Hilltown Families 
October 17-23, 2020: Suggested Learning Ideas, Events & Resources for Western MA
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 17.
Historic Deerfield starts its archaeological investigation of the Stebbins House site in October as part of Massachusetts Archaeology Month. On 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.
In-person on Saturday, October 31. 9am-2pm
Haunted Hangars Trick or Treat at New England Air Museum on Halloween!
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.
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.
Virtual Educational Fair on Thurs, Nov 19.
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!
ADVERTISE HERE: Partner with Hilltown Families in your online advertising! Delivering your message each week to over 25,000 subscribers, web visitors, and social media followers, Hilltown Families can deliver your message to thousands of readers in Western MA who are committed to their community and willing to support one another in times of need. In-person and virtual event organizers, local and online businesses, virtual and local service providers, non-profit organizations, and individuals are encouraged to reach out to find out about our affordable advertising options and marketing packages. To find out how we can partner together in your online marketing and outreach, contact Sienna at swildfield@hilltownfamilies.org.
SUGGESTED LEARNING IDEAS,
RESOURCES, & EVENTS
October 17-23, 2020
Saturday, Oct 17 • Sunday, Oct 18
Monday, Oct 19 • Tuesday, Oct 20 • Wednesday, Oct 21
Thursday, Oct 22 • Friday, Oct 23
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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 17, 2020
Suggested Events
- 9-10am: Hilltown Family Variety Show on WXOJ 103.3FM out of Northampton.
- 7am – MUSEUM ADVENTURES: Into the Autumn Mist- Virtual Family Event
- 10am-4pm – HISTORY/ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeology Days
- 10am – ECOLOGY/TREES: Boreal Spruce-Fir Forest Fall Hike
- 10am – ECOLOGY/HIKING: Hike the Keystone Arch Bridges Trail
- 10:30am – LITERACY/STORYTIME: Another Autumn Storytime on the Patio
- 12pm – COMMUNITY MEAL: Seventh Annual Chicken BBQ
- 1pm – ECOLOGY/ZOOLOGY: Aquatic Mammal Walk
- 2pm – HISTORY/EXTINCTION: Nevermore: Remembering the Passenger Pigeon with Gerri Griswold
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 6:30pm – PARANORMAL/FOLKLORE: Book of the Dead – Wicked Tales
- 7pm – HISTORY/WOMEN’S SUFFERAGE: 100 Years of the 19th Amendment
- 7pm – WOMEN’S STUDIES/MUSIC HISTORY: 100 Years of the 19th Amendment
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more events!
Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.
JACK-O-LANTERNS
Called “pompions” by the first European colonists, pumpkins were a food essential to winter survival – and they were grown in many more varieties than they typically are today. The custom of carving pumpkins into Jack O’Lanterns was introduced to American culture by Irish immigrants, influencing our cultural landscape to this day. Traditionally carved from root vegetables, including turnips and potatoes, new hybrids of pumpkins are grown specifically for carving. For today’s self-directed learning module, follow your curiosity and learn about history, folklore, culture, and artisan techniques through the lens of jack-o-lanterns!
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Find what you’re looking for in our 2020/2021 Preschool & Daycare Directory for Western MA!
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Suggested Events
- 10am – PLANT BIOLOGY/SEED SAVING: Let’s Save Seeds!
- 11am – HARVEST/FOOD PRESERVATION: Preserving the Harvest (In-Person)
- 2pm – NATIVE HOMELANDS/JUSTICE: 400 years: Truth and Healing for the next 7 generations
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 7pm – NEW ENGLAND: Virtual Tour of Salem, MA
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more events!
Want to have your online or in person event, class, or workshop featured with Hilltown Families? Inquire at info@hilltownfamilies.org.
COSTUMES
Halloween is a holiday that invites us to tell stories through costumes, allowing us to engage in fantasy and role-playing for at least a single night. Traditional costumes for Halloween include ghosts, zombies, iconic monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, werewolves, etc.), and harvest icons (scarecrows, pumpkins, corn, etc.). Still, costumes, in general, can span the genres of history, reality, and culture. With interest in costumes being one many families consider this time of year, today’s self-directed learning module offers lessons in puppetry, indigenous cultures, history, film studies, costume design, storytelling, fashion design, and much more! With this list of curated videos, costumes are our catalyst for learning today.
