Helping children develop gratitude and other social-emotional skills helps them be more hopeful, empathetic and helpful to others. There are easy steps parents can take to cultivate gratitude and grasp the power of appreciation and kindness in their children.
Posts by: First Five Nebraska
Alexis Zgud joins Communications team
We're pleased to introduce our new Communications Associate, Alexis Zgud. She brings more than 11 years of experience in communications, marketing and public relations to First Five Nebraska's Communications team.
Streamlining reporting for child care licensing offers many benefits
The current method used to verify qualifications of Nebraska early childhood educators in licensed programs is unnecessarily cumbersome, and a system already in use provides a simple solution.
Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy kicks off in January 2019
The Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy will debut in January 2019. The non-partisan project will help citizens learn about the importance of children's earliest experiences and develop skills to engage community leaders, lawmakers and major influencers on early care and learning issues.
Read for the Record Day is October 25
Read for the Record is an annual effort to read the same book on the same day across the country to spotlight the importance of high-quality early learning and the power of reading to impact learning. This year’s book is based on a true story and celebrates the magic that can happen when a community comes together to create something beautiful and bring about change.
My ‘why’
UNL's Children's Center is committed to providing quality care and education, and has reached the highest quality level in Nebraska Step Up to Quality. Here's why they embraced the challenge and what it means for the children in their care.
Federal preschool development grant public input meeting is October 4
The public is invited to offer input for a new federal funding opportunity to improve Nebraska’s existing early childhood infrastructure.
Executive function skills influence success in adulthood
Many Nebraska employers say they find significant gaps in executive function skills in today’s workforce. Learn how these important skills, developed in early childhood, support growth of critical competencies that affect our success as adults.
A Look Back: Senator Paul Schumacher
This is part of a series of blog posts by Nebraska's term-limited senators reflecting on their time in the Nebraska Legislature. We thank them for their dedication and service to Nebraska. In this post, Senator Paul Schumacher looks back at his years representing District 22.
A Look Back: Senator Jim Smith
This is part of a series of blog posts by Nebraska's term-limited senators. We thank them for their dedication and service to Nebraska. In this post, former Senator Jim Smith looks back at his eight years representing District 14.
Thank you, Barry Kennedy, for your support of early childhood
To say outgoing Nebraska Chamber President Barry Kennedy is an advocate of early childhood is an understatement. He has been a long-time champion of Nebraska’s youngest children and has spoken frequently on the importance of access to quality early childhood programs.
327 child care programs in Step Up to Quality as it marks 4th anniversary
Parents can view a map with information on child care providers participating in Step Up to Quality, including the program's name and address, director and size of the program, website, email address and the program's step rating on the 5-point scale.



