Summer has arrived, and with it comes beautiful weather and longer days. This month we celebrated fathers, who play an important role in the early education and development of children. We also concluded Faces of Child Care, our eight-week series of stories from individuals who are transforming the child care system in inspiring ways. Learn more about our series and how you can make an investment in our nation’s future.

Child care providers—regardless of whether you refer to them as early childhood professionals, educators, or teachers—play a vital role in the early education and care of children. This is especially important given that the early years of a child’s life are the most critical for development. We know that children who receive high-quality child care benefit long-term from these early learning experiences. However, despite the importance of high-quality child care, child care providers earn less per hour than many other professionals within the personal care industry.

May was a busy month for Child Care Aware® of America. We celebrated both mothers and child care providers across the nation as part of Mother’s Day and Provider Appreciation Day. Both serve an important role in not only nurturing but also educating children during crucial developmental stages in their lives.

Below are some additional highlights from May.

This year we celebrate Provider Appreciation Day on May 6 to honor child care providers across the nation for the extraordinary work they do. This special day is intended to recognize all those who nurture, teach, and care for children in multiple settings across the country.

Families face many challenges when seeking child care—is it affordable and accessible, does it meet the child’s needs, and does the child care provider or center meet certain standards and requirements? Now let’s think about the military family, who faces additional obstacles. According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), active-duty military personnel move an average of once every two to three years. And these moves are not trivial, often long distance or to foreign countries. This results in children changing schools and child care providers frequently. In addition, the DoD reports that roughly 70% of military families do not live on base, making access to military-funded child care even more limited.

We were excited to have more than 350 attendees join us for this year’s biennial Child Care Aware® of America 2016 Symposium on April 4-6 in Washington, D.C. Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies and early care professionals from various disciplines and settings joined us from across the nation to celebrate milestones, collaborate for results, and advocate for a high quality, affordable child care system.