A day or so after the Reception for my art exhibit at the Napa Library, Meredith Wilson of Blue Oak School wrote to ask if I would be willing to meet with her first grade class at the Napa Library.
They were studying bugs, and, after seeing pictures from the exhibit in the Napa Valley Register, she thought her class would really enjoy meeting me and seeing the art in person.
I thought this sounded like a fun idea, so we made a plan.
Stephnia Pramuk, who does a terrific job coordinating the Art in the Library program, reserved the Community Room for our use. (She was my contact at the library, and had been extremely helpful right from the beginning.) This meant that the class and I would have a nice big room in which to meet, gather, and have a discussion.
On Tuesday, October 23, I met with Meredith Wilson and her class of 16 first graders, plus the school’s art teacher and a teaching assistant.
I was amazed by the students! They were all enthusiastic, attentive, engaged, and, to top it off, very polite.
They were also quite well-informed about bugs, I must say. The level of their knowledge really surprised me. I had come prepared to discuss both bugs and art at a very basic level. This was a completely unnecessary precaution! We had a very lively discussion on both topics after a tour of the exhibit together.
All in all, it was a delightful experience for me, and worthwhile, I hope, for the students.
