Revving up kids for kindergarten

Four-year-old Alyjah Richardson is looking forward to kindergarten so he can cut with scissors and Brian Thomas Granger wants to nap in a room full of other children.

Their parents and hundreds of others from Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties came to "Countdown to Kindergarten," the Saturday kickoff for a program to get children excited about school and inform parents about what's required for registration.

Freda Lewis, the early childhood initiative coordinator for Trident United Way, one of the event's sponsors, said more than 500 people had arrived by mid-morning. She expected more than 1,000 to attend the event, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon at North Charleston Elementary School.

The event included opportunities to meet with representatives from various school districts, tables full of information, and medical screenings.

It was the screenings that ultimately attracted Alyjah's parents, Apollo Richardson and Aisha Yates, to the event.

Lewis said the dental, vision and hearing screenings, along with the confidential sessions to identify learning disabilities, were a big draw for parents, many of whom struggle to afford medical care in the current tough economic times.

But the event also had a lot of fun activities for children including: face painting, drumming and dancing performances and free backpacks and T-shirts.

The countdown program is a year-long series of services to families that includes parent outreach and school readiness education.

Parents who missed Saturday's kickoff still can get involved, Lewis said. They can contact the program by phone or through Trident United Way's web site. Once enrolled, "they'll get something from us every month," she said.

Kimberly Rivers has older children who already have completed kindergarten, but she still brought her 5-year-old daughter Anya to the kick-off Saturday.

"I just want to make sure I know what I need," River said. "I don't want to get to registration and say, 'Oh, I forgot that.'"

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.