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The First Trip to an Art Gallery Since COVID-19 Began: A Day Out in the Life of a Distance-Learner

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On Sunday, March 21, 2021, my family drove my youngest son Sam to the airport because he was moving back to Germany.  He spent four months at home due to COVID-19 after losing his job, but the resort he worked at hired him back. After we said our goodbyes, we considered stopping at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which was a place we loved before the pandemic. Unfortunately, we needed tickets so the museum could limit visitors.

Instead, we stopped at the Electric Fetus because it was nearby; plus, my daughter, Molly, wanted to go there since she got a vinyl record player for her birthday. At Electric Fetus, Molly got an album called Gorillaz present Song Machine. When she was listening to records, she called me in to see her collection, which included an old Godspell album. I explained to her that my parents had the album when I was growing up because they went to the musical with my aunt and uncle in Detroit when I was a little kid. We listened to the album and Molly seemed to like the music because the tunes are pretty catchy. I suggested that she should start a TikTok Godspell craze, but she’s yet to follow my advice.

The following week was Molly’s spring break, and I just so happened to get my second vaccine mid-week. My husband and I volunteered at testing sites on campus and we qualified earlier than we normally would to get the vaccine for the service. After the first vaccine I felt great, but we were still very careful as not everyone was eligible for the vaccine yet and cases were rising in the area. After my second vaccine, I wondered if I would have side effects. About half the people I knew who had the vaccine had side effects after the second shot. When I woke up the day after getting the second vaccine, I felt great and I decided to take Molly to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) for the day.

We left about noon that day and stopped for a chicken sandwich for lunch. We talked about the trip and how excited we were to be going somewhere fun. The drive was pretty uneventful, but we stopped at a rest stop right before we got to the Cities. Around 2pm we arrived at the gallery about a half hour early for our 2:30 tickets and they let us in early. Our first stop was at the gift shop where Molly made two Penny Art pennies—one for herself and one for her friend Addie—of a dog and of the state of Minnesota. Inside the store, Molly found some treasures: a postcards and a Capricorn card set.

We headed to the second floor and we looked at art in the following galleries:

  • Asia
  • Africa
  • Ancient Art
  • Period Rooms
  • Americas
  • Pacific Islands

The museum was not very crowded, which was nice. We are mainly interested in paintings up on the third floor and we headed up there to check out the following galleries:

  • Europe & America 1600-1900
  • Europe 1200-1600
  • Modern & Contemporary
  • Photography
  • Judaica
  • Prints & Drawings
  • Period Rooms

Up on the third floor, we started in the Modern and Contemporary gallery and made our way across the museum to the large Europe & America 1600-1900 gallery. We enjoyed walking through the galleries and taking photos of our favorite paintings for inspiration. We came across a huge dollhouse and we both agreed it reminded us of the dollhouse in the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington DC.

We headed back toward the Modern and Contemporary gallery where we found the van Gogh painting Olive Trees, which we both loved because the painting reminded us of our time in Tuscany where we stayed in villa on top of a mountain that was surrounded by hills an hills of olive trees. Also, in the Italian spirit we looked at several Madonna and Child paintings. There was a statute of a young ballerina, which reminded us of the ballerina statute in the Orsay in Paris.

A gallery on the third floor had large windows where we could see the Minneapolis skyline. It was a beautiful and familiar sight. Also, in the Modern and Contemporary gallery we found the Salvador Dali painting Portrait of Juan de Pareja. For those of you who read my previous blog, you may remember that we visited the Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain, and he’s another one of our favorite artis. The last painting that we stopped to admire was Picasso’s Woman in an Armchair. We have seen Picasso paintings in many galleries, and we even visited two Picasso galleries, one in Paris, and one in Barcelona.

We had a great day and when we drove off, I told Molly that I almost felt like normal. What I meant was before COVID-19, but Molly responded, “Mom, we are normal.” I love that kid. I cannot wait for our next adventure.

Polly and Molly Outside Mia

A Typical Day of School for a Distance-Learning Middle-Schooler

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Distance-learning became a household term in 2020 during the pandemic. Kids and college students across the world learned at home in their bedrooms or at their kitchen tables. For some, distance learning was a nightmare but for others it worked out. My daughter, Molly, thrived safe at home where she continues to learn long after most have returned to the classroom. I asked Molly about her typical school day and this is what she said:

 

  • At 8:30am I wake up to Alexa. First, I check my phone, and then I use the bathroom and brush my teeth. Back in my bedroom I make my bed but I like to stay in my PJs until about 10:00am.
  • Next, I have Student Advisory (SA) at 8:50am and I call in on Zoom with the other distance learners and my SA teacher, Mr. Grote. We talk about updates and do fun homeroom activities. SA is not a core class and Mr. Grote is a Gym teacher. Including me there are approximately 25 seventh grade distance learners at the moment; however, five kids are transferring to in-person when the quarter starts in early April. Sometimes I sleep during this class.
  • At 9:15am I have my first class, which is my favorite, Science. My science teacher Mr. Braun does the labs and I write down data along with the other students. I don’t like it that he does all the fun science activities like the labs and I just write down the data, but I guess that is one of the disadvantages to distance learning. Right now, I am learning about the digestive system. Earlier this year I learned about bones and muscles. Next quarter Mr. Braun is dissecting a frog. I am okay that I don’t have to do that in person. This is one of my core classes and I have it all year long.
  • American Studies, also known as Social Studies, is my least favorite class. It is another core class and I have Mr. Gunderson. I think if I had this class in person, I would enjoy it more. Right now, I am learning about World War I and before that I learned about slavery. Class is at 10:10am.
  • Then at 11:05am I have Language Arts with Mrs. Lewis. I like writing essays but I do not like reading books for class. It takes a lot of motivation for me and I struggle to keep up with the long books. I liked doing a persuasive speech a few weeks ago and I did mine on Why the Ocean Should Be Explored More. I just finished the Survivor unit and I had to read articles and books, watch movies, and do an abstract art project about the topic of surviving. The Survival unit was okay since [my mom] helped me with it, and it was fun watching Alive with the whole family.
Molly's Survival Abstract Art

