Panhandle Area Child Care Services

08/26/2026

Panhandle friends, take a look at that map. 👀

The Thriving Children, Families, and Communities Conference is coming up September 22 in Kearney, and it’s FREE to attend.

Western Nebraska needs to be part of these conversations too. If you work with children and families, support early childhood in your community, or just care about what strong child care means for rural Nebraska, this is worth checking out.

I’d love to see even more of the Panhandle represented on that map!

Cancelling your registration will remove your access to the event. If you proceed, you will no longer be able to participate or access event-related materials.

08/26/2026

Western Nebraska early childhood friends, get this one on your calendar!

The Western Nebraska Early Childhood Conference is coming to Gering on October 3, 2026.

More details will be coming, but for now, SAVE THE DATE! I’m excited to see what they have planned this year and hopefully see lots of familiar faces there.

BIG things coming!!!! Everyone save the date for this amazing conference!

07/31/2026

Staying informed helps strengthen child care across our communities.

First Five Nebraska is hosting a provider-only Zoom conversation about this year’s legislative session and how it impacts child care.

You don’t have to participate in the discussion if you don’t want to. Many providers simply listen while children are napping during this quieter part of the day. It’s an easy way to stay connected without adding another evening commitment.

Register as a child care provider and they’ll send you the Zoom link.

Registration link is in the comments.

07/27/2026

07/22/2026

Attention Rural Nebraska Family Child Care Providers!

We’re always looking for opportunities to connect family child care providers with resources that support the important work you do.

If you’re a licensed home based child care provider in rural Nebraska or Kansas, participate in CACFP, and care for children ages 3 to 5, this may be a great opportunity.

Providers selected for the Healthy Children, Healthy Communities research study may receive:

• Up to $595 in Amazon gift cards
• 19 hours of in-service training
• An interactive activity toolkit for children
• Resources to share with families

Learn more and sign up here:
https://go.unl.edu/hchc2

Frequently asked questions:
https://go.unl.edu/hchcfaq

If you know another home based provider who may qualify, we’d appreciate you sharing this opportunity with them.

05/22/2026

Love seeing this right here in the Panhandle. Congratulations to Tanisha and TOTally Kids / Totally Tots LLC on earning STEP 5 through Nebraska Step Up to Quality.

People see the award, but they don’t always see the amount of time behind it. The trainings, the paperwork, the changes, the constant learning, and still showing up every day for children and families.

Proud to have stood beside you at the Capitol advocating for child care and then see you continue leading in your own program too. Western Nebraska has some pretty amazing educators doing this work every single day.

Today, we are beyond excited and proud to announce that Totally Kids Child Care has officially reached STEP 5 in Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program! 🎉⭐️

This achievement means so much to us because we have worked incredibly hard to get here. Countless hours of training, preparing, improving our classrooms, strengthening our curriculum, and focusing on the quality of care we provide every single day all led to this moment.

STEP 5 is the highest quality rating in Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program. It recognizes childcare programs that go above and beyond in providing high-quality learning environments, strong family engagement, professional development, and meaningful interactions with children. It reflects excellence in early childhood education and a commitment to helping children grow, learn, and thrive.

One of the things I am most proud of from our observation was our staff interactions with the children. I have always tried to pride my girls on creating loving, positive, patient, and meaningful relationships with every child, and seeing that recognized means the world to me. ❤️

I could not be more thankful for our amazing team and all the hard work they put in every single day. They showed up, gave it their all, and did an amazing job during our observation. This accomplishment belongs to every one of them.

Thank you to all of our families for trusting us with your children and supporting us through this journey. We are so excited for what’s ahead and proud to continue providing the very best care for our community!

05/15/2026

Panhandle educators, I encourage you to jump into this conversation. First Five Nebraska holds these policy and advocacy chats regularly to help keep child care educators informed on legislative updates, upcoming changes, and what is happening across the state. Especially out here in western Nebraska, staying connected to these conversations matters.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥: Acompáñenos el próximo martes 19 de mayo a la 1:30 p. m. (hora central) para una conversación por Zoom exclusiva para proveedores sobre los avances en políticas públicas en la Legislatura Unicameral que impactan directamente a los proveedores de cuidado infantil. También tendrá la oportunidad de hacer preguntas al equipo de políticas y defensa de First Five Nebraska.

¡Su voz y liderazgo son esenciales para impulsar un cambio significativo en temas importantes durante esta sesión legislativa! Se ofrecerá interpretación al español. Regístrese aquí: bit.ly/4tXbvJV

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: Join us next Tuesday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. CT, for a providers-only Zoom conversation on advances in public policy in the Unicameral that directly impact childcare providers. You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions of First Five Nebraska's policy and advocacy team.

Your voice and leadership are essential to driving meaningful change on important issues this legislative session! Spanish interpretation will be provided. Register here: bit.ly/4tXbvJV

05/14/2026

Love seeing Nebraska Panhandle programs being recognized for the work they are doing for children and for their communities.

There is so much leadership and quality happening across rural Nebraska. More people deserve to see the depth of work happening inside these programs every day.

Congratulations Shannon and your staff at Building Blocks Playschool at Box Butte General Hospital!

From nurse to child care leader, Shannon Seidler has always followed her passion for caring for others.

Now, as director of Building Blocks Playschool at Box Butte General Hospital, she’s helping address the child care shortage in her community—while achieving a Step 5 rating with Step Up to Quality.

Read how her dedication to quality improvement is making a difference for children, families and fellow providers in Alliance on our blog at https://stepuptoquality.ne.gov/step-5-spotlight-shannon-seidlers-dedication-to-quality-improvement-helps-alleviate-child-care-shortage-in-alliance/

05/14/2026

Awareness matters. But what happens next matters even more.

PACCS wants to help educators feel less isolated and more confident using their voices together across the Panhandle.

What do you believe would help educators feel more confident speaking up and working together?

The signs may come down after Day Without Child Care…

But the boots still go back on.

Across Nebraska and the nation, child care educators are still showing up every single day doing work that families, businesses, and communities depend on.

Now comes the harder part:
building stronger support, stronger partnerships, stronger policies, and stronger understanding of what child care really means to our communities.

The campaign may be over, but the conversation should not be.

Drop your thoughts below. What needs to happen next?

05/11/2026

Please take a moment to complete the economic impact calculator and help show the real value of child care in Nebraska.

Looker Studio turns your data into informative dashboards and reports that are easy to read, easy to share, and fully customizable.