Integrating art with learning

A replica of Claude Monet’s painting, Japanese Footbridge, is displayed on a wall in the College of Education. The artist is not a trained painter, it’s a kindergartener. In fact it’s more than 40 youngsters from Lawrence Township’s Centralized Kindergarten. Since 1998, the College of Education has been working with the Lawrence school on infusing the Reggio Emilia educational approach into the classroom. Called Reggio Emilia because it originated in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the approach is not a curriculum; it’s a philosophy that focuses on the integration of the arts into the daily learning of children. Before they came to campus to paint the mural, the Lawrence kindergartners explored the work of Monet and many other fine artists. When it became mural time, the children were able to express what they learned about Monet through art. Each child added his or her own unique piece to this learning process, literally. While the Monet version of Japanese Footbridge features a bridge over a pond of water lilies, the kindergartens chose to include tiny blue and green handprints under their bridge.