October 10-16, 2020: Suggested Learning Ideas, Events & Resources for Western MA

  Posted on October 8, 2020 By

Awarded the “Essential Agent of Change Award” by the MDPH’s Massachusetts Essentials for Childhood, Hilltown Families is recognized as a leading family strengthening initiative in the region, promoting “positive parenting through the social norm of community social connectedness.” Serving Western Massachusetts since 2005, Hilltown Families continues to support the development and enhancement of our local economy and community. Local businesses, farms, individuals, schools, and non-profit organizations are invited to collaborate with Hilltown Families in their community outreach. With 10,000 opt-in subscribers and over 2.7 million visits to our web site alone, Hilltown Families can deliver your message to thousands of families living throughout the four counties of Western MA! Find out about our affordable advertising options and how you can partner with Hilltown Families in your online marketing by contacting us at info@hilltownfamilies.org… and scroll down to discover learning ideas and community-based educational opportunities to explore at home and outdoors this weekend and next week.

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In-person archaeological investigations at Historic Deerfield:
Oct 10 & Oct 17.

Historic Deerfield starts its archaeological investigation of the Stebbins House site in October as part of Massachusetts Archaeology Month. On October 10 and October 17, museum visitors are welcome to stop by the excavation site and talk to archaeologists about what they’re doing. Artifacts unearthed at the Stebbins House Site will be processed at a field lab table for visitors to see. Visitors can view artifacts and ask questions about daily life at the site more than 175 years ago. Admission is $15 for adults (18+) and FREE for kids age 17 and under. Visit www.historic-deerfield.org to purchase tickets in advance online. The museum is open from 9:30am-4:30pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through November 29, 2020.

Virtual. Adapted In-Person Outdoors & Indoors

Springfield Museums: Field Trips and Museum School. Springfield, MA. For homeschoolers and schoolers with five museums to mine for information and activities, the Springfield Museums does what few others can—combine art, history, science, and Dr. Seuss into fun-filled, engaging experiences that reinforce critical thinking and observation skills through inquiry-based learning. The Springfield Museums offer a broad range of educational programs for all ages and interest levels, and they are happy to custom-build an experience for your small group. For more information: fieldtrips@springfieldmuseums.org; 413-263-6800 x322; springfieldmuseums.org/groups/school.

In-person on Saturday, October 31. 9am-2pm

5th Annual Ski and Winter Gear Sale, returns on October 31, 2020, from 9am-2pm, under the tent at 67 Amity Street on the lawn of the Amherst History Museum, with deals and choices so big – it’s scary! Proceeds benefit the museum. Shoppers can once again choose from a vast selection of new and used downhill, cross-country skis, ski poles, helmets, snowshoes, boots, skates, snowboards, outdoor clothing (including jackets, gloves, mittens, and hats) all in adult and youth sizes. Strict safety guidelines will be observed with periodic cleaning of surfaces and social distancing measures in place. Masks are required, costumes are appreciated! For information and updates, go to: 1 DAY TENT SALE EVENT.

A2Z Science & Learning Toy Store in Northampton is celebrating an amazing 33 years in business with 20% off the entire store!!! The sale starts Friday, October 9th and ends Sunday, October 11th. It is their way of saying a big THANK YOU to all of their amazing customers for helping them continue to be the best toy store in the Pioneer Valley! Shop in store or online with their full inventory range. (Over 8000 products!) They can also do curbside pickup, local delivery, and shipping! Find them at 57 King Street, Northampton MA, or online at A2ZScience.com.

The Institute for the Musical Arts will be offering a Collaborative Home Recording Intensive, October 19-November 1. This virtual recording intensive designed to introduce participants to the basics of creating high-quality recordings home. Whether you are interested in recording music or spoken word or in production and sound design, this course will provide you with basic studio production concepts, terminology, mic selection, and recording technique. In a collaborative virtual environment, participants will explore recording voices for oral histories or podcasts, remix a previously recorded piece and learn to produce, record, and mix music on your PC. All ages & abilities are welcomed. Enrollment is limited. Register at www.ima.org.

