Twos | 24 months - 36 months | Serving Albuquerque, Tijeras, & All East Mountain Communities

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). We have two-year-old classrooms at all four locations.

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.

In play-based learning, play is the primary way that children learn. Playful games, toys, puzzles, and activities introduce new concepts for children to explore, solve, and build skills. Activities may be structured, open-ended, child-led, or teacher-directed, with a focus on fun and joy. Examples of play-based learning include building structures with blocks, painting, or creating crafts, acting out or making up stories, and engaging with sensory materials like sand and water.

Learning through play has great benefits for children, including improved cognitive skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and logical reasoning; more advanced social skills like cooperation, communication, negotiation, compromise, and self-confidence; stronger fine motor skills (like handwriting) and gross motor skills (like running and jumping). Perhaps the greatest benefit of play-based learning is that the positive and engaging experience instills a lifelong love of discovery.

Learning centers in toddler classrooms help lay a foundation for social skills, cognitive development, and physical skills. Each topic-focused station invites hands-on, playful exploration that builds independence, confidence, and self-regulation by allowing them to make choices and navigate activities at their own pace.

Outdoor play is vital to early development and has a number of benefits. Moving, climbing, and playing outside builds gross motor skills, coordination, spatial awareness, and confidence. Children can take safe risks, which build problem-solving skills. Outdoor activities promote socialization with other children, which supports communication and empathy. Gardening outdoors fosters a connection to nature and encourages children to think about the world.

Our teacher-to-child ratios exceed state standards — 1:6 for twos (the state requires 1:8). The benefit of low teacher-to-child ratios is more interaction and personalized attention for each child, so they can learn at their own pace and in their preferred style.

A healthy balanced diet is important for healthy growth and development in early learners. NMELA provides nutritious, allergy-conscious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for our students every day. Meals and snacks are prepared by our chef with fresh ingredients, including veggies from the garden.

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.

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.

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.

We proudly partner with Early Head Start to offer early education for under-3s, and FREE New Mexico Pre-K for 4-to-5-year-olds. Early Head Start is a free, federally-funded support program focusing on early learning, health, and family well-being. NM Pre-K is a free, state-funded education program that prepares children for kindergarten.

New Mexico Early Learning Center stands out for its play-based curriculum, low student-to-teacher ratios, high-quality facilities designed for active learning indoors and outside, above-average standards for cleanliness and sanitization, strict safety and security measures, and nutritious food program.