
“The Sower” by Jean-Francois Millet (1850)
Activities
Look: Study the picture. Notice everything you can and try to remember it. This picture was painted by Jean-Francois Millet, who loved to capture images of everyday people doing everyday things. What is this person doing? Why? What might he be feeling or thinking? Can you guess what time of day it is? Close your eyes. Can you still imagine the picture? Look again. How does the picture make your feel? Without looking, describe the picture.
Read: “How a Seed Grows” Plant Life in Field and Garden by Arabella Buckley
Observe: Go outside and see if you can figure out where new seeds are growing on wild plants or garden plants. Which plants have already made their seeds? Put a few seeds in a plastic zipper bag with a piece of damp paper towel and place it in a sunny spot. Watch it for several days. Make drawings of what you see.
Read: “Baby Seed Song” by Edith Nesbitt
Listen: “An Irish Blessing” (traditional), performed by Aris Celebration Choir. This prayer was originally said in the Irish language. Notice how many times weather is mentioned in this blessing.
Share: What gave you joy today? #choosingbeauty
More to Read and Do:
“Seed Germination” A Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
A Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Watch what artist Red Hong Yi does with seeds. You won’t believe your eyes!
“[Fred Yates] was already widely known as a portrait painter. During this visit he was invited to give a lecture to the students on the work of Jean Francois Millet. He had with him no reproductions of the pictures with which to illustrate his talk but the lecture-room had been newly whitewashed. ‘What a lovely surface,’ he said. ‘Charcoal will easily rub off.’ He then chalked from memory upon the walls his admirable reproductions of ‘The Sower,’ ‘The Angelus’ and other Millet masterpieces. Then he gave his lecture. Miss Mason when she saw them insisted that the drawings should be fixed to preserve them for students to come. The room is still known as ‘the Millet,’ for after half a century the pictures are still on the walls.” (Cholmondley, The Story of Charlotte Mason, p.85)
View pictures of the Millet Building, now part of the University of Cumbria.
©Charlotte Mason Institute 2020