Accepting Applications for Fall 2021.

Bement is open with students attending school in person and they are accepting applications for fall 2021. The Bement School founded in 1925 and located in Deerfield is a co-educational junior boarding and day school serving 200 students in kindergarten through grade 9. Bement’s rich curriculum motivates and challenges students with strong academics, a renowned fine arts program, and a diverse athletic program. Students participate in athletics and fine arts every day. The pervasive atmosphere at Bement is that of a family, learning and living together. Bement actively seeks an academically diverse, international, and multi-cultural student body. For information join their virtual info session or call 413-774-4209 www.bement.org.

Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!

Find what you’re looking for in our 2020/2021 Preschool & Daycare Directory for Western MA!

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SUGGESTED LEARNING IDEAS,
RESOURCES, & EVENTS
October 10-16, 2020

Saturday, Oct 10 • Sunday, Oct 11
Monday, Oct 12 • Tuesday, Oct 13 • Wednesday, Oct 14
Thursday, Oct 15 • Friday, Oct 16

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Online and in-person events and resources shared below are done so as a courtesy and not as an endorsement. While we do our best to share accurate and up-to-date information, please take the time to confirm information, age appropriateness, registration requirements, safety protocols, and associated costs.

Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Suggested Events

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

WHEAT & CORN HARVEST SEASON

The word “harvest” is originally derived from the Old English “haerfest,” meaning “autumn.” In ancient Britain and other European communities, the fall harvest marked the reaping and gathering of wheat. Victorian folklorist James George Frazer recounts several northern European’ corn dolly’ customs, corn being an ancient term for any kind of grain: “In the neighbourhood of Danzig the person who cuts the last ears of corn makes them into a doll, which is called the Corn-mother or the Old Woman and is brought home on the last waggon. In some parts of Holstein the last sheaf is dressed in women’s clothes and called the Corn-mother. It is carried home on the last waggon, and then thoroughly drenched with water. The drenching with water is doubtless a rain-charm.” Typically, these dolls, made at the harvest time, would be kept throughout the winter and then plowed into the following spring’s furrows. All over the world, harvest time is an occasion to thank the earth for providing us with food. Looking through the lens of the grain harvest, today’s self-directed learning module supports interests in European culture, Native American customs, and colonial food history through the lens of corn & wheat.

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Find what you’re looking for in our 2020/2021 Preschool & Daycare Directory for Western MA!

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Suggested Events

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

WEATHER FOLKLORE

Can Woolley Bears (Pyrrharctia isabella) offer us an indication as to the severity of the coming winter? Common North American folklore says that a wide brown band calls for a mild winter and a narrow one calls for a severe winter. While there is no scientific evidence for this prediction, looking for these little guys and examining them closely with your kids opens up channels for learning while connecting to the seasons. For today’s self-directed learning module, learn more about caterpillars and let your curiosity of Woolley Bears and other weather-based folklore lead the way!

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Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!

Monday, October 12, 2020

Suggested Events:

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

APPLE SEASON

Apples, one of the earliest (and most delicious) signs of fall, have been an essential part of New England agriculture for centuries. McIntosh apples are undeniably the most iconic of New England’s apples and makeup over two-thirds of the region’s apple crop! Macs and countless other delicious and fascinating varieties of apples are grown at orchards across western Massachusetts. Families can enjoy this year’s apple crop by visiting an orchard to pick or purchase a bushel. Participate in the tradition of apple-picking and support local agriculture! Check with these local apple orchards for picking conditions and opportunities this year: Park Hill Orchard (Easthampton), Outlook Farm (Westhampton), Bear Swamp Orchard & Cidery (Ashfield), Quonquont Farm (Whately), Clarkdale Fruit Farms (Deerfield), and Bashista Orchards (Southampton). Before heading out, learn about the history of the apple pie, and then while visiting these properties, take a picnic lunch and read Robert Frost’s “After Apple-Picking” and William Cullen Bryant’s “The Planting of an Apple-Tree.”