Molly’ Survival Unit Abstract Art Project

  • My lunch break is at 11:55am – 12:25pm. I usually ask for PB & J, mac & cheese, or leftovers. If [my mom] has a meeting, I will make my own lunch. I normally skip breakfast and lunch is the first meal of the day for me so I am pretty hungry. I like to watch YouTube during my break while I eat lunch.
  • After lunch at 12:30pm I have my Specialist class time. Right now, I am in Project Lead the Way, which is a robotics and technology class. Next quarter, in early April, I have art which I think will be my favorite Specialist class. Earlier this year I had Gym and Spanish. When I did Gym at home, I did workout videos, jumped on the trampoline, biked, did yoga, and played basketball. In Spanish, I did Kahoots and Gimkits with the class, which are online games to help learn Spanish basics like vocabulary words. In Project Lead the Way, I recently made a Rube Goldberg machine with [my brother] Sam’s help. Now in class I play online games, I am learning to code, and in Solve-a-Problem I made desk dividers for my markers in my desk drawer.

Molly’s Rube Goldberg Machine Video

  • I really like my Pre-Algebra teacher, Miss Ritter, who is my favorite teacher. Class is at 1:45pm. I think Math is getting harder this month because I am learning percentages and how to measure circumference.
  • Finally, at 2:20pm I have Band. I play percussion, and I have a piano and a marimba at home to practice on. I also have a rubber practice pad to do my snare drum. I think Band at home is a little boring. I liked it better when everyone was distance learning because then I would get to see everyone from school over Zoom, and not just the distance learners.
  • School ends at 2:55pm. I feel lucky that I have the equipment and space to learn at home during the pandemic. I like being at home with [my mom] while [she] works. Sometimes we go pick up lunch and once [she] brought me to my favorite store Mind Body & Spirit to get some lucky bamboo. My days are filled with learning and for the most part I like to distance learn but I am starting to miss my friends and teachers and I am looking forward to returning to school in the fall.

Molly’s Reality

On Monday, April 5, 2021, students who are distance learning in Sartell can return to school for the final quarter of this academic year. As a family we made the tough decision to keep Molly at home for the remainder of the year. She would have liked to return to school and her friends but the reality of having to be in class all day with kids and teachers who may not take the pandemic as seriously as our family does could be distressing for Molly, not to mention dangerous. She is doing well at home and this is hopefully only one year. We have every intention for Molly to return to school in the fall for eighth grade; however, we cannot predict the future and what kind of situation we will be in due to the pandemic. Time will tell.

Creating a Basement Art Gallery During Isolation

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We love to travel. 

Basement Isolation Art Gallery

Basement Isolation Art Gallery

Molly has been all over Europe and the US, and when we first heard of COVID-19, Molly and I were in Philadelphia visiting Teddy and his girlfriend Kaitlyn for a birthday ski trip for Molly’s 12th birthday in January 2020. When Molly and I landed at MSP on our flight back from Philly we were near the International arrivals and I told her we should move outside to wait for our ride. She asked why, and I explained COVID-19 to her. At that time, it appeared to be only in China but I was being cautious because we had some international travel coming up. That week in school when Molly’s teacher asked if anyone knew about COVID-19, she was the only student who knew about it and where it originated.

We had no idea how serious the COVID-19 situation would become.

The first trip I had planned was to Germany to visit Sam on March 17, 2020. As our trip approached, Paul decided to come with us in case we were isolated or quarantined at either end of the trip. We were glued to the news as the pandemic unfolded. Two weeks prior to our trip, Teddy and Kaitlyn went to Germany and got engaged. They were fortunate that their trip was not cancelled and they made it home without incident even though they were there when the WHO upgraded COVID to a pandemic. Our trip was cancelled on March 13, 2020, and we settled in to sheltering at home thinking it would last a few weeks. The second trip I had planned to Germany and Italy was cancelled on October 1, 2020, and our plans to go to Iceland in August 2020 never got off the ground.

For the first time in Molly’s life, we had no plans to go anywhere.

She adjusted well right away, and we were both on extended spring breaks as our schools were busy planning on how to return to studies remotely. Molly taught me how to paint on canvases with acrylic paints. Molly and I painted many masterpieces that were inspired by our trips to art galleries and museums. Molly also taught me how to make this iMovie and we documented the grand opening of our gallery on Facebook.

As our painting collection grew, we came up with a plan to display our paintings in what was to become our basement isolation museum.

As the months passed, we painted new paintings to add to our museum. In the summer and at Christmastime we encouraged the rest of our family to join us and add masterpieces to our gallery.

Through art and creativity, Molly made the world a little more beautiful one masterpiece at a time. We talked about the galleries we visited throughout the years and our favorite pieces. Molly spent hours pouring through art books and Pinterest for inspiration and ideas and to learn about techniques. Molly plans to study art restoration in college, and I think she has a good foundational start in this important work. Recently Molly told me that she misses visiting art museums, that she thought she took the opportunities for granted, and that she rushed through the galleries not spending the time she should have taking in each piece. I told her in the future we will go back and spend as much time as she needs to see each painting. Painting is one of Molly’s many talents, and in future posts I will share more of those talents.

Basement Art Gallery