I'm so sorry! DS8 (2nd grade) has been taking piano for about 3 years. He started Suzuki method as a preschooler. So this is a subject near and dear to our heart.
A few things are critical for us
1) consistency about time - we practice in the morning generally before we do anything else. When he was going to school, we practiced before school (we had a 9:15 school start). I know another family that practices right before bedtime every night as a wind down.
2) I generally work with him and practice with him. I sit down with him, applaud, make incentive games (right now he can earn 7 stickers practicing for 20 bonus computer minutes)
3) Contests, recitals, talent shows, and other performance opportunities are important motivation. We had to change from a teacher who only had 1 recital a year and nothing else.
4) Piano is a non-negotiable. We've set an expectation that he will be taking piano for some time to come. We let him pick the instrument but then it became mandatory.
It is really obvious when he performs or picks out a new piece (most recently some music from the Harry Potter movies!) he loves it. He starts drooling when he sees a piano somewhere. I think through piano he really "gets" how to learn incrementally. It has helped him in many areas. His piano teacher just raved about him this afternoon.
DD4 started violin this past fall. I jump through a lot of hoops to get 15 minutes of practice from her. Lately, we choose a book, read a page, do 2 violin tasks, read another page, do 2 more, etc etc etc. She's trucking along well for her age. I set much shorter term goals for her.
I think setting some goals and incentives out there that are very particular to the personality of the child can go a long way! Good luck! Keep us posted.
