Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most fanciful and enchanting comedies, telling the tale of four bewitched lovers as they reckon with jealousy, desperation, and the complications of true love. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Stage2 takes up residence at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester to present a 90-minute production of this classic comedy. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will perform 3 open/public community performances: May 7, 2022, at 2pm & 7pm, and May 14, 2022, at 7pm. Tickets are available at commshakes.org. Student Matinee performances will also be available for student groups from May 5-13. Potential patrons should request tickets through this link (also available on their website) or email education@commshakes.org.

In Bloom in Western Mass, Saturday, May 14, 2022, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, is a full day conference for educators and parents of preschool–third grade students. The workshop sessions provide best practices in nature-based early childhood education, cover relevant topics, and take you outside to experience firsthand learning. The morning keynote speaker, Ayana Verdi, founder, and director of Verdi EcoSchool, Melbourne, Florida, will address Cultivating Connection: Using the Community-as-Campus to Build Immersive Learning Experiences for Young Children. The afternoon plenary features Anne Stires of Alna, Maine. Anne will speak on Re-imagining and Co-Creating Change: How a professional learning community (PLC) for Maine administrators is implementing nature-based change in PreK–8 schools. Presented by Antioch University New England in Keene, NH. View the Conference Program to see the workshop descriptions. Contact: Peg Smeltz, msmeltz@antioch.edu

The Hilltown Community Development Corporation (Hilltown CDC) offers free, confidential business assistance to Hilltown residents. If you are thinking of starting or growing your business, the Hilltown CDC can help! And thanks to a generous grant from the MGCC, all of their business assistance is FREE. They have experts in a wide range of areas that can help Hilltown entrepreneurs get on their feet, including website help, social media marketing, business tax and accounting, legal assistance, and Assistance for Farmers! For more information, email Hilltown CDC Economic Development Director Michele Kenney at MicheleK@Hilltowncdc.org, or call 413-354-1055. Sign up for their free virtual classes at hilltowndirectory.com/events

Learn at Morse Hill is an outdoor elementary homeschool program on 85 acres in Shutesbury, MA. As this fully outdoor program plans for its third year of creating hands-on learning experiences under the beautiful hemlocks of Morse Hill, campus tours are now available and filling up quickly! Students enjoy a cozy yurt for warming in the colder months and build resiliency through Morse Hill adventure experiences, including canoeing, hiking, climbing, and a ropes course. Families may select up to four homeschool days per week. To learn more, visit www.learnatmorsehill.com or reach out to Jess Evans, Leadership Team and Enrollment Coordinator, at enroll@schoolatmorsehill.org. 

The Bement School offers summer programs for children ages 4-15. Children have the opportunity to enjoy the fun of a traditional day camp and help create their own schedule by choosing from a wide range of unique activities. Digging into Nature at Pine Hill provides outdoor education for ages 6-9. The Junior Camp provides a safe, nurturing camp experience for our youngest campers. The Adventure Day Camp offers activities that include sports, nature, arts and crafts, and swimming. The Counselor-in-Training program gives young teenagers experience working with children and developing valuable job skills while still enjoying summer camp fun. Summer Program dates are listed on their website. Sign up now, as sessions are filling fast!

The Hilltown Youth Summer Workshop in Charlemont, MA, offers intensive outdoor training for aspiring actors, artists, dancers, musicians, singers, and circus performers (trapeze, fabrics, stilts, German wheel) with Andrae Green, Scott Halligan, Laura Iveson, Double Edge Theatre, and other luminaries from the Valley’s performing arts community. Perform under the stars on an aerial park, zipline, mountaintop at Berkshire East, ensemble and theatergoers reach by chairlift! Help create their 2022 spectacle “Much Ado About Nothing” guest directed by Knighthorse Theatre—”our mission is to make Shakespeare cool again”—no prior experience required. HS-aged participants can apply for their YouthCore program.
Dates: July 11-August 4, 2022; Age Range: 10-18yo. Contact: 413-625-2100 ♦ hilltownyouth@gmail.com ♦ hilltownyouth.org

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Spring Wildflowers

Albert Einstein said, “Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” During the spring, as nature bursts into bloom, help deepen your connection to which Einstein hinted by looking towards the emerging blossoms of flowering plants purposefully planted in gardens or self-seeded in the crevices of sidewalks or manicured lawns. Every spring, flower buds emerge and unfold into inviting blossoms, an annual appearance rooted in the seasons of the past. We can “look deep” into that past to learn about botany, ecology, art, and history. But to “understand everything better,” the beauty of a flower invites us into the present moment where it can spark reverence and capture faith in the process of bud to bloom to seed. It is there that our understanding of “everything” can awaken. Pick a flowering plant nearest you this spring and spend a mindful moment with it every day. Use your camera or sketchpad to capture its unfolding process. Notice its pattern of opening, relationship with pollinators, variants of colors and tones, textures, and smells. Welcome a flowering tulip tree, azalea bush, or dandelion plant into your daily observations and appreciations. Use your senses to connect with the essence of your chosen plant and pair it with self-directed learning about plant science or natural history. Blending the two not only supports place-based education but also strengthens a sense of place by cultivating respect for nature’s process and, ultimately, “understanding everything better.”

