About
Plum Tree School is a small, home-based care and education program for young children and their families where children take part in activities such as practicing mindfulness throughout the day and free, unstructured play in indoor and outdoor environments. The program includes creating a “Mother Earth” culture through story, song, visual arts, and outdoor play, and it integrates music and movement throughout each session. Families are invited to regular gathering experiences and seasonal celebrations, and teachers maintain consistent communication with each child's family through daily conversation, family gatherings, and conferences about the child's growth and learning.
The essential focus of Plum Tree School is to nurture and sustain warm, consistent, and long-lasting relationships between children, parents, and teachers, and its practice and program structure support the belief that all meaningful learning happens within the context of a loving and dependable relationship. Mindfulness at Plum Tree School is described as an essential educational tool that develops attention, emotional and cognitive understanding, bodily awareness and coordination, and interpersonal awareness and skills, and diminishes stress, anxiety, and hostility. The program emphasizes a holistic learning environment with a teaching approach that emphasizes mindfulness, movement, empathy, and creative, outdoor-based play, and it offers regular family gathering experiences and seasonal celebrations to build a sense of community.
Melanie Luedders is the Director of Plum Tree School, Director of the Spokane Community Choir, an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in their Integrated Teaching of the Arts program, and Director of Plum Tree Center for Mindfulness. The leadership team also includes Administrator/Teacher Phaedra Jarrett; Teachers Heidi Montez, Jayme Almanza, Kelsey Bickel, and Josie Barbe. Melanie has lived in Spokane for 30 years with her three daughters and various animal friends. Phaedra is a native of San Francisco, developed an early passion for dancing, had a 15-year career as a professional ballet dancer, and later headed the children's department at the Academy of Dance working with children ages 3 to 7. Heidi has a dual BA/BS in Sustainability and Biology from Evergreen State College. Jayme enrolled in and completed an RYT 200 Yoga Teacher training and certification once settled back in Spokane. Josie received her BA in Art History with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Western Washington University and is pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
The essential focus of Plum Tree School is to nurture and sustain warm, consistent, and long-lasting relationships between children, parents, and teachers, and its practice and program structure support the belief that all meaningful learning happens within the context of a loving and dependable relationship. Mindfulness at Plum Tree School is described as an essential educational tool that develops attention, emotional and cognitive understanding, bodily awareness and coordination, and interpersonal awareness and skills, and diminishes stress, anxiety, and hostility. The program emphasizes a holistic learning environment with a teaching approach that emphasizes mindfulness, movement, empathy, and creative, outdoor-based play, and it offers regular family gathering experiences and seasonal celebrations to build a sense of community.
Melanie Luedders is the Director of Plum Tree School, Director of the Spokane Community Choir, an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in their Integrated Teaching of the Arts program, and Director of Plum Tree Center for Mindfulness. The leadership team also includes Administrator/Teacher Phaedra Jarrett; Teachers Heidi Montez, Jayme Almanza, Kelsey Bickel, and Josie Barbe. Melanie has lived in Spokane for 30 years with her three daughters and various animal friends. Phaedra is a native of San Francisco, developed an early passion for dancing, had a 15-year career as a professional ballet dancer, and later headed the children's department at the Academy of Dance working with children ages 3 to 7. Heidi has a dual BA/BS in Sustainability and Biology from Evergreen State College. Jayme enrolled in and completed an RYT 200 Yoga Teacher training and certification once settled back in Spokane. Josie received her BA in Art History with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Western Washington University and is pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.
Last updated January 16, 2026.
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