Diller’s Sweet Peas Academy celebrates one year of childcare service in Southeast Nebraska 

“These kids, it’s their generation, we’ve got to make sure that they’re well taken care of, and they’re given all the love and support.” 

For the last 13 months, that’s been the motto at Diller’s Sweet Peas Academy, one of Southeast Nebraska’s newest childcare centers. 

They celebrated their first anniversary as a daytime home for up to a dozen kids from infants up to age five in December, but it hasn’t been an easy road to get here. 

“If I didn’t have our team here and we didn’t have the backing of the community of Diller, I don’t think we would be here today. It was something that was kind of put on my husband and I’s hearts to get this open and up and going again for the community members, and they’ve been nothing short of supportive. So today’s really a day to celebrate them, to show how much we appreciate our staff, and to celebrate all the hurdles that we’ve needed to overcome to get here.” 

An early childhood educator originally, Ruzicka-Scheele was inspired to make the jump into childcare center operation after a chance meeting with Sen. Teresa Ibach at a convention in 2024. The existing Diller daycare was closing and in dire need of new ownership, and with the only real options in the area in Fairbury or Beatrice, many children – and their parents – in the area were in need of a new daytime destination.  

Taylor and her husband Kolin jumped in, tapping into the “fire in their bellies,” as she put it, and began researching everything that starting up a new childcare center would entail – and it entails a lot more than one might think.  

“I would say, for anyone opening a daycare or a childcare center, the first year is going to be the toughest, but at about that 10- or 11-month mark, things start to smooth out, and you really start to find your groove,” she said. “The first couple months are hard, but do not give up. Keep in perspective the ‘why’ - the kids are why. They love coming here, and if I can create that safe space for them then that’s worth all the challenges, and all the things I have to be innovative and creative with to make everything work systemically. Hopefully it’s up and up from here, now we have our feet under us.” 

Now, with some of the many startup hurdles overcome – hopefully for good – a pervading feeling of uncertainty has been replaced by one of gratitude. 

“So much gratitude for the community sending different employees and different staff our way, just being blessed by the right people at the right time to create a great staff here for these kids, and also just gratitude that we’re able to provide these services for the families, and that they feel confident dropping their child off every day,” Ruzicka-Scheele said. “We have families joke that their kids wake up on Saturday mornings and ask when they’re going to daycare. I’m just so filled with gratitude that kids truly love being here to play, they enjoy being here, and the parents feel confident in the childcare they’re receiving, especially in a rural area.” 

One of those staff members is Heather Eads, a toddler teacher who’s been part of the Sweet Peas team since August. She’s tasked with coming up with themes to help guide the kids’ learning and passions – like Nutrition Week, where the kids cut up pieces of paper to create their own “scissor salads.” 

“Taylor’s really just let me have the reins with it, creating different themes and activities for the kids to do,” Eads said. “We have some toddlers, some infants, and some preschool kids, and even the school-aged kids sometimes, and I just try to come up with activities for the kids to play with and use. I just make the day worthwhile for the kids, and not in front of a screen or whatnot. We’re interacting, we’re learning things. I feel like I’ve been a big part of that, and that’s what I love doing for the kids too.” 

Her own passion and dedication is going to help her rise to the role of director in the next few months, enabling Heather to continue to work directly with the kids and free Taylor up to work on more of the administrative side now that the operation is finally fully off the ground and in flight.  

“Just having quality care and love for the kids, and getting to know them at their level – I think that’s what parents want,” Eads said. “Each and every one of these kids, I’ve really grown to know them over the months, and they all have their milestones, and I get to be part of all of that. It’s important to have that. It’s such a precious time in their life, and they’re learning so much, so you want to have activities and arts and things that they can use to learn and grow.” 

Part of those big picture plans for Ruzicka-Scheele is working with a team of parents and other childcare providers to affect change in the regulations that make it harder for small centers and in-home operations in more rural parts of the state like Diller to start up and stay running. Sweet Peas hosted Dr. Steve Corsi, Ashley Newmyer, and other reps from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services at the end of last year to help showcase some of their concerns – an experience which has helped encourage Ruzicka-Scheele to help lead that charge in Lincoln and beyond.  

“I think there’s a need for childcare, but there’s mostly a need for childcare that fits the family’s budget,” she said.” And unfortunately, our operating costs are just much higher than we would like them to be, and we’re doing everything we can to keep them low for families, but the operating costs are just up there right now.” 

Now that the first batch of Sweet Peas Academy students have officially begun to get settled, they’re looking to expand: these days they host anywhere between eight and 12 kids, but they have space for up to ten more. They already have people on a waiting list, and are actively seeking out the staff needed to care for them – especially if they can help pass some updated guidelines to make hiring new staff a bit smoother.