The children of Cockfield Primary School nursery class have been exploring work by the artist Monet before creating their own versions of his painting 'Waterlilies'.
This activity has helped the children learn to express ideas, create sequences and design a colourful display using a range of materials, shapes and textures.
Planned learning intentions
To continue to be interested, excited and motivated to learn
To use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events
To explore colour, texture, shape, form and space in two or three dimensions
Resources
Books about Monet, such as The life and work of Claude Monet (Heinemann First Library series) ,a print of Monet's 'Waterlilies' ,brightly coloured backing paper ,contrasting border roll ,green crepe paper ,blue and green fabric ,coloured tissue paper ,paint ,brushes ,computer ,printer ,digital camera Step by step
* Encourage children to explore a print of Monet's 'Waterlilies' and talk about what they like or dislike about the image.
* Explore a Monet book together and discuss his technique of painting blobs and patches of colour to create exciting pictures.
* Suggest that the children try a similar technique to paint their own waterlilies, using bold colours splodged on paper.
* Take digital photographs while the children are painting, and print them off.
* Invite children to choose backing paper and border colours and fix them to a display board. Help them to mount their paintings, the Monet print and the photographs on paper to match their chosen border. Arrange the paintings on the display board, leaving a space in the centre.
* Attach the Monet print to the display along with printed information about the artist for parents to read, as well as the photographs and some tissue waterlilies created by the children.
* Entitle the display 'Monet's Waterlilies'.
* Drape a shelf beneath the display with blue fabric and suspend green crepe paper streamers and blue and green fabric from the ceiling to represent running water and vegetation. Arrange relevant books and tissue waterlilies along the shelf.
Activities
* Explore and try to recreate different works by Monet, such as 'Poppies'.
* Invite children to choose other famous artists to learn about. Good examples are Klimt, Klee and Van Gogh.
