Little Gerkin's Childcare

Our Teachers

Penny Gerking is a mother of 3 (31, 23, and 17 years) and a grandmother as well. She resides in Auburn, NE, and has been doing childcare on and off for 30 years. In between, she also taught preschool, paraprofessional in elementary and middle school, substitute teacher for K-12, and high school special education, and worked at a t-shirt shop. She has been doing family childcare in the same place for over 13 years now and loves her job.

Amanda Neal has been a secondary/substitute at Little Gerkin’s for 6 years now. She is the mother of 6 children (and a grandmother) and previously was a home childcare provider in the same house that Penny now runs her childcare. Their kids have grown up together.

Heidi Jenek is a substitute teacher at Little Gerkin’s for 2 year. She has her early childhood degree and taught preschool for 5 years. She is a mother of 4.

Testimonials

“Your (sic) amazing she has not stopped walking sense (sic) she’s been home like all over the place. I’m crying. Dad is crying” WL

Philosophy

We believe children should be taught self-care and problem solving. We work to teach them to get along with others and follow the 3 rules: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible. We learn and practice these rules through role playing and small group activities during free play.

About our program

We have daily outside time: rain, snow, or summer heat. We believe fresh air and room to run are important for all children.

Kids grow up together with friends and siblings. This gives them a sense of community, teaches them to get along with others, and how to care for others in the community.

Our focus is on social/emotional and teaching children to recognize their feelings, how to calm themselves, how to solve problems, and to communicate with others using words instead of negative reactions.

Admissions

Join the Little Gerkin’s Childcare community in four easy steps:

1. Explore our website

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family. Please also take the time to review the Parent Handbook so you can let us know if you have any questions.

2. Tour our program

Come see what makes Little Gerkin’s Childcare unique. We schedule tours on a one-on-one basis after business hours so staff is able to focus on the task at hand. So, let us know you are interested and how we can contact you and we will be in touch to set up a tour. Tours need to include parents and the child(ren) who will be in care so we can all get to know one another, and your child can become familiar with the space. This is also the time to ask any questions about our facility and the handbook.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application at www.wonderschool.com/little-gerkin-s-childcare-6149/apply – note that we require tours for all prospective families.

Please do not submit an application if you have not visited the program.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation you’ll pay your enrollment fee, 2-week deposit, fill out enrollment documents, and review our Parent Handbook.