Childhood Collective

10/08/2026

Hey Juneau, check out these FREE Family Fun events happening this weekend:

Thursday/Tonight:

USS Ted Stevens Downtown Block Party ⚓️
• Thursday, October 8, 4:00 - 8:00 pm
• Front Street
• Live Music, Photo Booth, and Vendors happening downtown on Front Street. The party is free and open to the public, so bring the family, your neighbors, and anyone else who'd like to give this ship a proper Juneau welcome.

Friday:

Breastfeeding Cafe ☕️
• Friday, October 9, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
• Juneau Family Birth Center
• Join us for a warm drop-in gathering for breastfeeding parents and those new to or entering the fourth trimester! Enjoy a cozy atmosphere with tea, snacks, and engaging conversation. Bring your little one, and let's create a joyful space to learn, laugh, and uplift one another!

Family Fun Night ⚽️
• Friday, October 9, 5:00-6:30 pm
• Dimond Park Field House
• Parks & Recreation and Southeast Childhood Collective invite you to bring your little ones (ages 0–6) to run, play, and burn off energy, We'll have lots of toys – wagons, slides, balls, and more – plus plenty of open space for safe and active fun. The best part? It's FREE!

Saturday:

Preschool Harvesting Event🥕
• Saturday, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon
• Juneau Community Garden, on Montana Creek Rd
• Join our naturalists as we harvest our garden, wash vegetables (and maybe snack on some too), and play outdoor games! Recommended for families with children age 2-6, but everyone is welcome!

Sunday:

Fire Station Story Time🚒
• Sunday, October 11th, 1:00-2:30pm
• Douglas Public Library Large Meeting Room
• Read stories, sing songs, and take a tour of the Douglas Fire Stationwith firefighters from Capital City Fire & Rescue!

Thank you to our partners and community members offering resources and opportunities for our Juneau families!
Got something to add? Keep us updated if you have any family friendly events happening around town 🥰

Childhood CollectiveJuneau Economic Development Council (JEDC)Juneau Parks & Recreation Southeast Alaska Birth Collective southeast Juneau Public Libraries

10/06/2026

We know that reading to a child before age 5 has invaluable impact across their lifespan.. but what does reading to a baby look and feel like?

Reading to your child each day promotes their vocabulary development, comprehension, and development. The physical closeness of reading also shapes their body rhythm and connection. Through reading, relationships flourish and attachment is secured.

Reading to your child will benefit them in so many ways. Here are a few techniques to help them grow while meeting them where they’re at as the earliest readers. 🥰

10/06/2026

It’s Election Day!
Today is the day to share your voice and vote!

The crisp air, the leaves falling, the seasons change.. which means election season is here!

It’s a good time to take a look at what’s on the ballot and get informed about what matters most to you and your family. The regular municipal election in Juneau takes place on October 6th, 2026. This year there are several offices and three propositions on the ballot.

Many people feel anxious about elections, but you don’t have to be an expert. Take a little time to learn, ask questions, have conversations, and think about what you want for your family and for the community you call home. Being informed helps us make intentional choices and use our voices in ways that reflect what we care about and what we hope to see in our community.

Your voice matters. Your vote matters. And so does the future we’re building together for our children and community.

10/05/2026

Hey you, 🤍
Parenting can feel like a little bit of everything, all at once, all the time..

The noise, the mess, the rushing out the door, the forgotten water bottle, dirty diapers in the driveway, the bedtime negotiations… and then suddenly there’s a belly laugh, a little hand hold, a silly dance in the kitchen, or a moment that makes you stop and think.. this is the good stuff.

Somewhere in the everyday shuffle, there is so much joy tucked in too.

Take a step back and give yourself a pat on the back.

You’re doing it all, and you’re making it all happen. What a beautiful busy life you’ve created.

Proud of you. Love you,
SCC 🤍

10/02/2026

Heads up, our office will be closed next week while our team invests in Professional Development Opportunities to better support and serve our community!

SCC will be represented at both the Annual PAT Conference and the Child Care Aware Conference. We are dedicated to lifelong learning and growing our capacities. We look forward to bringing back new knowledge and a renewed perspective to serve our community 🥰

10/01/2026

🖍🧸🫧Registration is Open! 🫧🧸🖍

This is a playdate you won't want to miss! Register now to get all the updates.

Our 2027 conference will celebrate the power of playful learning, child-led exploration, and joyful discovery.
Together, we’ll enjoy hands-on activities that inspire curiosity, foster meaningful relationships, and create engaging, developmentally appropriate learning experiences for children ages birth through five.

