Spring is in the Air in Kindergarten! Part 2

As the weather gets warmer and the flowers begin to bloom, I always think of Claude Monet. Monet, often called the "Father of Impressionism", loved to paint nature and be outside in his garden, so much so, that he built a massive garden in his backyard in Giverny, France, complete with a large pond full of waterlilies and a Japanese foot bridge. His paintings of water lilies and his bridge are iconic and hang in museums around the world.

Inspired by his love of nature, Kindergarteners did their own studies of flowers in pencil and in paint. Unfortunately we had to use fake flowers, as we don't have a sprawling garden or predictable weather that will allow us to work outside whenever we want. Each student chose a flower and was told to focus on the shapes and lines they observed. These first drawings were done only in pencil, without color, so that we could focus on the forms and build our observational skills. 

In our next lesson, we looked at some of Monet's paintings of flowers and noticed how he used big, simple brushstrokes to create his beautiful blooms. Up close, his paintings look just like blobs of colors. Students chose a second flower and were told this time to focus on shape, size and color, moving their brushes in the directions they saw the petals pointing. 

To see all of the flowers please visit https://sites.google.com/site/mrsrart/student-galleries .