Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Openings in middle and high school for 2022-23! Beautiful outdoor classrooms, deep academic inquiry, music, and art in everyday learning, active land stewardship, and a culture of compassion: that is the Hartsbrook School. During this time of uncertainty, Hartsbrook has provided students with a grounding and nurturing foundation every day. Discover how meaningful a school experience can be and enjoy a vibrant, active parent community. PreK thru high school. Call 413-586-1908 x116 to begin your exploration and imagine the potential for your child. 193 Bay Road, Hadley, www.hartsbrook.org

The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) in South Hadley, MA, is accepting applications for the 2022/2023 school year for students entering grades 7-11. As a Public Charter school with 400 students from 60+ communities, PVPA offers a free, college-preparatory education with the arts at the heart of all they do. Students are encouraged to think critically and work collaboratively in a supportive learning environment with small class sizes. Arts concentrations include Music, Dance, Theater, and Visual Arts. Enrollment to PVPA is open to all MA residents on a space-available basis. Tuition-free, no audition required. Application Deadline: Feb 1, 2022. Enrollment Lottery: Feb 14, 2022. Apply now at www.pvpa.org/admissions. For more info, call 413-552-1580 x134 or email admissions@pvpa.org.

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Mapping Skills/Local History

While old maps are interesting on their own, they provide an excellent entry point for local history studies. The Massachusetts State Department of Education includes local history in its frameworks for third-grade social studies. Still, local history is a topic anyone can learn about at varying depths by self-directed learners of all ages. Read more in our post, “Maps of Massachusetts: Supporting Social Studies & Local History.”

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Self-Directed Learning: Unseen World

There is much which is imperceptible to the human eye, either because it moves too fast, too slow, too small, or is all-encompassing. This unseen world can be unveiled to us through the use of film and microscopes. The use of tools to help us see a world that exists right in front of us is a fascinating experience. What else might we not be able to see or detect yet someday be able to with the invention of new tools and resources? How does perceiving an “unseen world” contribute to our perspectives on life, and how might it impact our way of being in the world? Today’s self-directed learning module takes this concept and unfolds it by illustrating what we do have access to seeing using cameras, film, and electron microscopes, leaving us to ponder what we might be missing, which is literally in front of our eyes!

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Self-Directed Learning: Animation

Animated short films can spark the imagination and open up channels of learning. In today’s self-directed learning module, we’re featuring three short animated films to support learning and curiosity about the relationship between flowers and humans, the resiliency of nature and an optimistic outlook on mortality, and an animated representation of a well-known piece of classical music.

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Self-Directed Learning: Fractals

This month, whether you’re admiring summer cloud formations, taking in the horizon of our local mountain ranges, or just admiring the ferns and wildflowers during an afternoon hike, a silent changing pattern may be present, which you might not be aware. Change is a constant, and as each month fades into the next, previous patterns blend into newer ones. We’re familiar with a variety of designs found in our backyards, such as the heart-shaped leaves of clover and the spiral of a snail’s shell. Still, other patterns involving multidimensional interconnectedness are more challenging to recognize. These patterns, known as fractals, are described as expanding or evolving symmetry. They repeat themselves in a specific way, which can be noticed on a macro and a micro-level. For today’s self-directed learning module, let’s learn about the discovery and geometry of fractals, where they appear in nature and contemplate how we may be a smaller and larger piece of this universal pattern.

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Self-Directed Learning: Astronauts

When a human leaves earth and travels to space, they return with the universal reward of a new perspective. These videos highlight astronauts’ renewed viewpoints, echoing an embodied awareness through their experiences in outer space that we are all connected. In today’s self-directed learning module, listen deeply to the wisdom of these astronauts, discussing with your family, and share your thoughts on human connection during a time of social isolation.

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Self-Directed Learning: Chain Reactions

There are lots of concepts that children learn that involve chain reactions. The interrelatedness of nature is entirely dependent on an intricately woven set of relationships. When one thing changes – the availability of a resource or the population of an animal, perhaps – everything else is affected. Human populations experience a similar phenomenon – such relationships are all around us! However, the abstract nature of interrelated relationships can be challenging for kids to grasp. Explaining complex concepts using metaphor or visual representations can be helpful, but what about something that kids can touch and see themselves? Something that perfectly illustrates the idea of interrelatedness and chain reactions but happens much more quickly than chain reactions do in nature or within human society? Read more in our post, Science & Fun of Chain Reactions.

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Self-Directed Learning: Beavers

Not only is winter the ideal season for tracking because of the blank canvas that snow provides, but the cold temperatures also help to open up access to habitats that trackers cannot explore during the rest of the year. In particular, winter is an excellent time to learn about beaver habitat! Read more in our post, Nature Guide for January: Beaver Habitats.

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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, Amherst, Buckland, Chicopee, Colrain, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Heath, Huntington, Orange, Palmer, Shelburne, South Hadley, Tyringham, Windsor, and Worthington. Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.