We are taking a closer look at Claude Monet this week.

Morah Katie: Who remembers the name of the artist we are learning about?

Sadie: Claude Monet.

Morah Katie: Where did Monet like to paint? 

Maya: Outdoors.

Morah Katie: Did he tell a story with his paintings?

Kids: No.

Olivia: He painted something he thought was pretty.

Miles: He painted something beautiful.

Morah Katie: Did he make one painting of something he thought was pretty?

Kids: No.

Jade: He painted lots of them.

Morah Katie: Why would he make so many paintings of the same thing?

Mason: He really liked painting.

Morah Katie: He did.

Matan: He painted at lunchtime.

Jade: And then in the afternoon later after lunch.

Mason: And in Spring and the Summer.

Morah Katie: Even in Fall and Winter.  What is different when you are outside at lunch and then later in the late afternoon? What is different when you play outside season to season? Spring or Summer?

Olivia: The sun.

Morah Katie: What do colors outside look like on a cloudy day?

Lochlan: Dark and blue.

Morah Katie: What do colors look like on a bright sunny day?

Matan: Yellow, lots of colors.

Morah Katie: Could different amounts of sunlight make the same pond of water lilies look different? 

Kids: Yes!

Morah Katie: Do you think that could be why Monet painted something he thought was pretty so often? Because it would look different, still pretty, but different?

Kids: Yes!

We pretended to be Claude Monet. 

(due to weather for most of the week we stayed inside) 

We choose one of his paintings and tried to create it.

We looked closely at the real painting, looking for colors and shapes to help guide us.

Sophia: I see brown and green, lots of brown.

Jade: I see blue and green and yellow.

Emily: I see lines and towers.

Olivia: I see green water and blue water.

Mason: I see the blue, white and red flag. And yellow flowers and the blue ocean.

Sadie: I see purple and blue lines and circles.

 Monet's water lilies inspired a collage. 

The collage activity gave inspiration for a "pond" in our classroom.

It grew and grew.

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