Claude Monet

There are so many things I could share with you about our visit to Giverny, France. We have a private tour, with Melody who was fantastic and knowledgeable. We had a great conversation on the one hour drive to Giverny briefly comparing education in France to the U.S. Upon arrival in Giverny it was obvious that we had arrived as the streets got smaller and the houses were all built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Flower gardens everywhere but none could be compared to those of Claude Monet. Monet lived in his Giverny home for approximately the last 40 years of his life (1840-1926). He lived to be 86. He designed his famous water lily pond in 1895. The gardens were breathtaking. As I walked over the Japanese Bridge and admired the water lilies I shared with Melody my Discussions4Learning lesson with my kindergarten students. I remembered fondly how my students were so excited during our art lessons---- and when they saw pictures of Monet's water lilies they would say "that's a Monet". I can't wait to visit them in their first grade classrooms and share with them the pictures I took of the water lilies !! A fact that often goes over looked is the numerous bamboo plants that also grow in his Japanese garden. Can't wait to share these pictures when we study Chinese New Year and pandas! As much as I wanted to stay in this garden for longer there was another garden to see as well as Monet's home. I was fascinated by his residence and took many pictures which will serve as great oral vocabulary lessons. Loved his blue and yellow kitchen !! On we went to his workshop which was built specifically for his paintings of the water lilies with adjustable ceiling blinds to allow for varying degrees of light. His workshop now also serves as a gift shop where I purchased some wonderful books for my classroom. Not done yet from their we went to the Musee des Impressionnismes. The exhibition: Gustave Caillebotte ( I plan to do more research on this artist. His works were amazing.) I could say more about my visit to Giverny but I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves.