If a child is struggling to assimilate all of the pertinent information associated with key signatures (i.e. how many sharps or flats, what they are and in what order, and how that affects the "out of place fingers"), using creative games to help the student frequently rehearse this information can help lead to long term memory. Many students study the information during the week leading up to the lesson and then promptly forget it after the lesson. To avoid this, try the game below:

On any given morning, parent and student should select one key signature (or scale) for the day. Next, the parent/student team should select a "trigger word" for the day. Make sure the trigger word is a word that is used frequently enough over the course of the day to be useful in this exercise. (Examples: "busy", "eat", or "phone".) Every time the student hears that word over the course of the day, he or she can recite (or write down to show the parents later) the key signature information, or any part of the information with which the student struggles. (Most often: "out of place fingers".) At the end of the day (ideally, just before going to bed), if the student can correctly recite all of the information to the parent without hesitation, the student receives an appropriate reward. If the student still struggles, repeat the exercise the next day with a different "trigger word".

Advanced Version:
As the student becomes more adept with this information, the game should be made increasingly more challenging. To do this, the game continues as above, however, each new trigger word is added to the previous day's trigger word, in effect causing the student to review two key signatures instead of just one. To raise the level further still, this adding trend could continue throughout the week, adding a new trigger every day, until the weekend arrives. Saturday and Sunday provide an opportunity to review all of the triggers presented through the school week. If, at the end of the week, the student is able to correctly recite the information without hesitation (or answer creative questions about the key signature information), the student is given a reward. Note: this is no small accomplishment, and your child will have worked hard to reach this goal, so be sure that the reward is in direct correlation to the effort your child has put into the process.

Variation:
If the above scenarios do not appeal to your student, try a less lengthy version of the game, using the trip to and from lessons as a starting point. Make the "trigger" a type of vehicle, or color, or license plate. If this goes well, the game can be extended to any trip in the car.

When a child is learning to read music, one creative and fun way to help a child learn to recognize new notes is for parents to make numerous sets of small cards with and individual note written in musical notation on each card. Begin with the open string notes. Parents should "hide" the cards throughout the house for the child to find over the course of the day. When the child finds one of these cards (for example, under his pillow, or taped to her toothbrush), he or she should bring the card to a parent and name the note on the card. (For further reenforcement, the child can pluck the correct open string, in addition to naming the note.) If the child does not correctly identify the note on the card, the card is hidden again to be found later. The idea of the game is that all of the cards must be collected by the end of the day, at which point the child will receive a suitable reward, such as an extra five minutes of play time, or a special surprise in his or her lunch box the next day. The game is repeated every day with new "hidden" locations, until it becomes easy. At that point, new cards can be added to the collection such as first finger notes, then second finger notes, or A string notes, then E string notes, and so on. In addition to naming the note itself, the student should name the string/finger combination used to make that note. The more cards hidden throughout the house, the faster the child will learn the information.

If a young child is resistant to practice, the parent (with the teacher's help) needs to think creatively and refuse to give up. For example, to peak a young girl's interest in practicing, suggest practicing for a "special concert" to be performed immediately after the practice session. The special concert could be recorded on video to aid in the sense of formality. Additionally, the young girl may be lured in by being allowed to wear her favorite party dress for the occasion. This happens of course, only if the child agrees to put in at least the minimum amount of time for practicing. If she doesn't, the concert will have to be cancelled.

For young boys, a similar scenario could be constructed using sports or a favorite activity as motivation.