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Self-Directed Learning: Mother’s Day

Although Mother’s Day has officially been a holiday in the United States since 1914, the celebration of motherhood dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who celebrated mothers and their roles in society through festivals that honored the goddesses Rhea and Cybele. Contemporary celebrations of Mother’s Day here in the United States are often through the gifting of flowers and cards on the second Sunday in May. Handmade cards are a non-commercial way to celebrate the holiday by infusing individual creativity into crafting the card and its message. Perhaps write a poem, include one by your favorite poet, or create a list of all of the things you appreciate about the mother figures in your life. Read more in our post, Traditions & Cultural Celebrations: Mother’s Day.

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Self-Directed Learning: Farmers’ Markets

The beauty of New England living is that each season offers a new way to learn and engage in our communities. Locally grown and produced food is a community-based resource that can help us understand how to connect to the seasons through local agriculture. Farmers’ markets bring farmers and neighbors together in placemaking events on town commons, plazas, and street corners. Each week, seasonal produce holds center stage while skills are shared, and intergenerational engagement occurs. Sharing knowledge and skills is a type of collaborative consumption that connects neighbors and expands our sense of place and connections with people of all ages. Read more in our posts, Learning Ahead: Farmers’ Markets.

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Self-Directed Learning: Kitchen Scrap Gardening

While almost all food scraps make great compost, certain scraps can make something even more remarkable – more food! Young gardeners can learn about how plants grow and can enjoy delicious homegrown foods with ease! Families can engage in hands-on experiential learning by collecting bits of these particular foods and creating their own mini-gardens. Read more in our post, 17 Kitchen Scraps Born Anew for Experiential Learning.

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Self-Directed Learning: Plant Sales

Plant sales & swaps happen all over western Massachusetts this time of year. From big to small events, many raising funds for valuable community resources, plant sales are an excellent opportunity for sourcing your plants (and gardening knowledge) locally. They are terrific community events for learning tips on plants and gardening from home gardeners and experts in the field! Bring your family to a plant sale this spring and unearth the embedded learning they hold for the entire family! Read more in our post, Plant Sales & Swap Support Local Causes & Embedded Learning.

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Self-Directed Learning: Kitchen Chemistry

People often talk about “chemicals” in our food, water, or hygiene products in reference to possibly toxic or carcinogenic ingredients. Some chemicals certainly are dangerous to humans, but EVERYTHING is made up of chemicals! But what is the exact definition of a chemical, anyway? The Merriam-Webster definition of “chemical” reads, “A substance obtained by a chemical process or producing a chemical effect.” Chemistry is the study of how chemicals interact and react with one another. Cooking is often used as an example of an everyday activity that involves chemistry. When you apply heat to a piece of steak in a pan, water content leaves the muscle fibers. This is why the filet is smaller after it has been cooked. Think about some other interesting reactions which occur in the kitchen. Why does corn pop? Corn contains water, which turns to steam, creating pressure inside the hard outer shell and eventually exploding. Another way to ask this question would be, why don’t other grains pop? Learn more about these types of reactions and get curious in the kitchen!

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Self-Directed Learning: Friday the 13th

Step on a crack, break your mother’s back? Who came up with this superstition, and why? Black cats, whistling in a theater, Friday the 13th, knocking on wood, opening an umbrella inside … these are all examples of superstitions, many of which have their origins in coincidences, forgotten religions, or outdated advice. Cultural habits and psychological bias often perpetuate superstitions. Getting curious about the origins of superstition can be a “lucky penny” for self-directed learners. History, psychology, religion, humanities, and more are often supported. With Friday the 13th as your catalyst, ask questions and seek answers to support your learning! (Unless you have friggatriskaidekaphobia. In which case, maybe tomorrow is better?)

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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, Becket, Bernardston, Buckland, Chester, Chicopee, Colrain, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Heath, Hinsdale/Peru, Huntington, Leyden, Montgomery, Mount Washington, Northern Berkshire, Orange, Otis, Palmer, Pelham, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Tolland, Tyringham, Westhampton, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.