We know that every child is unique and deserves a unique education. Our highly qualified teachers and staff guide the way for your child to become independent while making good choices. We strive to ensure that your children will be introduced to every aspect of learning in their formative years, so they're prepared for the future.
We are extremely proud of our excellent staff of teachers, directors and support staff. We require on-going training for our staff through a detailed onboarding orientation, teacher development classes, on-site training, and on-site seminars hosting various certified professionals in the education field. All of our staff are trained in First Aid and CPR. We take great pride and responsibility to keep our children safe while educating and nurturing the children in our care.
Hadas is married to Ilan and together they have four children, each having attended Tiny Tots. Hadas, having initially trained as an accountant and working at Deloitte, left the corporate world to pursue her true love - educating young bilingual children. Hadas has since taken many classes in Early Childhood Education, exceeding the State of Illinois qualifications for a Childcare Center Director and to be prepared to provide the best learning and developmental experiences for the children in her care. From her studies and over 15 years of hands-on, practical experience directing a home daycare program and childcare center of her own, Hadas knows that young children learn best through play and hands-on learning.
Ilan, having worked in corporate finance for over 15 years, left the corporate world to obtain a Masters degree in Education. In addition to taking many courses in Early Childhood Education and exceeding the State of Illinois qualifications for a Childcare Center Director, Ilan has also worked for CPS and obtained his Professional Educator's License through the Illinois State Board of Education.
All of the Tiny Tots graduates have been well adjusted and well prepared for kindergarten with academic school readiness skills, exceptional social skills, and fluent language skills. We invite you to become part of the Tiny Tots family!
Brenden Hejmej brings over 10 years of professional experience working in Reggio-inspired preschools and has a great deal of experience and passion working with young children of all ages. As Assistant Director, Brenden is responsible for supporting the program’s classrooms and assisting with day-to-day management and teacher development. Brenden originally joined Tiny Tots Incorporated in 2020 in the Lead Preschool Teacher role.
Brenden relocated to Chicago from Southern California and embarked on his early childhood career while living in Los Angeles. Brenden earned an Associates degree in early childhood education from Santa Monica College and had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a Reggio Emilia-inspired preschool classroom.
As an educator, Brenden’s personal philosophy is that every child deserves to learn in an enriched environment that is designed to fit each child's individual needs. His goal is to create a welcoming and supportive environment in which every child is free to explore individual interests while developing a lifelong love of learning. In his role as Assistant Director, Brenden strives to ensure that the program’s teachers have the support and guidance needed to be successful and to provide a warm, enriching, and nurturing classroom environment.
When not at Tiny Tots, you can find Brenden spending time with his family, watching soccer, playing golf and chasing his two children, Malcolm and Sloane!
Hannah Nelson is excited to have joined Tiny Tots as the Lead Preschool Teacher! Hannah has taught in various Early Childhood settings for the last 13 years. In college, Hannah worked on campus teaching children’s programming for families who had moved from overseas to live on campus. After college, she spent a summer teaching school-age children in Africa. She then worked at the YMCA for several years teaching preschool, after school programming, as well as summer camp. Hannah has been teaching in the early childhood setting for the last 6 years, mainly in the twos and preschool age groups. Hannah's favorite aspect about teaching is watching each child grow into their own individual personality, develop their own opinions and form their world view. Preschool is one of Hannah's favorite age groups because preschoolers ask so many questions and are always excited to learn and explore. Inside the classroom, you’ll usually find Hannah leading messy projects, fueling their silliness, and dramatically reading books. Hannah also holds a psychology degree and seeks to incorporate social emotional learning every chance she gets in order to set a foundation of emotional intelligence for the next generation. When she's not teaching, Hannah enjoys crafts, trying new dining establishments, going to concerts, and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
Julia Schulgasser is thrilled to be the Preschool Co-Teacher at Tiny Tots! Julia has always been so fond of children and loves getting to see them grow individually. Julia gained lots of valuable experience working as a summer camp counselor for 3 and 4 year old children. Over the years, she has also cared for many young children and is now thrilled to be part of the Tiny Tots team. Julia is very energetic and social which the children are drawn to and she thinks it is fascinating the way that her preschoolers think and socialize and how they learn from each other. Julia loves interacting with the children and getting to know their own individual personalities and help bring out their most creative selves! In her free time, Julia is either hanging out with friends or family or out at different restaurants trying new foods.
