Meet Kathy Weber, director of Live, Love, Laugh Day Care in Chadron, Nebraska. After more than a decade of providing child care in her home, Kathy was ready to step away from the field after the height of the pandemic. Despite this, she decided to enroll in Step Up to Quality — and it was a game changer. Learn more about Kathy’s quality improvement journey.

What inspired you to work in the early childhood field?

My kids were growing up without me. I felt like I was missing a lot, so I decided to stay home to take care of them. When they grew up, and I started taking care of other children, I fell in love with supporting them the way I did with my own kids. Now, I’ve been a child care provider since 2010 and currently care for eight children.

What is your child care philosophy?

My goal is to instill a love of learning in children. If I don’t show them and guide them toward that love at an early age, it will be difficult for them to enjoy school and so on. I think the best way to teach children is to help them learn without them realizing they’re learning.

How did you learn about Step Up to Quality? Why did you decide to join?

My state licensor told me about Step Up to Quality when the first orientation was launched. I didn’t do anything with it at the time, but talked with other local providers in the last few years about their experiences with Step Up to Quality, so I decided to enroll.

Before I started my Step Up to Quality journey, I was seriously thinking about quitting being a child care provider. The stress of the pandemic was still lingering for me. It was a complete shock to myself and my family that I wanted to join Step Up to Quality. But I am so thankful I made that decision. Going through Step Up to Quality has filled my cup and renewed my passion for being a child care provider.

I look back at that time now and think about how enrolling was a big decision, but as I was going through the program, it didn’t feel like that big of a jump. I was able to take it step by step.

How does it feel to have achieved a Step 5 rating?

I was shocked to receive a Step 5 rating. I wanted to cry tears of joy. I didn’t think it was even a possibility for me. I look at other people’s programs and compare myself to them, but knowing someone reviewed my program and thought I was just as good as other Step 5-rated providers has given me more confidence in the quality of my care.

In what ways has Step Up to Quality helped boost the quality of your child care practices? What have you learned and implemented?

Some of the trainings that I took made me really realize the reasoning behind certain practices and how they help us and help the kids connect in a different way. I consider myself a bit old school, but I see how I can combine my new learnings with how I’ve done things.