Click a category below to see additional resources
Looking for other helpful resources? Listed below are a handful of groups and programs in Nebraska also dedicated to early childhood development.
Belly Breathing
Children place a stuffed animal on their belly and take slow breaths to help their bodies settle and feel calm.
Sharing Gratitude
Children talk about or draw things they are thankful for to help them recognize and share positive feelings.
Shape Breathing
Children trace a simple shape with their finger and take steady breaths that they can use again when they feel upset or excited.
Heartbeat Jump
Children notice how their heartbeat changes when they move and learn that slow, deep breathing can help it settle.
Calming Glitter Bottles
Glitter bottles show how feelings can swirl and then settle as children close their eyes and take slow breaths.
Setting Intentions
Children talk about what the next day might look like to help prepare their brains and set gentle expectations.
Connecting Conversations
Adults and children talk about how the child wants to feel and the steps that support those feelings, ending with a few calming breaths.
Breath Star
Children use slow breathing and a simple tracing motion to calm their bodies and think more clearly about what is happening.
Self-Compassion Break
Children learn to notice themselves with kindness and to care for their own feelings.
Freeze Dance – Run, Baby, Run
Children move their bodies to release energy and practice stopping during the freeze to help them learn regulation.
Download engaging and educational resources designed specifically for kids to support their social and emotional development.
Getting Ready
Getting Ready is an evidence-based family engagement approach that boosts learning and development among children ages 5 and younger who participate in home visitation or center-based early childhood programs. The collaborative approach supports children’s learning and development by strengthening relationships among children, parents and educators.
Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators
Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators (CHIME) is a transformative program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln designed to equip educators with the tools to cultivate mindfulness and reflection in their daily work. The CHIME Program is provides education and guidance on how to incorporate mindfulness and reflective practice into your daily routine, teaching, and caregiving.
Pyramid Model
The Pyramid Model uses research-based strategies and resources from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL) to focus on the social-emotional development and school readiness of young children. Trainings can be offered as part of child-care conferences, parent education training, a half-day or full-day training focused on Social-Emotional Development.
Teachers & Parents as Partners
Fostering parent engagement in children’s education is important in helping young children reach their full potential. Teachers & Parents as Partners (TAPP) is a proven, research-based intervention aimed at establishing parent-teacher relationships to help ensure the success of your child.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
The social emotional learning (SEL) framework, known to many as the “CASEL wheel,” helps cultivate skills and environments that advance students’ learning and development. It provides a foundation for communities to use evidence-based SEL strategies in ways that are most meaningful to their local context. It can be applied to many different priorities and aligned with each community’s strengths, needs, and cultures.
First Five Nebraska
First Five Nebraska drives public conversation on early childhood, aiming to give more Nebraska children a strong start and bright future. They collaborate with officials, business leaders, educators, and community partners to promote effective, innovative early childhood policies and solutions.
Nebraska Extension’s Early Childhood Development Team
The Early Childhood Development team with Nebraska Extension supports adults who play a role in young children’s lives providing information and resources about early child development.
Nebraska Association for Infant Mental Health
The Nebraska Association of Infant Mental Health (NAIMH) is a collaborative group of caring adults who have a common interest in the well being of young children and their families. NAIMH works to promote and support nurturing relationships for all infants; to provide a forum for interaction and study among professionals, students, and parents; to advocate for application of infant mental health principles for services to infants and young children and their families; and to distribute educational materials that promoted increased understanding of infant mental health issues.
Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families & Schools
The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families & Schools (CYFS) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) seeks to foster collaboration among the University of Nebraska’s vibrant, interdisciplinary research
community in the social, behavioral and educational sciences.
Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children
The Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children (NRPVYC) was created by Kelli Hauptman and Jennie Cole-Mossman in 2015 as the successor to the Infant-Toddler Court Improvement Project, a program within the Nebraska Court Improvement Project.
Nebraska Children
Nebraska Children is an organization that leverages funds from both public and private sectors, pools talent from all around the communities we work with, and structure initiatives around a collective impact effort.
We Care for Kids
We Care for Kids ensures Nebraska families have access to quality early childhood education, offering information on its importance for school readiness and family support. It also builds support for early childhood educators who strengthen Nebraska’s economy.
Early Learning Network
The Early Learning Network aims to understand how policies and practices can close opportunity gaps and support early learning achievements as children move from preschool to elementary school and beyond.