Sarah Van Kleeck - Founder of Practice Monkeys

Sarah Van Kleeck

Founder and Teacher

Sarah has been teaching Suzuki Violin for 30 years.  Equipped with the gift of private instruction throughout childhood, high school, college, and Suzuki Teacher training, Sarah dove into teaching with a heartfelt passion at a young age, seeking success for each of her  students.  

Throughout her teaching career, Sarah has honed her teaching to include, not just technique, repertoire, and theory, but also whole person traits like patience, attention, determination, perseverance, problem solving, follow-through, organization, vision and imagination among other traits.

She passionately seeks to help her students develop the habits to become excellent people, who not only recognize beauty in the world but also desire to give that gift of beauty.  

​Utilizing her background in Suzuki Philosophy as well as Classical and Poetic Educational Principles, she weaves practical instruction with inspiration and poetic knowledge to aid the student in discovering Truth, Goodness, and Beauty using music as a vehicle to become excellent people, as well as excellent musicians.  

​Deb Peterson - Violin Teacher

Deb Peterson

Violin Teacher

Deb lives in the Peoria, IL area where she and her husband homeschool their 8 children.  She received her degree in Bible, music, and children’s ministries from University of Northwestern, St. Paul, where she studied violin with Minnesota Orchestra associate concertmaster, Roger Frisch.

​She has studied Suzuki pedagogy under trainers such as Ed Kreitman and Ed Sprunger at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point, WI. She has taught violin for over 20 years and is currently a first violinist in the Peoria Pops orchestra and plays regularly with her church worship team.

Sarina Steward - Piano Teacher

Sarina Steward

Piano Teacher

Sarina Steward lives in Canada in a small town in Ontario. She studied piano
as a child, branching out to guitar and bass guitar while attending high school. From
a young age Sarina was involved in music ministry with her parents at church and
has continued in their footsteps by sharing worship ministry with her family.
With 18 years of homeschooling under her belt, the years have been full of
balancing family life, school, mentoring her children in their musical pursuits
ranging from piano, violin, theory, drums and ukulele, and furthering her own
musical education through the Royal Conservatory. She has spent the last 15 years
involved in local home school groups teaching large groups of children anything
from music to the art of walking on eggs without breaking them.
She is excited to share her love of music with your students and to help
them to learn the big concepts in an engaging, fun, and age appropriate way.​

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