Claude Monet

Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14, l840.  When Claude was five he moved to LeHavre.  He went to school there and he thought it was like a prison.  By the time he was a teenager Claude's teachers found he had a gift for drawing.  Eugene Boudin, a famous artist, started to teach Claude about painting.  Eugene would often take Claude outside to paint.  Claude's dad didn't want him to paint. He wanted him in the family buisness.  Since Claude's mother died he had to ask his aunt for help.  When Claude was eighteen he went to live in Paris.  While Claude was in Paris he met many of the great artists.  Then Claude joined the army to fight in the war in Algeria.  He didn't want to go, but he had to.  When he was in Algeria during the war he wondered if he could capture the sunlight in one of his paintings.  The next year he became sick so he left and went back to France.  His aunt helped him once again by paying a fee to get him out of the army and also by getting his dad to let him come back to Paris.  His family got worried and got him to leave Paris.  When Claude was thirty in 1870  he married a woman named Camille Doncieux.  A little bit later another war began, and Claude didn't want to join again so he moved to London. Claude also had a son named Jean. Claude, his son, and his wife all moved back to France.  And eventually Claude began to sell his paintings.  He didn't get much for his paintings because the art critics thought his style of painting wasn't proper.  But he continued to paint impressions.  He painted things more than once to catch it in a different light. Artists who painted in this style were called impressionists. Soon the impressonists began to get respect and sell more paintings.  In the end he became famous but he still was sad because his wife,son, and second wife died, and he went blind.  But even when he was losing his sight he continued to paint.

A Hero to Me

Before I began studying  about heroes, I had some first thoughts. A hero to me is someone who helps people have better lives.  A hero could be a polieceman, or a therapist, or a fire-fighter.  A hero helps solve problems and needs of the world.  They are people who try to do the right thing.  They try to make people happy and make them feel protected or safe.  Heroes could also be people who fight for our country.  They are people who care about others and not always about themselves.  They want to save people in need.

Heroes

Hello blog readers!

Today we are going to tell you about our Heroes Unit.  We are learning about heroes.  We are not talking about Superman and Batman, etc.  We are talking about heroes who are role models for kids.  We are learning about heroic traits and what makes someone a real hero.   So far we have learned about Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Earhart, Gertrude Ederle, Florence Nightingale, Roberto Clemente, Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks. 

Welcome to Brainbeams

Hello Everybody!

We are fourth and fifth graders from Centennial Elementary School in Minnesota.  This is our Enrichment Resource Class(ERC) blog.  We are going to write stuff about things we are learning about.  This is our first time blogging and we feel a little nervous.  We hope you enjoy our blog!