more collaborative? My son loves to play and interact with other kids, I’m not sure if this independent learning is helping him, he seems so down.

I am considering a Waldorf school but I’d like to hear opinions before I make the switch. I thought Montessori would also include some collaboration in addition to independent learning but it doesn’t seem to be that way. We went to his birthday celebration and it was cute but oh so quiet and almost stiff for a group of 4 year olds.

My little one seems almost sad. And he loves hanging out with other kids, but he’s definitely not loving this environment.

Any guidance on your experience with Waldorf would be so helpful.

I’m going to be very honest with this post, and I request support from the moderators in case there’s anything concerning, happy to modify my post, but this is actually a big deal for me and I’m hoping to have a civil dialogue about this topic.

The situation:
My husband and I have gone to Sedona to visit family multiple times throughout the years. Multiple times a year, including during 2020 etc. My in laws have lived in Sedona for 20+ years. We now have kids and live in Southern California. It’s a huge challenge for us raising kids without any community in a big city, so of course we thought let’s give Sedona a try. We love Sedona, every city has challenges etc. and moving cities is NEVER easy, so is not like I’m going to get massages every weekend at Enchantment, I work full time and so this move is a huge commitment for us.

The Challenge:
I’m now member of multiple groups in Facebook that are Sedona related, and of course part of this sub. I have found horrible attitudes towards people moving to Sedona, the assumption that if you move to Sedona you have money, the assumption that I don’t know.. I truly don’t. A mom apologized on a post when someone asked her where she was moving from, she said “ don’t be upset with me, I’m moving for SoCal”. What?

Please, be super honest with me, is this a real thing? Do locals hate people who moved from other cities? I went to a school meeting and honestly I got so many strange vibes from parents and they were not a very friendly bunch - sure there are parents who are really nice, but others who are not — and I do wonder if it’s because they know we are moving there from somewhere else.

People who move with kids make huge sacrifices, and it’s a huge investment to get to know people, get the routine down again, etc. it’s not like we are there to invade sacred land. I also don’t like new developments but I’m not a real state developer.

Please tell me your perspective, and if you dislike people from Southern California moving to Sedona, please let me know why because I genuinely want to know.

Thank you for your sincerity and thoughtful answers.

Edit:
I just wanted to say, in defense of people from California, and as an outsider myself: I’ve traveled all over the world, and I have to say here in CA I’ve met some of the nicest, friendliest people. Everywhere you go people say hello, good morning, etc.