“Have you ever walked into a grocery store and wondered where all the varieties of apples came from? You might find SnapDragon, Pixie Crunch, Cosmic Crisp, Jazz, or Ambrosia next to the more familiar Red Delicious and Granny Smith. So why are there so many types? Theresa Doud describes the ins and outs of breeding apples.” – TED-Ed

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of apples in your grocery store check out these apple recipes from our contributing writers, integrating culinary arts and kitchen math into your apple lessons this month: Apple Chutney & Apple Cake.

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Find what you’re looking for in our 2020/2021 Preschool & Daycare Directory for Western MA!

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Suggested Events:

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

PUMPKIN, WINTER SQUASH, & GOURD SEASON

Pumpkins and winter squashes are a traditional harvest in New England. This time of year in Western Massachusetts, you’ll find a locally grown varieties being sold at roadside stands, co-ops, and local farms. Memories of pumpkin games at town festivals, the smell of winter squash baking with cinnamon and nutmeg, and gourds decorating dining room tables and front porches conjured up a connection to place through the seasons. Let’s use this local harvest to guide our learning about art, science, and culinary arts today’s learning module.

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Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Suggested Events:

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

BLUEJAYS & THE AMERICAN CROW

Bluejays and American crows fill the late September soundscape with their jeers and caws, warning one another of migrating broad-winged hawks overheard. The grey squirrel’s kuks & quaas can be heard from the branch-highway of oak, aspen, and maple trees they scurry upon, as these deciduous trees slowly begin to drop their leaves. These are some of the sounds and movements of late summer and early autumn. Paying attention to our soundscape changes as we move through the seasons anchors us in the present moment and allows for investigation and appreciation. Take the time to stop and observe, seeing what thoughts and curiosities arise when you pay attention to your soundscape. Why are bluejays so quiet in the summer but not in the fall? How does the fall hawk migration influence their behavior? Can you tell the difference between a male and a female bluejay? How about crows? Do you know how long they live? Let these questions lead your learning this week, following your interests and connecting with the seasonal changes and behaviors of native species.

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Find what you’re looking for in our 2020/2021 Preschool & Daycare Directory for Western MA!

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Suggested Events:

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

MUSHROOM SEASON

Oct 15 is National Mushroom Day! The kingdom of mushrooms is truly magical organisms. The fleshy, spore covered protuberance that we see growing above the ground is only a portion of the whole organism. One particularly old and massive fungal organism can be found in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, which is more than 2,400 years old and extends over 2,200 acres! The largest above-ground mushroom, or “fruiting body,” was recently discovered in China. This mammoth mushroom was thirty-six feet tall and weighed more than a thousand pounds. Because the vast majority of its body is underground, mushrooms can often appear and disappear rapidly, with some species that literally appear overnight and then retract by the afternoon of the next day. Mushrooms are mysterious, but we know that they play a crucial role in forest ecosystems. Autumn is a great time of year to support an interest in ecology, biology, and culinary arts through the lens of mushrooms.

 

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Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!

Friday, October 16, 2020

Suggested Events:

Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.

AUTUMN FOLIAGE

Fall in Western Mass is when nature literally takes center stage; a destination visitors outside the area flock to because of the gorgeous dynamism of the season. The trees and their changing foliage are great connectors for kids (in a sense they connect to themselves!) to the outdoors and their sense of place. In this change lies a wonderful community-based educational opportunities tied to art and science. Read our post, Autumn Leaf Collecting Supports Art & Science, to see how you can get your kid hooked on fall by collecting, creating and learning in their own backyards! Also check out these videos to support learning about botany, chemistry, and ecology through the lens of fall foliage!

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Hilltown Families’ list of Suggested Events is supported in part by grants from the Amherst, Bernardston, Buckland, Chester, Gill, Goshen, Hadley, Heath, Hinsdale-Peru, Holyoke, Montgomery, Mt. Washington, New Salem, Northern Berkshire, Pelham, Plainfield, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Springfield, Washington, Westhampton, and Windsor Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

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