A ministry of Santa Rita Parish
Pocket is the child care of Santa Rita Parish in Anthony. Four rooms from six weeks to five years, teachers who sing and read in both languages, and a state license you can check.
What you can check
Pocket is licensed by the State of New Mexico as a child care center, and a ministry of Santa Rita Parish.
Licensed by NM ECECD
Child care center · NM License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 6 children
Infants, 6 weeks to 2 years
1 adult to 10 children
Twos, 2 to 3 years
1 adult to 12 children
Threes, 3 to 4 years
1 adult to 12 children
Fours, 4 to 5 years
Capacity
60
Ages 6 weeks to 5 years
A teacher hands each child to you at the room door. We release a child only to the people on your pickup list.
Tell us about any allergy at the tour. Once you enroll, we ask again in private.
Babies sleep on their backs, in their own cots, with nothing else in the cot.
Every room washes hands on arrival, before meals and after outdoor play.
Each room practices fire and weather drills with the teacher who leads it.
Visitors sign in at the front desk, and a teacher walks them to the room.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
The four rooms
Choose a schedule for your child's room.
| Ages | Adults to children | Full day7:00 am–5:30 pm5 days a week | School day8:30 am–3:00 pm5 days a week | Morning program8:30 am–12:00 pmMonday, Wednesday and Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infants6 weeks to 2 yearsTheir own cot, a mat on the floor and a rocking chair. | 1 adult to 6 children | Offered | Not offered | Not offered |
| Twos2 to 3 yearsPlay kitchen, blocks and the first art table. | 1 adult to 10 children | Offered | Offered | Waitlist |
| Threes3 to 4 yearsCircle time, paint and a reading corner. | 1 adult to 12 children | Offered | Offered | Offered |
| Fours4 to 5 yearsStories, songs and a walk across the lawn to church. | 1 adult to 12 children | Offered | Offered | Not offered |
Places in each room change through the year. Ask at a tour.
Sample programs.
Four rooms, one path
A child moves up when ready, and you hear about it before the move.
Tummy time, floor play and songs in two languages
Bottles, meals and naps on each baby's own rhythm
Board books and soft toys with a teacher close by
Agripina talks with you before your child is ready for the Twos, and your child visits the room first with a teacher.
Playing beside friends and starting to share
Singing, clapping and a blessing before lunch
Dressing up in the play kitchen
Addilyn leads the Twos and walks the group to the Threes room for a visit in spring.
Circle time, the calendar and helping jobs
Stories from picture books and from the Bible
Painting, cutting and gluing
Shandiin leads the Threes. Near the end of the year the group spends a morning in the Fours room.
Writing a name and listening to a longer story
Counting games with blocks and beads
Walking to church together for the feast days
Calixto teaches the Fours. In spring, he and you plan the move to kindergarten together.
Sample levels.
Our team
Higinia, Agripina and Calixto speak Spanish with the children and with families. Addilyn and Shandiin teach the Twos and the Threes, and you meet them at the tour.
Director
Higinia grew up in the Mesilla Valley and has directed Pocket since it opened as a ministry of Santa Rita Parish. She greets families at the front door, speaks Spanish and English with them and walks you through the license at your tour.
Infants room lead
Agripina cares for our youngest children and keeps a note for each family at pickup: bottles, naps and what your baby tried today. She sings to the babies in Spanish.
Fours teacher
Calixto teaches the Fours: stories, songs, counting games with wooden blocks and the walk across the parish lawn to church. He speaks Spanish and English with the children.
Through the year
Come to an open house to see all four rooms, or book a tour any weekday.
Early August
Walk through every room and meet each teacher. Parish families and neighbors are both welcome.
Late August
Children visit their new room with a parent the week before.
Early November
Closed for All Saints' Day.
Mid December
Closed for the feast. The week before, the children sing Las Mañanitas.
Late December
Closed from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.
March or April
Closed on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
Mid April
Applications open to parish families and neighbors at the same time.
Book a tourLate May
The parish fiesta. Families are invited after pickup.
Sample dates.
Our parish
Pocket is the child care of a Catholic parish, and the parish hall is where we gather for feast days.
Each day has a short prayer, a song and a blessing before lunch, at each age's pace. We keep the parish's feast days in English and Spanish, and families of any faith, or none, are welcome.
A short prayer and a blessing before lunch
Feast days kept in English and Spanish
Families of any faith, or none
Call the front desk, write to us or use the form. Higinia or the front desk answers within a day.
Come see the rooms with your child. A tour takes about half an hour, and you can ask anything, including about tuition.
Fill in the application and tell us which room and schedule you hope for. If the room is full, we put your family on the waitlist.
When there is a place, you complete the enrollment forms in private: your child's details, health and the people who may pick up.
Bring a change of clothes and what your child sleeps with. A teacher meets you at the room door, and you are welcome to stay a while.
Pocket is a ministry of Santa Rita Parish, a Catholic parish, so a short prayer, a song and a blessing before lunch are part of each day, at each age's pace. You see what a day looks like when you visit.
No. Families of any faith, or none, are welcome, and we don't ask which parish you belong to.
Yes. Pocket is licensed by ECECD, New Mexico's early childhood agency, as a child care center. The license number is at the bottom of every page.
From six weeks to the year before kindergarten, in four rooms: Infants, Twos, Threes and Fours.
Write or call, and we tell you whether your child's room has a place. If it is full, we put your family on the waitlist and call when one opens.