Homespun Homeschool: 3 Ways to Motivate Your Child to Practice Their Instrument

I've heard a lot of moms complain about their child's instrument practice.  Sometimes it's hard to motivate a child that just doesn't want to practice.  Here are three things that work for us in motivating our children to practice their instruments.

1.  Make it fun!
Making instrument practice fun, especially for young kids, is a great way to keep them practicing. Sometimes we turn practice time into game time.  We use spinners with different dynamics on them.  If Ev spins and it lands on "forte" she'll play the next song loud.  We use rhythm dice to switch up the rhythm of the songs that she plays.  We also have Ev draw the song out of a bag so the order of songs that she practices is different each time.

2.  Practice with your child
If you are lucky enough to have two of the same instrument or can somehow practice with your child, this can be motivating.  My kids get a kick out of teaching me a song on the violin or guitar.  They are pretty good to remind me that my playing is getting a little rusty and that I need to practice more.

3.  Occasionally a little prize or treat can help
Our kids are usually pretty good to practice their instruments without complaint, but there have been times when practice seems like a punishment (for everyone). I've found that a little prize or treat once in a while for a great job practicing can be really helpful.