of their Journey
Early Learning Starts Today
of their Journey
Baby’s Early Learning Starts Today
of Their Journey
Infants | 6 Weeks - 12 Months | Serving Albuquerque, Tijeras, & All East Mountain Communities
This Program Is Now Enrolling For Fall 2025!
Just A Few Spaces Left—Secure Your Spot Today
Highly Responsive Care Forms Strong Bonds
Teachers respond quickly to your baby’s needs, which gives them a sense of security and safety. This responsive care serves 2 purposes: letting your babe form secure caregiving attachments and providing early scaffolding for later social-emotional development.
Your Baby’s Safety Is The Top Priority
Restricted access controls at the main doorbell and access-coded classrooms make things doubly safe, while internal-use-only security cameras monitor classrooms and hallways. A fenced yard and CPR-trained teachers add an extra layer of security.
You Are Your Child’s First & Best Teacher
Leaving your infant in someone else’s care is hard, which makes parent-teacher partnerships essential in the infant room. You advocate for your child while teachers focus on nurturing relationships with the entire family.
Talented Infant Experts With Low Class Ratios
Combine enthusiastic teachers with 1:4 class ratios – better than the state standards! – and you get rich classroom environments that focus on building up the whole child across all developmental areas.
Matching Home Routines Make Transitions Smooth
Transitioning from home to care can be challenging, but teachers do their best to follow your home routines. This is a kind and gentle way of integrating your baby into care instead of forcing a group routine on tiny children.
Loads Of Sensory Play Builds Brain Connections
Babies learn about their world through their senses, so teachers introduce loads of sensory-based materials into your infant’s day. Nontoxic paint, textured toys and materials, soothing colors, and much more expand your baby’s universe.
Plenty Of Free Movement Supports Motor Development
Infants need time to move freely to grow fine and gross motor skills. Tummy time, kicking, wiggling, scooting, rolling, reaching, and grasping seem basic to adults, but to babies, they are essential building blocks for sitting, crawling, walking, and writing!
American Sign Language Boosts Early Communication
Teachers use American Sign Language (not baby sign language) in conjunction with constant interactions to promote language acquisition and development. Talking and responding to your baby’s vocalizations mimics conversation while singing and nursery rhymes teach rhythms.
Outdoor Play Introduces Your Baby To Nature
Age-separated playground spaces mean that the littlest children can enjoy being outside, exploring nature, and challenging their sensory-motor skills without interruption from the big kids! Everybody stays safe and happy.
Communicate Instantly With ProCare® Connect
Parents love the convenience of communicating with the ProCare® Connect app. Instantly connect with your child’s teachers to view schedules and progress reports, ask questions, and even see photos and videos from your child’s day.
Developmental Milestones For Infants
Social-Emotional
Smiles at caregivers, recognizes faces, laughs, plays peek-a-boo, and favors a particular toy.
Physical
Lifts head while lying on tummy, holds head steady without support, rolls over, sits up without support, pulls up to stand.
Communication
Makes a range of sounds, babbles, puts objects in mouth, understands simple words, says “mama” or “dada”.
Your Checklist For Choosing Quality Infant Care In New Mexico
- State or national accreditation or quality rating
- Low baby-to-caregiver ratios and constant, caring supervision
- Teachers or carers with CPR certifications
- A clean environment that’s well-organized for infants
- Experienced, nurturing staff who love their work and answer your questions
- A balance of quiet and active play, with age-appropriate activities that encourage development
- Daily feedback for parents on their baby’s napping and feeding
Infant FAQs
How early can I enroll my baby in daycare?
New Mexico Early Learning Center welcomes babies from 6 weeks old. You can enroll by contacting the center or filling in the online form.
What are your opening hours?
New Mexico Early Learning Academy is open from Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm at four locations in and around Albuquerque (Central, Eubank, Tijeras, and Edgewood). All locations welcome infants from 6 weeks old.
What accreditations do you have?
NMELA holds a NECPA National Accreditation. NECPA stands for the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation; it’s a quality assurance system for early childhood programs. We also maintain a 5-STAR rating from New Mexico’s FOCUS Quality Rating System. Star ratings and national accreditations are a great way to ensure high quality when you’re looking for a preschool or childcare.
What is your teacher-to-infant ratio?
Our teacher-to-child ratios exceed state standards — 1:4 for infants (the state requires 1:6). The benefit of low teacher-to-child ratios is more interaction and personalized attention for each infant, so they can learn at their own pace and in their preferred style.
What safety measures do you have in place?
We have dual-restricted entrances and secure external fences to make sure no one can enter the premises without authorization. Our security cameras cover classrooms and public areas, and all staff are CPR-trained. Strict security measures are in place across all four of NMELA’s locations: Eubank, Central, Tijeras, and Edgewood.
How do I enroll my child?
Enrollment at New Mexico Early Learning Center is easy and customized to you. If you want to tour one of our locations, click Book A Tour and choose your location. After your tour, you can sign up on site. If you’re ready to enroll online, click Contact Us, complete the form with your information, and we’ll get you on board. If you have any questions, you can call or email us.
What documents do I need for enrollment?
To enroll your child, we need your child’s birth certificate or proof of date of birth, your proof of residency, your photo identification, and your child’s up-to-date immunization records. We will also ask for any relevant health and medical information, such as details on any allergies or conditions, and we will take your emergency contact information.
Do you offer financial assistance or accept state funding?
We proudly partner with Early Head Start to offer early education for under-3s. Early Head Start is a free, federally-funded support program focusing on early learning, health, and family well-being.
What makes NMELA’s infant program different from other preschools?
New Mexico Early Learning Center’s infant program stands out for its low student-to-teacher ratios, responsive and communicative caring staff, facilities designed specifically for infant development, above-average standards for cleanliness and sanitization, and strict safety and security measures.