Artist/Picture Study - Grandma Moses

Sophia and Olivia have been learning about Grandma Moses as part of homeschooling this year. They have learned a bit about Grandma Moses as well as studied six paintings that she did.

Studying about the works of different artists over a block of time is something that follows Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy. How that looks with the girls is that I show them one picture for five minutes. They look and study the image.

After five minutes, I close the book and they take turns remembering and orally sharing different parts of the picture. They take turns saying one thing they recalled about the picture, with the goal of not repeating what the other one has said.

The art work that the girls looked at as well as they noticed and remembered about the pictures are below.

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Mary had a Little Lamb

Sophia recalled:
- The schoolhouse is made from red brick.
- Mary is wearing airy clothes - bright pink.
- There are two girls sitting next to the fence making a daisy chain.
- As Mary's walking to school, she's carrying a tin bucket.
- There are three kids - two girls sitting on a fence and one boy walking on the fence.
- There are three houses spread a bit and in front of one is a little gate.
- The school mistress is wearing a gray shawl or jacket.
- One of the boys is holding a stick in both hands.
- There's a tall wooden fence that runs to the school.
- Next to the four kids picking daisies, there's mounds of dirt or rock.

Olivia recalled:
- There's a little fence in the distance.
- There are three little girls picking flowers.
- The teacher is ringing a bell.
- There's a little pond.
- There are three big rocks.
- There's  a little log house.
- A couple of boys and girls who were wearing red.
- The teacher was wearing grey.
- The lamb is white.

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The Childhood Home of Anna Mary Robertson

Sophia remembered:
- I saw a paddlewheel or mill wheel.
- Out in the distance, there's a city. There's a ship mast.
- There are big mountains in the distance.
- The whole place looks like it's getting ready for autumn - there's red, browns, and gold alng with green.
- There's a lake with a creek branching off from it.
- There's an orchard behind in the distance.
- The sky is really blue and there are clouds.
- All the people I saw were wearing hats.
- The people aren't dressed brightly they are in drab colors - even the red.
- The side of the millhouse is made from stone.

Olivia remembered:
- The white house is surrounded by a fence.
- I saw a cow standing under a tree.
- There's a hill.
- There's a horse standing by a lake with a person by it.
- There's a cart driver by two horses or a person leading it. There's hay in it.
- I see words.
- There's a house in the distance.
- There's a horse standing in the barn.
- I saw three people - 1 is a woman. She's wearing a pretty red dress.
- I saw things that were blue, white, green, gold, red, and brown.
- The barn and houses are built out of wood.

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May: Making Soap and Washing Sheep

Sophia recalled:
- The colors in the picture are subtle - they're not vivid.
- There's a dog by the house.
- An older lady and little girl are collecting eggs.
- All the men are wearing hats.
- There's a lady by the house stirring a cauldron over a fire.
- The sheep that haven't been washed are dirty.
- There's a big tub with a tap that's dripping white liquid in a bucket.
- Outside the barn, there's a stack of logs.
- Up by the house it looks like there's a lady ringing a bell for lunch.
- The barn had a bunch of hay or straw on the ground.

Olivia recalled:
- There's a sheep rearing on its back legs.
- There's a cat by the pond.
- The people are washing sheep in the pond.
- There are chickens.
- A goat is chasing a dog.
- There's a forked pathway - it looks like a "Y."
- The grass is green.
- On the house there's a window that looks like a fan.
- There's a white picket fence gate that's open.
- The trees have lots of leaves.
- Girls wore lots of dresses and aprons.

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Sugaring Off

Sophia remembered:
- By one of the fires, there's a white and gray dog.
- There are two girls who are holding hands. One has a pink coat and one has a purple coat.
- There are two women who are waving to men. Behind them is the house.
- There's a man who is dumping a bucket full of maple syrup into a vat that is by the oxen.
- There's a house in the trees way back.
- The people are wearing bright colors, but the background has dreary colors of blue, gray, and white.
- All the people seem happy - no one is crying or having a meltdown.
- There are lots of green evergreens.

Olivia remembered:
- There are two dogs - one is gold and one is black and white.
- There are lots of green pine trees.
- There are lots of horses - 1 with a sled behind it.
- There are lots of green buckets filled with maple syrup.
- There are lots of bright colors - pinks, purples, red, greens, and blues.
- There are two oxen pulling a sled filled with logs.
-  There are lots of trees with no leaves...maple trees.
- There are two cauldrons boiling maple syrup.
- There's a man with a bucket pouring maple syrup into the fire with a black and white dog behind him.
- People are wearing coats, hats, and mittens.
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Get Out the Sleigh

Sophia recalled:
- There's a black dog with white stripes, and it's barking.
- There are mountains in the distance that are big and looming.
- Not too far away, there are little, small hills in pink, purple, and blue. It's really pretty.
- There's a lady dressed in purple. Her head doesn't reach the horse's back.
- The guy with the shovel is taller than the horse and wagon.
- There's a road between the church and house that goes in a "Y."
- There aren't any fir trees.
- It's very dark - the colors aren't bright.
- There aren't a lot of people out, but the one's who are out look happy and cheerful; and not glum.

Olivia recalled:
- There are two horses (yellow and orange). The yellow one is part of a a horse-drawn wagon.
- There are lots of hills and a church in front of that.
- All of the houses have dark windows.
- By the yellow house there's a car in the shed.
- There are lots of trees.
- It's snowing. The snow is heavy and there are lots of snowflakes.
- There are fences along the road.
- There are only three animals out.

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Rainbow

Sophia remembered:

- A boy feeding two black horses.

- There's a big white church in the distance and behind it are more houses - lik a settlement.

- The grass looks fresh and pretty. I like the greens and yellows.

- Therea re two donkeys pulling a plow.

- Huge mountains shrouded in mist.

- The rainbow isn't as bright as in real life. Real rainbows have more colors than yellow and green.

- Next to the house is a winding path leading to the barn.

- The sky is a pale blue.

- There are two oxen pulling red machinery with trees cut down.

- There is a little white house that has a flower garden near it.

- There's a little bush with purple, pink, and red flowers.

- There are no cats or dogs.

Olivia remembered:

- There's a pasture with a cow and goats pulling a plow.

- A boy is petting a tall brown horse.

- Behind the house are big mountains.

- There are two big black oxen pulling a wagon in front of the barn.

- All the people look happy.

- One person is cutting pumpkins.

- There's a rainbow.

- There's a white farm house.

- The paths have white fences around them.

- There's a big tree covered with green leaves.

- People are wearing white, black, brown, green, and red clothes.

- Beside the person cutting pumpkins, there's a big hedge of flowers.

- The pastures are green and gold with a patch of weeds.