Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Whole Children in Hadley, MA, is pleased to offer a Virtual & In-Person Winter Program for school-age kids and teens. Their 6-week program will be offered Monday through Saturday, January 10 – February 19, 2022 and will include a full roster of virtual classes and a selection of in-person classes, including photography, theater, Joyful Chorus, Friendship Band, and more! Price: $125 for six weeks of unlimited classes! For more information, visit wholechildren.org/class-schedule or call 413-585-8010.

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.

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Winter Bird Watching

During the winter, young wildlife enthusiasts can focus their attention on feathered friends, one of the few creatures who are still very visible throughout the coldest months of the year. Whether your family are avid birders or simply enjoy watching feeder visitors, there are lots of ways to learn about the local environment and to participate in citizen science by watching birds this winter! From owls to chickadees, there are many ways to engage with the local landscape and to help contribute information to important studies. Read more in our post, Becoming a Citizen Scientist Opens Your Awareness to Birdlife In Your Backyard.

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Self-Directed Learning: Ice Skating

People have been skating on ice for hundreds of years, although this “early” skating was pragmatic rather than recreational. “Skate” is derived from the Dutch word “schaats,” which means leg bone, as the first skates were simply lengths of animal bone strapped to the bottom of boots. When wood and then iron blades were introduced as a replacement to bone, skaters gained more control and speed, and skating for sport and fun began to rise. Our local skating culture traces its roots to Scottish immigrants, who brought skates with them when they resettled in the U.S., and can be a great topic to explore on and off the ice while learning about the world and New England culture and history. Find local skating resources in our post, 24 Ice Skating Rinks in Western Mass, then take the time to learn about neuroscience, physics, engineering, anatomy, and the history of ice skating!

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Self-Directed Learning: Cross Country Skiing

There are many ways to remain active and engaged with the outdoors during the winter. Nordic skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating, and snowshoeing are a sample of activities that allow one to get outside, stay fit, and maintain a healthy lifestyle while exploring the beauty of nature in the winter. Choosing a winter sport is not only spending time outdoors. It is also a way of participating in local culture and history traditions. Want to learn how to cross country ski? Learn the basics of cross country skiing and the history of a local treasure to practice what you learn in the Hilltowns of Western MA! Download our Jan/Feb edition of Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western Massachusetts for places to ski, skate, and snowshoe in Western MA.

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Self-Directed Learning: Snowflakes & Frost

Snow in New England not only offers opportunities for sledding, but it is also a great creative medium that can support science studies too! The chemistry behind snowflakes and frost is just waiting to be discovered! Kids can use snow, ice, and frost to learn about crystals. Snowflakes are a beautiful form of crystals, each one showing off a microscopic symmetrical design of spears, points, indents, and cutouts. (Be sure to read the book Snowflake Bentley!). Families can explore the formation of crystals with science experiments, including a giant snowflake made out of a Borax solution and homemade rock candy. These experiments create crystals slowly and on a scale that kids can examine for themselves. To maximize the learning possibilities, do both experiments simultaneously and make comparisons – determine which one grows faster, grows larger crystals, and makes the most transparent crystals. Another great topic to include in a study of winter precipitation is frost. See if you can find out the difference between snow and frost, and then see if you can identify the specific types of frost. You might even try creating your own frost flowers by soaking fallen branches or bits of logs and freezing them – a comparison between an outside log and a log frozen in a home freezer might present exciting results! The many different frost types are found during various weather and moisture conditions, and some are very rare. 

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Self-Directed Learning: Family Dinner

Family dinner. It’s been proven that having meals together with your children benefits their social and emotional development and linguistic skills. Family dinner is a time for adults to model good manners, gratitude, and generosity—a time to connect through storytelling, conversations, and holding space for one another. But family dinner doesn’t have to be solely dinner. It can be breakfast. Snacks. Even picnics in the summer. Aim for the “Good Enough” dinner, with goals to connect rather than holding expectations that your time together should be anything other than what transpires. In today’s self-directed learning modules, adults can learn about the value of sharing meals with the family, and kids can discover a history of family dinners through one cultural perspective.

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Self-Directed Learning: Extinction

The extinction of animal species can be attributed to many different factors, but it all boils down to the impacts of humans. Thinking about endangered and extinct animals can conjure up great questions and topics to explore. Loss of habitat and invasive species are two human-induced causes of extinction of plants and animals. (Are WE an invasive species?!) A complex topic to face, learning about extinction, the contributions of human behavior, and understanding which species will survive can lead us to a better understanding of why scientists are looking towards gene-editing and cloning as a method for reversing extinction and solutions for habitat conservation. For today’s self-directed learning module, link together human impact, invasive species, the strategy behind the conservation of umbrella species, the ethics of gene-editing, and a look at the efforts to save species for a deep dive on a challenging subject.

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Self-Directed Learning: Hibernation

In the winter, your kids might wonder where are all of the animals! Curiosity about the seasonal changes in local fauna can support learning about zoology, biology, and ecology! Using this as a lens for learning, get curious about hibernation! Do animals only hibernate in the winter? Do trees hibernate? How long do they hibernate? Is it the same for all animals? Start with these questions to begin your self-directed learning journey today!

Weekly eNewsletter

Online and in-person events and resources shared above 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.

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Hilltown Families’ list of Suggested Events is supported in part by grants from the Agawam, Colrain, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.