Infant and Toddler Care
Fueling Your Child’s Natural Desire to Learn
Kaune is a warm and welcoming place for children 0–5 years old. Our educators start with a foundation built on relationships and social-emotional learning. We support children in developing the skills they need to work, play, and interact with other members of our school community. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach® to learning, educators create classroom environments that promote curiosity, exploration, and discovery—igniting a lifelong love of learning. Our program is nationally accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which ensures programs meet ten standards of high-quality early childhood education.
In 2023, we opened two toddler classrooms serving children 1-3 years old. The infant room, serving babies 6 weeks to one year old, opened in August 2024.
Early Learning Center at Kaune Philosophy
Application Details and Deadlines
The application for our Infant and Toddler Program is currently closed while we conduct the lottery and update our waitlists for the 2025-26 program year. The application will reopen in August 2025 for families that would like to be added on the waitlist.
The Infant and Toddler Program consists of three classrooms: the infant room will serve babies 6 weeks old up to their first birthday; the Toddler 1 Room will serve children aged 1 to 2.5 years, and; the Toddler 2 classroom will support children from 2.5 years old up until the child is age eligible for the Early PreK Program.
With limited infant and toddler care spots available, we prioritize families currently receiving services through Growing Up New Mexico (Great Start, Home Visiting, Bridges to Opportunity, and siblings of current PreK/Early PreK students). Priority status DOES NOT guarantee a spot in our program. A lottery will be held for families who have priority status to determine who is offered a slot. After the priority spaces are filled, the remaining applicants within the priority pool will be added to the rest of the applications for the final lottery to completely fill all spaces.
Those who are not selected in the lottery process will be placed on a waitlist. The application deadline for the 2024-25 program year is July 19, 2024. The lottery will be held the week of July 22nd. Applications received after the lottery will be added to the waitlist in the order they are received.
If your child is selected to attend the Early Learning Center at Kaune, you will be contacted by phone. Each family is responsible for keeping their contact information current. Our staff will attempt to contact a family twice. If a family is unresponsive to calls and messages, staff will note that the family has declined enrollment and will not call again.
We are a full year, full-day program, Monday-Thursday from 7:30am-4pm and Fridays from 7:30am-1pm.
Monthly tuition is as follows:
Infants = $1,500 (6 weeks-1 year old)
Toddler 1 = $1,400 (1 yr- 2.5 yrs old)
Toddler 2 = $1,300 (2.5+)
Annual Program Fee= $200 (due within the first three months)
The program will begin Tuesday, August 13. Your child’s start date is dependent on completion of the full registration packet and the transition plan as determined with your child’s teacher.
Please contact us at: prek@growingupnm.org or at (505) 303-3950, with any questions you may have.
The application for our Infant and Toddler Program is currently closed while we conduct the lottery and update our waitlists for the 2025-26 program year. The application will reopen in August 2025 for families that would like to be added on the waitlist.
For Prek and Early Prek Program (3-5 year olds) application CLICK HERE.
“In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.”