Jardin de los Ninos opened its doors to the homeless children of Las Cruces at Peace Lutheran Church in 1996. It began with only two classrooms but it has come a long way since then. In September of 2001 Jardin de los Ninos moved into a new building in the Community of Hope. It was built with Federal and state Government funds, the City of Las Cruces and a grant from the Wolslager Foundation. In this new facility up to 89 children will be able to receive services at any given time.
Jardin de los Ninos offers many services to the families such as assistance securing things like housing, food, medical care, clothing and many other basic needs that the families may have. We also offer weekly parenting classes which help with parenting and life skills. Most importantly we offer high quality early childhood experiences for their children so that parents can feel safe while they work, go to school or do whatever necessary to stabilize their families.
Jardin de los Ninos is currently a Focus Pilot Program with the state of New Mexico and we are very excited with all of the positive changes going on for the children of our state. Our highly qualified staff bases their daily planning on each child’s needs, development, special interest and the belief that children learn best through play and exploration. We also believe that children need to be involved in a close, trusting relationship with their caregivers so they feel safe and secure to learn in their environments. We are proud to have completed the ninth year of offering Pre-k to the 4 year old children of the neediest part of our community who may have not had other access to high quality early childhood experience. With the help of New Mexico Pre-K we are excited to help the children of our community continue to thrive and grow. Our program is offered Monday through Friday with extended childcare hours from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Our Pre-K session runs from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
