Can you answer yes to two simple questions? If you can, your child is eligible for a wonderful opportunity at no cost to you. Do you have a child who is 4 or will turn 4 before Dec. 1? Do you live in the Auburn School District? If the answer is yes, your child is eligible for the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program offered by the Auburn School District under contract with six different local agencies.

Neighborhood House, Cayuga Community College, the YMCA, the E. John Gavras Center, the Montessori School of the Finger Lakes and the Cayuga Seneca Community Action Agency all provide this excellent pre-school program. Children are eligible for UPK the year before they are eligible to attend kindergarten. The goal of the program is to give children a high quality, pre-school experience so that they will be well prepared for success in kindergarten. Research has clearly shown that attending a pre-school program contributes to a smoother transition to kindergarten.

All of the sites offer a terrific pre-school program and have many similarities. In a fun, safe and caring classroom, children learn to function as part of a group while learning self-help and social skills. They learn literacy and math skills including letter and number recognition, and they learn the joy of reading. Children also learn about science and social studies.

All of the programs are taught by a certified New York state teacher. But there are also some differences among the sites (we all envy the YMCAs gym and pool, for example), and we encourage parents to visit the different programs if they have questions about the best match for their child. Some offer a morning and an afternoon class while some meet only in the morning. Some programs offer an extended day (for an extra fee) while some do not. Classes follow the school calendar, meet daily and last for two and a half hours.

Some special activities enjoyed by the UPK students at Neighborhood House this year have included celebrating the 50th birthday of “The Cat in the Hat,” studying the life-cycle of ladybugs and butterflies, observing tadpoles growing legs and becoming frogs, learning about earthworms, using the book, “Diary of a Worm,” and enjoying a performance of the “Three Little Pigs” presented by the Syracuse Opera.

Our children have created masterpieces with paint and blocks and have learned that the author of a book did a different job than the illustrator. Terry Denman, our UPK teacher, has a master's degree in literacy and has infused the daily schedule with fun literacy activities. This month, the children have enjoyed a Nursery Rhyme Olympics.

Unfortunately, Universal Pre-K is not universal in New York state, and many school districts do not offer it. Parents in those districts who want their child to have a high quality pre-school experience have to pay tuition for their child to attend a private pre-school. We are fortunate that the Auburn School District offers a UPK program, and I encourage all eligible families to sign up. To receive an application, call Neighborhood House at 252-5741 or the school district at 255-8819. Universal Pre-K sign ups continue until July 13.

This year, so that our UPK families can more conveniently join in the fun, our annual children's carnival will take place this week - the same week as our UPK graduation.

Each year, the board, staff and families of Neighborhood House sponsor a summer children's carnival. While we have lots of fun working together to put on a fun event for children to enjoy, the main purpose of the carnival is to raise needed funds to support our program. We run smaller fundraising events during the year, but the carnival is our largest.

This year is the seventh carnival, and it takes place tonight. The theme is Spiderman and Friends, and Spiderman is expected to make an appearance. After playing games, jumping in the Spiderman Bouncy Castle, creating a spider craft, having their faces painted and having a photo taken with Spiderman, children can enjoy hot dogs, juice boxes, Spiderman fruit roll-ups and chips.

Adults can enjoy trying to win a cake at our cake booth or have their car professionally washed by Brian (and friends) of Brian's Buffing. Everything is reasonably priced for family fun. The event also features a garage sale of mostly child oriented items.

This year, we have a special guest coming from the Center for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods to lead a fun presentation about spiders. Balloons and books about spiders will also be sold.

Each year, we have raised between $1,500 and $3,000, and our goal this year is to clear $3,000. We have used the proceeds in the past to purchase such equipment as our six-seat buggy, sturdy bikes, classroom shelves, playground equipment, books and blocks. All of these important items greatly benefit the children but could not be purchased without successful fundraising.

As we work to earn accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, we have developed a long “wish list” of classroom equipment that will improve our educational program and will use this year's proceeds to purchase this equipment.

Also, local businesses and individuals help the cause by sponsoring the event. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a fun evening; we hope to see you there.

Susan Jones is executive director for the Neighborhood House in Auburn.