Great project to let the kids get their first taste of wrenching. The conversion to the Jeep tranny makes the most sense. Your Jeep probably came equipped with the Aisan AW-4 automatic.
The nice thing about this tranny is the bell housing is removeable, thus it would be an easy trick to convert the bolt pattern from the Jeep engine to the Perk. The Perk will have an industry standard bolt pattern, commonly used for industrial engines, probably a class 3 mount. After that, just drill out the flywheel for the torque convertor and fab up a set of motor mounts.
Your machine shop will be able to whip up an adapter plate in no time. Granted getting the trans from the jacobsen to work with a transfer case would give the kids a chance to flex their geometry muscles, but the frustration factor will be high. Especially for their first build, keep it simple.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Bill
91 Buick Roadmaster/Avant 6.2 NA conversion (gone but not forgotten)
94 Cadillac Fleetwood (sold)
08 Aerolight 23TT
06 Vortec Max Silverado CC SB (sold)
10 Avalanche (electronic quagmire but love the truck)