It can be difficult for us to know whether our children are ready for school. One moment they are confident, imaginative, and grounded little humans, and the next they have a complete meltdown including tears, yelling, and even going to the floor kicking.
Well, relax. That is normal. The cognitive development of the emotions relies on these highs and lows in order to gain control faster. Some of us take longer to learn to control our emotions and that is ok. We need love and support as we gain new skills both physically and emotionally.
There are some guidelines that can be used to see if they are ready. This link is to a resource from the Great Falls Early Childhood website. http://gfecc.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/SchoolReadinessHandout-2018.pdf
School is a very big step. Here at the Children's Museum of Montana (CMOM) we have an exhibit called the Little Falls Schoolhouse. This was an accumulation of requests from homeschool families to have space to learn and as an introduction for those children that have not yet gone to school. So if you would like a fun and safe place for them to imagine what school would be like, bring them on down and let them run the classroom and teach you! It is a wonderful way to build the confidence before they show up for their first day of school.
***Just this morning we got news that Head Start is now enrolling for the fall! You can call (406) 453-5415 to speak to a family advocate and fill out an application.