Author Archives: Sarah Wagstaff

About Sarah Wagstaff

I am a mom, writer, musician and educator. I write sci fi/fantasy. I play flute, piano, violin and other instruments as I feel like it. I have a degree in psychology, history and flute performance. I sub and volunteer at schools K-12 grades.

Head Start Music Demo

Today I was invited to perform a music demonstration for a Head Start class. (3-4 year-olds). I love watching the children learn. They sang the ABC’s as I played violin. They listened to the strange noises I made on the body of my flute. “It sounds like an elephant!” They felt the vibrations on the bell of my clarinet as I played the lowest note, an E below middle C.

They remembered the name of the flute and violin, but they forgot the clarinet’s name, maybe because it was the third instrument and their buffer was full.

While there are challenges, preschool age is a great time to start children on an instrument, because they are so excited about music and ready to learn.

Don’t practice until you can play something perfectly then stop.
Practice until you can’t play it wrong.

LtUE 2011

What I learned:
1. Send in your manuscript, once you are done revising and have it in great shape. You can never get out of the slush pile if you never get in. – Lisa Mangum – Deseret Book Editor

2. Keep writing even if you aren’t published. Attend classes and keep learning. Don’t ever give up. One author had 500 rejections before she sold her first book and now she’s a bestselling author. – James Dashner – author The Maze Runner.