German Children's Music Circle

Positive Discipline Course

As our daughter went through her “terrible twos,” my husband and I found ourselves in more
challenging situations and we did not like how we handled them. We wanted to learn more about positive discipline as an alternative to more traditional techniques that we grew up with and joined Steffi’s online course. It was well constructed, the pace was good, she provided exercises to keep us engaged, and relevant examples to make the concepts clearer. Steffi was also able to bring her own experiences as a mother to the discussions and showed that she also practices what she is teaching. She taught us problem solving and communication skills that make challenging situations with our children less intimidating.

German Children's Music Circle

We joined Steffi’s German music circle when she began offering online sessions in September of 2020. My 3-year-old daughter surprised me by warming up to Steffi by the 2nd week. Steffi’s warm personality had my daughter engaged and enjoying herself as she began singing along. She now calls Steffi a friend and is excited to sing, dance and laugh with her. My 1-year-old son loves warming up at the beginning of each session and continues to interact throughout. I was not sure what to expect with the online
format when we first joined and have been pleasantly surprised with how Steffi has managed everything. She makes sure to include movement and instruments, selects songs that are relevant to the season and continues to mix in new songs while bringing back familiar favorites. We have all learned a lot from the music circle and look forward to the fun we have each session.

We absolutely adore Steffi! My children and I have been attending her music circle for two years. Steffi‘s love for children, their families, and music is tangible in every class. She is fun, engaging, and knowledgeable, both in person and since the onset of the pandemic on zoom. I have learned so much about both music and children’s musical development from her. I love that she chooses music that I remember from my childhood in as well as more contemporary Kinderlieder. The songs we sing with Steffi become favorites that we sing on our own throughout the week, often followed by my two–year old‘s proclamation that “Steffi hat uns dieses Lied geschenkt” (Steffi gifted us this song). I cannot recommend Steffi’s music circle enough! 
 

My husband and I also completed Steffi’s positive discipline course on zoom. Steffi’s presentation was concise, well-organized, and interactive. We not only gained workable, effective strategies for helping our children through difficult emotions, but we also learned about toddlers’ development, different temperaments and their manifestations, as well as our own emotional triggers. Through Steffi’s class we are able to understand our children and ourselves as parents better and so are able to handle challenging situations compassionately and effectively. 

My son and I love going to German music class with Stefanie! Stefanie is wonderfully warm and so welcoming we felt immediately comfortable. She is very considerate and caring, and her joy and enthusiasm for music and the kids is palpable. She is German trained in music education and she’s always got some interesting tid bits to share with parents. We have enjoyed getting to know her and becoming part of the German community there. It’s been a great way to connect with and meet other German speaking parents and kids in the Bay Area.

We can absolutely recommend Steffis Music Circle! We’ve been there since my daughter is 9 month old and it’s so much fun and education. The songs which are chosen by Steffi are perfect for singing and dancing and we really like going to this music circle. It’s also a good way to get to know more people. 

Absolutely great! I cannot say how much we loved this class! Highly recommend!
I have attended this class with both our first and second daughter, and I myself loved it as much as the girls did. Steffi is a wonderful person and teacher. Her class is organized and structured the same way each week with a welcome and farewell song, in between are dancing, percussion, and quiet time songs. Steffi will repeat songs often enough to learn them without ever repeating them too often. She has amazing knowledge and experience with musical educating for all ages including infants and her enthusiasm really shows.
But what soothed the sometimes homesick mother's heart most was singing all those songs again that I myself grew up with. Thank you!