Our impressions of the world

Upper Primary pupils really enjoy our new IPC unit called ‘They see the world like this’. They are eager to find out more about artists and art movements.

Our Entry Point was a walk around the local area, asking people about what they like the most about Belgium. Pupils politely approached people we met and took turns asking them this question. Many people said Belgian food (waffles, French fries, chocolate and beer), others answered that they like Ghent, the people here, the historical buildings, Flemish art and the different languages that you hear in Belgium. The first man we met said that he likes the diversity. Upper Primary pupils really liked that answer and are now using the word diversity when talking about Belgium. Pupils came back with a long, long list of all the different things people like about Belgium.

During the Knowledge Harvest, pupils drew, described and discussed different types of artists that they know about.

Pupils then started looking at impressions of the world around - throughout history, in different places and different cultures. They have learnt more about Impressionism and have also tried to paint in the style of the Impressionists. During a visit at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Ghent, pupils carefully observed a painting by Emile Claus, The Skaters, and wrote down their thoughts and ideas. Their own art work is now on display in our hallway. Their portraits look great!

Pupils also know that a different art movement started in Japan at the same time as the Impressionists were active in France. Japanese prints, ukiyo-e, found their way to European art exhibitions and people here discovered a different way of showing impressions of the world. Upper Primary pupils are now busy making their own Japanese style prints. They loved preparing the sketch and the lino for the print work, it was almost impossible to leave the classroom for home time.

Pupils practise language, both reading and writing, spelling rules and grammatical structures and they learn and use different strategies in numeracy. They practise Dutch, they participate during PE and swimming lessons and they sing many new songs during Music lessons. Every week they improve. They are aware of their learning and can comment on the things they now know, that they didn't know before. They often realise that what looks tricky at first soon is quite easy. Knowledge, Skills and Understanding...

Pupils also loved the birthday party we had last week, when Stefan turned 10 years old! Now we have to wait until April until our next Upper Primary birthday party...