The 2008-09 school year is well underway, and seven curious preschoolers at Peace Presbyterian Children’s Center are enjoying preparing for kindergarten under the enthusiastic teaching of Jennifer Trotman.

“Mrs. Trotman is a phenomenal teacher,” said Director Eve Carriker.

Trotman has a wealth of experience working with young children, as does her assistant, Sharyn Gibson, who adds a complement of 20 years of experience with preschoolers.

The teachers are preparing these children for kindergarten in a fun, loving environment. The children are taught the alphabet by spending a week on each letter, learning through a variety of projects devoted to that letter. Other daily activities include learning centers, outside play, music with instruments, circle time, cooking projects and field trips.

A transition class is a preschool class that gives heavy emphasis to kindergarten readiness. It is a common practice among parents whose children turn 5 shortly before the eligibility cutoff date to wait an extra year to place their child in kindergarten. The reasons and advantages are many.

Some children are academically ready for kindergarten but can benefit from an extra year of gross and fine motor development, learning to share and function in a group, handling conflict and anger, and extending the attention span. Transition classes are perfect for this type of child, because he or she may already know letters, numbers, shapes and colors — skills necessary for kindergarten — and can handle a more challenging preschool environment.

The current school year is the last one to have an age cut-off date of Oct. 16. That is, those children who turned 5 by Oct. 16 of this year were eligible to enter kindergarten this past August. The N.C. General Assembly, however, voted in 2007 to change that cutoff date to Aug. 31, and it takes effect for the 2009-10 school year. Parents with a child born after Aug. 31, 2004, can consider a transition class as one of the options if their child is no longer eligible for kindergarten in 2009.

The transition class at Peace Presbyterian currently has five openings for children who are 5 years old. Interested parents may call the office at 467-5977, ext. 108, or visit peacepca.org.

For questions about the new cutoff date call the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s office of K-12 Curriculum, Instruction and Technology at 807-3817. For questions about kindergarten readiness call the Office of School Readiness at 981-5300 or visit osr.nc.gov.