Little Gerkin's Childcare

Our Teachers

Penny Gerking is a mother of 3 (32, 24, and 18 years) and a grandmother as well. She resides in Auburn, NE, and has been doing childcare off and on for over 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 14 years now and loves her job.

Amanda Neal has been a secondary/substitute at Little Gerkin’s for 7 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 has been a substitute teacher at Little Gerkin’s for 3 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

Some things that set me apart from other childcare providers:

1. I was the first childcare (center and home) in Nemaha County to reach my Step 5 in Step up to Quality, which is the top rating in quality care, and I work to maintain that status.

2. I have been operating my childcare in this same space consistently since March 2012. Prior to that I was in Johnson, NE and 7 of my students followed me from there to here.

3. I take about 30 scheduled days off each year, and I make sure parents have this schedule before the year starts. I VERY rarely take any unexpected days off. During COVID I never had to shut down. Even when I got my full double knee replacement done in Feb 2026 I made sure to have subs in place so I could stay open as it was going to take 8 weeks of recovery time before I could care for kids on my own.

4. Daily outside time is a priority as kids need to be able to get outside to run, jump and shout and to get fresh air to stay healthy.

5. 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.

6. 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.

When you are ready to schedule a tour let me know and we can find a time that works for both of us.

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.