Helping children become not only lifelong learners but good people and global citizens.
High-Quality Holistic Education that is fun and developmentally appropriate, while focusing on the` development of The Whole Child in Albany Park, Chicago, Illinois.
Small Class Size for more personal attention and multi-age class for individualized learning.
Highly credentialed and Award Winning Staff and Handwriting Without Tears ™
Illinois Whole Child School Winner, Holistic and Progressive Education
Conscious Discipline™, Calm Classroom ™
The Science of Reading and Writing Guide literacy practices.
All Inclusive Enrichments including Fun Fitness & Dance, Music & Movement.
I’m so grateful to have worked with children and families for over 38 years! Over 16 of those years professionally as a State Certified Teacher specializing in ages Birth- 3rd Grade. My Teaching and Volunteer Experience spans from Non-Profit, to Centers, Private, Public, and Parochial Schools. Working with children and families is truly my life’s Passion! My degrees are in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, and Psychology: Human Growth and Development with Graduate Work in Early Childhood Administration and pursuing my PhD in the Fall. I have an Illinois Gateways ECE Level V Credential and Illinois Director’s
Credential and currently completing my Family Childcare Credential.
I am an Internationally Accredited Mindfulness for Children Practitioner, Certified in First Aid & CPR, and have completed several Business Cohorts with The Women’s Business Development Center. Currently, I’m being certified in Breathe for Change 200+Hour Wellness, SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and Yoga Teacher Training. I won The Whole Child School Award from the Illinois ASCD for my work here at The Play Lab. I was 1 of 5 winners in the entire state of Illinois and the only winner from Chicago this year. Best practices in Early Childhood Education and Business are of the highest importance to me, so I am mentored and membered with the Top Leaders in the Industry. I’m Married to a loving husband, have 1 amazing Son, and I also helped raise four other awesome young men. Aside from my passion for Education and Child Development, I love to read, travel, the arts, my community work and activism, and spending time with my loved ones.
I founded The Play Lab because I have a passion for progressive early childhood education, but I was very disheartened with our educational system. I witnessed overpopulated classrooms, unappreciated teachers, schools that had become more and more laser focused on academics and with preparing students for incessant testing. They kept inundating these young minds and our educators with never ending piles of paperwork, traditional and rote learning that didn’t empower the multiple intelligences and diverse learning styles. All without taking the time out to nurture and establish relationships with the children and their families or their teachers. My own personal experience as a child and witnessing this lit a spark within that grew to a powerful flame. One that fueled my inspiration and led me to my Vision for The Play Lab.
Melinda is such an amazing, compassionate and talented teacher. She instills confidence in her students and educates them, and cares what they truly deserve. The Play Lab is a home away from home.
Melinda is one of the most compassionate, loving, caring & nurturing souls I've ever had the pleasure of knowing! She is the BEST person to help teach your children everything a pre-schooler should know before entering kindergarten! She even teaches about nutrition, gardening, music & how to be kind to everyone, in addition to the traditional colors, ABC's & 123's. I would bet money; she's even teaching a way more advanced curriculum than is required to enter a kindergarten class. Any child would be lucky to attend The Play Lab & be even luckier to have Ms. Melinda as their teacher!
My daughter has attended this school for the past 2 years. She was a prematurely born baby with a lot of hard work ahead of her. We had worked with different therapists and different Doctors to overcome some major hurdles through the past 4 1/2 years of my daughter's young and growing life. We had not-so-good experiences with some and great experiences with others. Time and again we had doubts and worried about giving her the proper ambiance that can help her to prosper but our prayers were answered when Melinda took over. She has gone above and beyond her job as a teacher. We owe her eternally for this.
Having filmed multiple events for The Play Lab, I've seen firsthand the impact that The Play Lab and its founder Melinda Martinez have had on its students. I witnessed firsthand the growth of the students as they were fully engrossed in Mrs. Martinez's philosophies and teachings. She keeps her class size small, so she can ensure her focus will be on one on one interactions with her students, and that all students will get equal amounts of attention. She incorporates "play-based" teachings so that her young students have fun while they are learning. These students will go on to bigger and better things in life and will do so because of what they learned, and the friendships they forget while at The Play Lab with Mrs. Melinda Martinez
My son attended The Play Lab for preschool and I literally can not say enough good things about the experience. Ms. Melinda, aka TiTi, is an outstanding teacher. Her gentle, loving spirit taught my son how to self-soothe and tackle problems with ease. Her progressive approach to teaching should be taught everywhere. The children at the Play Lab learn to meditate, and get involved in community work, they become young activists along with traditional kindergarten readiness. Learning is fun at Pay Lab.
Scelerisque ante platea nullam himenaeos quam sollicitudin ullamcorper sodales tristique massa duis class volutpat donec neque molestie lorem, potenti amet platea convallis purus per convallis etiam quis nisi per sodales sapien. Bccaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est
Scelerisque ante platea nullam himenaeos quam sollicitudin ullamcorper sodales tristique massa duis class volutpat donec neque molestie lorem, potenti amet platea convallis purus per convallis etiam quis nisi per sodales sapien. Bccaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est
Scelerisque ante platea nullam himenaeos quam sollicitudin ullamcorper sodales tristique massa duis class volutpat donec neque molestie lorem, potenti amet platea convallis purus per convallis etiam quis nisi per sodales sapien. Bccaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est
