Testimonials
Kathy and her team brought a fantastic wealth of knowledge,
experience and energy to the Kinderflute 2021 course. The content was
brilliant, and the tutors were filled with a boundless energy and enthusiasm
that rubbed off on all of us. Despite being an online attendee, I was welcomed
into the group and learnt an enormous amount. I can’t wait to get my first
Kinderflute class started!
Hattie Jolly UK
I have dreamt about doing this training for many
years, and now that I have taught some intro classes using the things I learned
with Kathy and Molly, I am just over the moon excited about how amazing it
is. The feedback from parents and students has been absolutely wonderful!
This is 100% worth the investment, and I highly recommend it to anyone who
wants to add something very special to their flute studio. . . I will
definitely be back next year!
Chelsea Riches MS
This is one of the best workshops I’ve
attended….The class is so helpful to anyone who teaches kids in the 5-10 year
old age. Kathy Blocki and Molly Shortridge offer a breadth of information, from
fun games and activity ideas, to helpful tips on teaching flute technique and
musical concepts to younger learners. My only regret is that I didn’t
attend ages ago!
Elizabeth Brightbill PhD IU Jacob’s School of
Music
This class is worth every penny! The
information you’ll receive will cause your studio to grow and your students to
love their flute all the more.
Sarah Robertson (Sand Dollar Music) Ohio
Kinderflute training has been instrumental in
building my confidence in working with both my youngest and more advanced
players. The skills and ideas taught in the training are geared at young
players, but are easily scaled up to more advanced students. The skills and
ideas have added new energy and creativity in my lessons and push me to be a
better teacher each week.
Nicole Elkins Utah
Kathy Blocki and Molly Shortridge have put
together an amazing class for flute teachers! These ladies are well-skilled at
what they do, and you can tell they love their work! Not only that, but you get
to interact with a collected group of other teachers from around the world!
This network is not only educational but inspirational, too!" –
Dr. Heidi Kay Begay Texas
Thanks, so much for putting all the extra work in to teach online!
I was very inspired by your teaching methods and watching how much progress
your students have made so quickly. It is truly on honor to learn from you!
Mikyla Jensen
It
was an absolute pleasure to attend this workshop. I found it to be so
inspiring, energizing, and educational. I am also thankful for your
hospitality. I still feel joyful when I think of this workshop which only
lasted a few days but offered at least a year's worth of inspiration!
Heidi Reiter Florida
Excellent course which I have loved both years!
Yvonne Renouf UK
Kathy and Molly exude the joyful, positive learning
environment that is so vital in creating excited and motivated students. I wish
I was 5 again so that I could learn the flute like this!
Kim Fleuchaus Illinois
After 20 years of teaching, this course has given me a
fresh perspective and so many ideas for teaching creative, play-filled lessons
that keep students engaged and having fun while developing a solid foundation
for musicality and technique.
Emily Higgins Oregon
Kathy Blocki and Molly Shortridge are phenomenal, caring
and accomplished teachers as well as astute scientists for establishing sound
flute playing—the building blocks to play flute well, birthing neurons in the
brain and love for music in the heart!
Rita Brockway Colorado
Kathy Blocki is a master teacher and we flutists are lucky
she is so willing to share her immense pedagogical knowledge! The whole flute community benefits from her
work to improve flute education and make learning the flute at a high level
with seriously good fundamentals FUN!
I learned so much and was given so many great ideas, and
inspired to back and share all this knowledge in my studio.
Colleen McElroy Washington
I wanted to say a big thank you to you both
for your unstoppable motivation and drive (which is highly infectious) that you
shared with us over the last few days. Personally, I am highly
convinced of how effective your method of working is. It is obvious to see how
much children progress in their flute skills and love it! It is a shame that
your method is not used as a basis for teaching in all sorts of different
fields because the effects of short bursts of activity before difficult tasks
are remarkable. Also, I know personally as a teacher and mother of young
children how important physical activity is. Especially my youngest, is a very
bright kid but needs to move, if not, he gets bored and miserable. He hates the
solfège lessons here where we live in France because you sit at the desk for 1
hour. I am convinced that he would love your lessons and do very well. Thank
you also for the organization and energy, the days were very well put together.
Janine (France)
I thought that the class was lots of fun and very interactive. I like how
you teach them to keep a beat and an internal metronome with the cups games. I
thought it was wonderful that you were teaching them to listen and feel the
music. You had very well behaved children for so young, it was impressive. For
the older students I loved the rhythm game with the pumpkins. I wish I had
learned that way. I still struggle when many rests are shown and odd rhythms. I
also liked how you got excited with the students. That¹s easy to do in a
private lesson, or when just the students are there, but harder when the
parents are around as well (something that will diffidently challenge me).
Felicia Gray
I enjoyed the class immensely. I appreciated getting to know you
and my classmates. I really had no idea what to expect before the class started
and it turned out to be a great experience. The books you had us read were
excellent and should be required reading. I appreciate the ideas you have for
teaching and really respect the fact that each activity has a goal instead of
just being a game to fill time. I'm not sure that everybody understood that
even when we were moving with the parachute or ribbons you were teaching
rhythms or accents or whatever. By the way... I've started using your duet book
#2 for sight reading with my high school students! I used to use longer duets,
and I think the shorter ones teach so much more because of the variety we can
do quickly. They're much more complicated than one would think at first, and
again, each one is teaching something. Good job!
Jan Frank-Chicago
I found the demo groups and teaching among each other the most useful.
Everything really helped me understand what I read in the books.
Truly inspirational!
Leslie Rocha -Texas
I really enjoyed all of the classes. It was great to get new ideas and rethink
some of my own teaching methods. The demo classes were fantastic and very
helpful to see all of the ideas in action. Accommodation was great. It was very
comfortable. I enjoyed spending time with the other teachers in the class.
Breakfasts were delicious!
Suzanne Cowan - Australia
The class in general was much more than I could have imagined. It
has opened up new possibilities for me. I am grateful and excited!
Anna Belle - Chicago
Thanks again! I was so impressed with everyone in the class. As the old lady I
feel the need to work fast. My goal is to retire next year and enjoy teaching
flute. I think the Blocki method is amazing. I am still in awe of the young
players we heard. I am also impressed with how Kathy explains in such a
methodical way "flute embouchure" Kathy is amazing and so are
you!
This was one of the best classes I have ever participated in. Playing the games
and doing the movement activities together was so awesome. It will help
remembering and developing other activities.
Sandra Balderson
I am still in awe of Kathy Blocki and her teaching
gifts. I am so happy I attended the Kinderflute class this past week. Even
though I have used the Blocki Method in teaching for years, I now have a more
in-depth understanding of themethod and activities needed to nurture amazing
flute students. I feel so blessed that I have been mentored by such a great
teacher and flutist! Thank you, Kathy!
Molly Shortridge
I got a lot of questions answered and clarified by going back to
you. Three days of taking the class initially is not much in terms
of most career-changing programs like yours. Many problems
and questions arise when actually starting the program on your
own. There are many multi-layered aspects of starting KinderFlute
programs…from the initial startup of actually just generating students and a
studio, and then trying to implement a method book written by another person
and understand all of the reasons why the book was written the way it
is. Actually, this second class helped me understand your method a
lot more. In the first class, I was concentrating mainly on the
initial worries and fears of start up. I did many of your games and
activities throughout the years, but some of the reasons for the songs and
placement of songs in the book are now clearer to me now that I took the class
a second time. The systematic aspect of when to apply certain activities
is much clearer to me now.
Molly Shortridge (2nd time taking the course)