Claude Monet Waterlilies and Bridges

Kindergarteners have been introduced to the artist Claude Monet. We read a book together called, "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet" by Laurence Anholt. In this story, a girl named Julie stumbles upon Claude Monet's magical garden and gets to visit some of the beautiful places that Claude Monet uses as inspiration. Included in the book are real images of Monet's paintings. First the students were lead in a discussion about the book. We spoke about what it looks like Monet's paintings are depicted of, what colors they see and what kind of brushstrokes he used. It was brought to their attention to keep an eye on the "Japanese Bridge" by Monet, displayed on one of the pages in the book. Students were then given a 12"x18" piece of white drawing paper in which they were given a guided drawing of a bridge. They completed the bridge in pencil and then given the option to color in their bridge in a color of their liking using oil pastels. (Let's be honest, it's their artwork, NOT Monet's!) After this is complete, the students will paint with water colors, the top portion of their paper in greens and yellows for trees and bushes and underneath they will paint blues and greens for the water. The students will understand the importance of a brushstroke rather than just trying to fill the page with color. To finalize their projects, they will crumple pieces of tissue paper to create the lily pads that are floating in the water. 

Learning Objectives: Art History-Claude Monet, Techniques in water colors, guided listening, fine motor skills

ART WORDS:
Brushstrokes: the stroke of a brush or an individual action that contributes to an overall effect of an artwork.