Monet and Water Lilies

Students in 4-6 learned about French Impressionist painter Claude Monet and created these watercolor paintings in his style. We started by drawing out a series of water lilies and lily pads. Students learned about foreground, middleground and background and were required to include this in the drawing to create depth. Next, the drawing was outlined in black for contrast and lines were added to imply movement. The final step was using watercolor paints in the three cool colors- blue, green and violet. 

Monet Style Autumn Leaves

Students in grades 4-6 created these autumn collages in the style of French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. We began by creating a watercolor painting using the three cool colors- blue, green and violet. We discussed using gentle curving lines to create the movement of water and break up the background space. To create the leaves, students used styrofoam to carve out a leaf. These were then colored in with marker and pressed onto a slightly damp piece of paper to create a relief print. When placing the leaves on the pond, we looked at some of Claude Monet's paintings and examined his use of color contrast. 

Frogs in Monet's Pond

Students in PreK and Kinder created these paintings to learn about French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. We began by doing an abstract watercolor painting for the pond. We used cool colors and I let the students fill in the space however they liked. Next, students created lily pads and lilies with tissue paper. On the final day, I showed the students how to make frogs using simple circle shapes. We also rolled up the red paper to create a fun three-dimensional tongue!

Monet's Waterlillies

Students began this lesson by watching the DVD Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artists- Monet. The first step was to create a watercolor resist painting of a pond. We used crayons to create swirly lines that give a sense of movement. These were then painted over with a blue/green watercolor. We then painted some green lily pads and cut them out. The lily pads were glued onto the paper and tissue paper was added for flowers. This project is a great because it gives the students a chance to scribble and be messy but in a controlled way.