Meet the Art: Weaning the Calf (Quick Tip)

An oil painting of a farm scene with animals and three human figures. One boy is shown pulling a rope that is tied to a calf. Two other boys stand side by side, watching from a distance. A cow, a fence, chickens, two large hay bales, and two trees are depicted in the background.
Winslow Homer, Weaning the Calf

Look

  • How many animals can you find in this scene of a farm?
  • What is the boy in the front doing to the calf?
  • Can you find the mother cow in the distance?
  • What do you think will happen if the calf’s rope breaks?
  • Imagine you are in this scene. What animal sounds might you hear?

Connect

Find another painting of the outdoors that has children in it.

What are the children doing? Would you like to do what they are doing? Name three kinds of things you like to do outside.

Enrich

Visit your library online and read a book about a farm (for example, Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown). What kinds of animals live on a farm? Make drawings of some of your favorite farm animals. Older children might enjoy visiting a virtual farm.

Grade level
Pre-K, K, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
Subject Areas
Science, Social Studies, Visual Arts
Concepts
Environment, Work