The Children’s House Montessori Preschool has just launched an enrichment program called Lunch & Learn. Currently, it is open only for students in the school, but the goal is to make it available to other children in town in the future. The kickoff program is an Art Club where the children explore various artists and art mediums over the course of six weeks. They started with a study of Michelangelo and Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco “The Hand of God”; next will be a study of Monet, followed by Kandinsky.
This is not your typical classroom study of an artist. For the Michelangelo segment, the children actually laid on their backs and painted the “ceiling” underneath the tables. The study of Monet will involve a walk in a garden and then decoupaging wine bottles to recreate his lillies. For Kandinsky, the children will compare how paintings are like music.
The class is being led by Jennifer Faust who has been teaching at TCH for two years. While Faust’s background is in English she does appreciate fine art as well as food. One of her future goals is to have a Cooking Club and possibly a Writing Workshop.
Faust says her inspiration for the class came from trips with her parents to museums as a young child. She remembered the paintings even if she didn’t remember the artists names. Her goal is to share that with the children she teaches and to give kids a different experience while spending more time on art. If they are learning while having fun all the better.
For more information on the Lunch & Learn program, call the Children’s House at 973-857-1234.
