1. Welcome your students to their webpage
with a sticker

If you really want to get a student's new webpage off to a flying start, make sure that there is a sticker waiting for them when they first visit. Their very first impression of their webpage then? That fun things are waiting for them when they pop in.

Then, once you have their full attention, they're more likely to notice that newsletter you just put together.

We have included a series of special "Welcome" stickers in your collection for just this reason.

2. "Student of the week" awards

The next time a student knocks your socks off with a great week of practice, don't just tell them how great they are. They might be a candidate for your Student of the Week Award.

What's that? You don't have a Student of the Week Award? Definitely time to start one - the positive impact on their work will continue long after the award was given.

To make the award official, send them a sticker, with the clear caption "Student of the Week!". You can help your students quickly identify their "Student of the Week" stickers in their stickerbook by always using the same image for that award.

And then, just to make sure that they know that everybody else knows they are Student of the Week - announce the award in your next Studio Newsletter, or put the details in the scrolling News-ticker. Students love to see their names in lights.

3. Sticker Challenges

Stickers don't just have to be rewards that you surprise your students with. They can actually be something that a student can work towards.

Given that most students love to build their sticker collections, this can work very much in your favor.

All you need to do is define the challenge they need to complete to earn the sticker, and it's theirs as soon as they have met the set requirements.

So they might earn a sticker as soon as they can master a particular scale. Or as soon as they can play their new piece from memory. Or if they can learn three new pieces in three weeks. Or as soon as they complete the current theory drill book. Or if they can practice every day this week without skipping any days. Or if they can give you a three minute presentation on Schubert.

It's up to you - the beauty of Sticker Challenges is that you can tailor the requirements to individual students, and help them produce highly targeted work that beyond the ordinary demands of their music lessons.

4. Rewarding behavior change

While most stickers will be awarded for the presence of commendable behavior, sometimes they should be given out for the absence of less desirable behavior.

For example, if you have a student who always seems to arrive 5 minutes late for their lesson, tell them that it will be worth a sticker to them if they turn up on time next lesson. Two stickers if they can do it three weeks in a row.

Or a student who constantly protests "I can't..." whenever you give them anything new to try - if they can go for a whole lesson with uttering those negative ideas, a sticker will be waiting for them when they get home.

Every student you teach will have something in their approach to lessons that they would be better off without. Perhaps it's time to try giving them an incentive.

5. On recommendation from parents

Instead of you always being the one who recommends the awarding of stickers, it might be a ball worth throwing to parents every so often. They've been with their child all week and should have a fairly clear picture of just how hard they have been working.

It's as simple as asking them. "What do you think...has William worked well enough at home this week to get a sticker?". If you get the OK, then send the sticker. If not, then create a positive picture of what William can do differently this week to guarantee a sticker in the week that is coming up.

If William knows that his parents are occasionally (and unpredictably) responsible for whether or not he gets his new sticker, he's less likely to start hurling furniture when his parents ask him to practice. Just in case.

6. Self recommendation

Taking the previous idea a step further, every so often you should actually ask the student if they deserve a sticker or not. The important thing here is not their decision - it's their justification of it. (You'll find that students are often much harder on themselves in awarding stickers than you actually are)

Respect their decision, even if you find it a little hard to agree with. The sticker might not always be awarded according to your own preferences, but you'll learn a lot about the student in the process.

7. If it's been simply been a while...

Sometimes it's worth giving a sticker to a student, simply because it's been too long since their last one. They may not have done anything special to deserve it, but simply getting an award like this can lift their spirits, their performance, and their work rate.

To help with this, the right hand side of your StickerBook Manager will show you the dates on which each student was last awarded a sticker, and will arrange that list in order with the students you have been neglecting at the top. If it's been a couple of months since the last sticker, find a reason - any reason - and send them one soon. (Today is good!)