Save the Date:

March 12 – 13, 2027
Centennial Hall, 101 Egan Drive, Juneau, Alaska

Limited Hotel rooms have been reserved at the Ramada Hotel directly across the parking lot from the Conference Hall. Find more information in our brochure and website.

Opportunities to Get Involved:

Present a Session – Share your expertise, experience, and wisdom with this inspiring community! Complete a Presenter Proposal.

Offer Resources & Information – Contribute tools, materials, or services that support early childhood development and education. Sign up to host a Resource / Vendor Table

Sponsor Our Event – Further the reach of this event to promote the positive impact on our educators and the families they serve.

Please reach out to our Conference Coordinator, Joanna Forst, via email with any and all questions about the event!

We look forward to all the playful learning yet to come!

09/30/2026

🎃🍂 Check out the October 2026 Juneau Parent Bulletin for great resources and community events coming up this month! 🍂🎃

https://mailchi.mp/childhoodcollective.org/juneauparentbulletin-may-18245484

Alaska 529 Juneau Public Libraries Bartlett Baby and Toddler Groups Best Beginnings United Way of Southeast Alaska Juneau Parks & Recreation NAMI Juneau

09/28/2026

🤍 Opportunity for Connection 🤍
New parents are invited to join the Balanced Beginnings Group starting a new series tomorrow, September 29.

Click the link below to learn more and register. Read more:

All new parents experience stress. Having insight into some tools can help! Balanced Beginnings is a small group series aimed at increasing parental stress management skills. Join us for a 6 week series where you will meet new friends and explore this material.

This fall, we will be offering this series as an in-person weekly support group Tuesdays beginning September 29 through November 3rd. Each session is scheduled to take place from 12-1pm in Southeast Childhood Collective's cozy playroom. We encourage folks to attend all six weeks to get the most benefit. Throughout the series folks will make contact with other new parents, explore some of the common stressors of new parenthood, and discuss/build skills that strengthen our ability to "balance" these stressors.

This particular offering is aimed at folks in the first 6-months or so of postpartum life, and infants in arms or on blankets are encouraged and welcome to attend with their mothers/parents.

Group is facilitated by Sara Gress MS, RN, IBCLC, PMH-C and Renee Sullivan LPC, PMH-C

This series is a collaborative effort between Bartlett Regional Hospital, REACH Inc. ILP, and Childhood Collective.

Balanced Beginnings: Parental Stress Management Skill Building takes place on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM. Learn more and register online.

09/27/2026

Childhood Collective is in the news again!
Read the full article to hear more from our executive Director, Blue Shibler, on our advocacy to bring relief to Alaska’s Childcare Desert.
Follow our page to learn more about our efforts, services, and mission 🤍

Alaska childcare providers, families and employers are under intense strain with the lack of childcare availability and funding, according to advocates. They are calling for major state investment in the childcare industry and seeking policy changes under the next governor and Alaska State Legislatu...

09/26/2026

“Finding childcare in Juneau is difficult and can be especially challenging for healthcare workers who work nontraditional hours.

The strain may be slightly eased after a Juneau nonprofit received grant funding under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Approximately $215,000 will go toward creating a childcare center for Bartlett Regional Hospital employees.

Blue Shibler, executive director of Southeast Childhood Collective, said providing childcare to hospital employees can help with recruitment and retention, which will improve healthcare in Juneau.

She said the goal is to cater childcare access to employee needs….

Shibler, with Southeast Childhood Collective, said they already found a potential provider located about two miles from the hospital. Glacier Bears Childcare Center was displaced by the 2024 glacial outburst flood and eventually relocated to the current location. According to Alaska’s childcare provider search, the center was most recently licensed on Sept. 1 and can take in 30 children.

But more work needs to be done before the program can begin. Shibler said they need to figure out the childcare needs of employees, create an agreement between the hospital, nonprofit and childcare provider, and to prepare the center to fit family needs.

While the program will prioritize hospital employees, Shibler said families currently at Glacier Bears will not be removed from the program.

In addition to starting the program, two other grants will expand the collective’s ongoing programs. More than $150,000 will go toward its Parents as Teachers program to support families in the first three months after having a baby.

Another roughly $230,000 will expand its apprenticeship program to train people in Southeast Alaska to become early childhood educators.

More than a dozen other projects that include Juneau also received grant funding, which will go toward supporting various healthcare initiatives.

A Juneau nonprofit received grant funding to create a childcare center for Bartlett Regional Hospital employees.