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Discover virtual & adapted programming in our 2020/2021 Class Directory for Western MA!
Monday, October 19, 2020
Suggested Events:
- STEM: 2020Mass STEM Week 2020 (Online)
- 10am-3pm: LITERACY/PLACEMAKING: StoryWalk at The Mount (In-Person)
- 2pm – CLASS/HOME RECORDING: Home Recording Intensive, Oct 19 – Nov 1 with The Institute for the Musical Arts
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 6:30pm – PARANOMAL/MARITIME: Maritime Ghosts and Seafaring Spirits Presentation
- 8pm – MINDFULNESS: Mindfully Taking Action
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more 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!
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Suggested Events:
- STEM: 2020Mass STEM Week 2020 (Online)
- 6pm: PLANT BIOLOGY – Liverworts and Plant Communication (Online)
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more 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 21, 2020
Suggested Events:
- STEM: 2020Mass STEM Week 2020 (Online)
- 2pm – CARTOGRAPHY: The Visual Language of Maps (Virtual)
- 4-6pm – ART STUDIES: Creative Lettering
- 4pm – Art Studies/Lettering: Creative Lettering (Every Wed until Nov 4)
- 4pm – Nature-Based: After-School Adventures: Virtual Nature Detectives (Every Tues until Oct 28)
- 4pm – Storytime: Storytime for School-Aged Kids: “Whose Shoes?” (Every Wed until Dec 23)
- 5pm – HALLOWEEN: Phantoms and Fire (In-Person)
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 6pm – MARINE BIOLOGY: Coral Identification
- 6:30pm – HISTORY/WOMEN’S SUFFERAGE: Longmeadow and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement
- 7pm – MUSIC STUDIES: Music, Community Engagement, & Social Action: Project STEP
- 7pm: PARANORMAL: Haunted Western Mass (Virtual Program)
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more 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 22, 2020
Suggested Events:
- STEM: 2020Mass STEM Week 2020 (Online)
- 8am – EDUCATION: Coffee with The Bement School Admission Office (Virtual)
- 8am – MOVEMENT/SPANISH: Music & Movement (Virtual)
- 8am – CHURCH HISTORY/FOLKLORE: Macabre Church Lore with Dr Francis Young
- 2pm – ORNITHOLOGY: Sparrow Identification Workshop
- 3pm – FASHION STUDIES: The Nature of Fashion: Moving Towards a Regenerative Model (Online)
- 4pm – MUSIC STUDIES/OPERA: Opera History (Zoom)
- 4-9pm – Placemaking/Halloween: The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show (Every Wed-Sun in Oct)
- 4:30pm – Culinary Arts: Cooking the Harvest for Kids, Fall Edition (Every Thurs until Oct 29)
- 5pm – HALLOWEEN: Phantoms and Fire (In-Person)
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN/STORYTELLING: Big Joe the Storyteller Presents: Spooky Ooky
- 7pm: GARDENING/PERMACULTURE – Introduction to Permaculture
- 7pm: TEENS/LITERACY: YA Virtual Book Group
- 7:30pm – THEATER STUDIES: New Play Reading Series: Having the Greysons and other food for thought by Marty Bongfeldt (Virtual)
- 8:30pm – RACE & JUSTICE: Using Books to Engage Young Children in Talk about Race & Justice
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more 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!
Friday, October 23, 2020
Suggested Events:
- STEM: 2020Mass STEM Week 2020 (Online)
- HALLOWEEN/PUMPKINS: Pumpkins All Around The Place!
- 4-9pm: Halloween/Placemaking: The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show (Every Wed-Sun in Oct)
- 5pm – HALLOWEEN: Phantoms and Fire (In-Person)
- 6pm: HALLOWEEN – PumpkinFest 2020, Westfield
- 8pm – PARANORMAL – Ghost Tours (Virtual)
- Check Hilltown Families Facebook event page for more 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.
