Fourth-grader Karter Prehn and his younger brother Kole, 4, go to different schools.

Karter is at Banfield and Kole spends his days across the street at Discovery Learning Center. Tuesday afternoon, they got to spend a little time together before heading home.

Karter is enrolled in Kids Korner, a before and after-school program, and yesterday he and other kids visited the preschool — toting hand-crafted gifts for the little ones.

“This is the first time we have done this, but the students were very excited about it,” said Deeanna Weis, site supervisor of Banfield’s Kids Korner.

About 50 Kids Korner Students decorated lollipops — with paper reindeer faces — to give to pre-schoolers and toddlers at Discovery as early Christmas gifts. They also perfected several holiday tunes, to perform a concert for the kids across the street.

“We practiced for two weeks, and it was really fun!” Emily Billings, fifth-grade, said.

Kids Korner is coordinated by Austin’s Community Education. It is for pre-school and school-age children before and after school, as well as on certain non-school days, at various sites throughout Austin.

Discovery Learning Center is a private preschool which also has toddler and infant programs.

Weis said Kids Korner is emphasizing community service as an enrichment project this month.

“This project has been a nice way for our kids to get out into the community. It’s big kids caring for little kids,” she said.

The big kids chose a couple of non-traditional Christmas songs to share with those little kids, such as “I’m a Little Santa,” to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.” They also sang “The Lights on the Tree,” to the melody of “The Wheels on The Bus.”

Weis said the kids were interested in singing those because the pre-school children are used to hearing those original songs.

“They were so excited about that,” she said.

Kids Korner kids also sang a couple of familiar Christmas carols like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Deck The Halls.” The pre-schoolers, fresh out of a recent concert they performed for parents, sang along.

Discovery Learning Center owner and teacher Deidre Smith, the daughter of Weis, said she thought the preschool kids and toddlers really enjoyed the program.

“They had such a wonderful time. You could tell because they were staying put,” she said.

“It’s really fun for them to see the bigger kids doing something for them.”

Kids Korner is located at the Community Learning Center, Banfield, Neveln, Southgate, Sumner and Woodson schools. For more information contact the Community Learning Center at 460-1704.