Cathryn (Ryn) Langford is originally from central Indiana and moved to Chicago in 2013. Ryn has over two years of experience in early childhood education and fell in love with it! Ryn started as a camp counselor before joining Tiny Tots Incorporated. She has experience working with many different age groups spanning from infants to early elementary age children and has truly loved transitioning into the two year old classroom! Her favorite aspect of teaching is when the children ask her "why?" Helping the children find the answers to their questions and seeing them learn is what she finds most rewarding! Ryn spends her time outside of work reading on the couch with her cats or walking around the neighborhood with her dog.
Lauren Alexander is elated to have joined Tiny Tots Incorporated as a Lead Toddler/Two's Teacher. Lauren graduated in May from Michigan State University with a degree in Human Development Family Studies and has been working with children in the early childhood setting for many years. In 2014, Lauren was a counselor for children entering kindergarten and fell in love with early childhood education and knew that this was the career for her! Lauren also taught as a preschool teacher at a school in East Lansing, Michigan. Lauren cannot wait to get to know all of the children and have an incredible year learning and exploring!
Madison McSherry has joined the Tiny Tots Incorporated family and is delighted to be a part of such an excellent team. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2023 with a degree in Professional Photography. After graduating, she began working as a Teacher Assistant at The Stepping Stones Learning Institute in Trenton, NJ. Madison worked at her previous preschool for over 3 years, giving her great experience working with children of all ages. Since graduating, Madison has found an immense passion for not only photography, but also educating young children. Recently having moved to Chicago, Madison was drawn to Tiny Tots Incorporated "because of their amazing values, staff, and hospitable environment!" Madison strives to create a safe, welcoming classroom to ensure students feel seen, validated, and inspired. She loves guiding the children in expressing their creative freedom through arts and crafts, enjoying music, and exploring the outdoors. In her free time, Madison loves photographing, taking walks and watching movies. Madison is elated to have started her journey at Tiny Tots Incorporated and is thrilled to see what the future holds for her early childhood education endeavors!
Hannah Ewing is the Lead Teacher in our younger infant classroom. Hannah is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. Throughout Hannah’s life, her father’s military career as well as her professional endeavors has given her the opportunity to reside in several different countries. Hannah has lived in places such as Japan, Knoxville and Nashville, and has traveled the majority of her life.
Hannah fell in love with working with children from a very young age and started babysitting at the age of 12. After getting her CPR training and certification, Hannah cared for children every weekend through middle school and high school. Hannah has worked with every age group from infants all the way up to tweens.
In college, Hannah worked on her professional endeavors and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree as a Theatre major and a Dance minor with concentration in acting. After college, Hannah started acting professionally and performing in shows all around Nashville and around the country.
Hannah moved to Chicago in 2017. A month prior to the pandemic, Hannah started her job at a childcare facility as an assistant teacher in the infant room. She was an assistant infant teacher with the youngest babies in the center and that’s where she fell in love with the infant age and their growth anddevelopment process. Through this professional experience as well as additional early childhood courses, Hannah was able to obtain her official CDA certification, which qualifies her as a Lead Teacher. Hannah has such a love and affinity for the little ones and she helps guide all of the infants in her classroom in their development process!
Some other fun information about Hannah is that she is very socially and physically active outside of Tiny Tots. Hannah is a professional actress in not only musical theatre, but classical and Shakespearean acting as well. She also works in film and does many short films, film classes, and 48 hour film festivals in her free time.
She also has a yellow belt in Krav Maga and trains heavily while currently training to obtain her orange belt. She has recently also picked up chess and just started playing tennis. As active as she is, she always enjoys coming home every day to her French Bulldog Boston Terrier cross named "Edgar”! But, no matter how long or how busy Hannah is, she can never stay too far away from loving and working with the little ones in her classroom.
April knew she always wanted to be a teacher from a young
age. April attended Lake Forest college to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Music
with a minor in Music Education. After graduating, she started teaching music
at her first childcare center she was employed at. After about a year into her
teaching music, she began helping out in the infant classroom and loved doing
so even more! April then began teaching in the infant classroom as an Assistant
Teacher and eventually moved into a Lead Teacher role. When she moved to
Chicago, April took on a Lead Teacher role at her previous school before
joining Tiny Tots Incorporated.
Teaching Infants for the past seven years has been
the most rewarding experience for April. She loves singing and doing art with
the children, as well as planning many developmentally appropriate activities.
April structures her classroom in a way that allow children to develop freely
and explore their own curiosities.
Let us help your child experience the love of learning the natural way.
