marrtai,
I have such empathy for you. I have a toddler who is more than capable of playing, but until recently would not. This includes all things not just music. Reading, capable but wouldn't. Piano, not a chance. He bangs on the keyboard, loves to see the spiders and MR. Oops.
I was thinking that perhaps a 1/2 hour is too long for a little girl who isn't "into" it just yet. I keep going back to Glenn Doman and we try to get in what we can and always stop before they want to. Don't let her go until she wants to quit. Quit while she is still enjoying herself. Then it is always a pleasant experience and one she wants to do. And it is her idea.
Is the piano out where she can just sit and fiddle with the keys? Last fall my son was beginning to be interested in the piano. I then moved the keyboard to a more permanent location - a back room. His interest lagged. Then I moved back to my living space (ugly orange chair and all) and suddenly he is interested again and asks to play 2-3 times a day. He has also decided to do all his other EL activities where he wouldn't before either - so it is not just that it is out. but having it available keeps his interest up. I restrict the number of official practices because I want his interest to remain high. This is something special - learning piano. I want him to treat it that way. I do notice that when he sits at the keyboard himself he will press keys and sing the notes. Sometimes he just bangs and that is ok as long as it is not hard.
Hellene does the butterfly thing for motivation. I pay the kids with play money and they redeem it at my store for things like: fruit snacks, balloons, stickers, books, tattoos and other stuff. I go to thrift stores and find good books, and small objects to put in my store and then put a price on it. Sometimes the kids put all their money together to earn things like homemade pizza or cinnamon rolls.
My son is approaching the age and your daughter is at the age where money is a great motivator. It is my firm belief that children should be paid for their hard work. We have a system in our house where my children (I only have one that I used this with and will start my youngest this fall when he is 3) are paid for doing their school work, practicing whatever it is they get involved in and things above and beyond chores. I do not pay for chores that is part of living in a family. But all the things that will benefit him I pay for provided he does a good job. Children need to know that the surest way to earn money is to work. I can't afford that you say. Well, you can if you quit buying things for her and give her the responsibility of taking care of certain things herself. So when my son turns three he will earn $10 a month. I will quit buying things like fruit snacks and anything extra other than birthday and Christmas presents. He has to give $1 a month and save $1 a month and he has to manage the other $8. He has daily and weekly chores to do. Plus he has piano and violin lessons. I don't pay for chores, but I do levy fines when the chores don't get done or when they are done sloppily. I levy fines for having to remind more than one time. I levy fines for not trying. My son has had to pay me for making me wait. As the kids get older and are responsible for more, they earn more in their paycheck. As they do this, I also give them more responsibility over their own lives. My oldest son is 17. Right now, I don't even pay for his co-pay at the doctor. He has to budget for things like that. This was not my idea, I stole it from good friends of mine. This solves a lot of disputes you have in your home if your children know up front that they have to use their money to pay for things. They also know if they want things then they will have to work to earn them. You have to decide what tasks she will earn money for and what you are going to stop purchasing for her. This has worked very well for us. And, when children have to pay for their behavior with cold hard cash, they suddenly develop the habit of attention and you don't have to nag. the only suggestions I have is that you make sure the kids know exactly how much they will earn and how much the fines are. Never be late in paying them. BTW - I delight in saying, "Thank you for not taking out the garbage, I so wanted an extra five dollars this week."
