Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

From May 15-31, 2022, enjoy 20% off homeschool curriculum, craft supplies, and educational resources in Oak Meadow’s online bookstore. Oak Meadow’s book-based preschool through grade 12 homeschooling curriculum provides a comprehensive educational experience delivered with imagination and heart. Their approach is compassionate and student-centered because they believe that children are sensitive and intelligent and that we can joyfully integrate learning into life. Choose from complete curriculum packages for PreK-8 or individual courses for high school; or purchase craft supplies, homeschooling resources, books, and more. Shop May 15-31, 2022, at oakmeadowbookstore.com.

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!

Performing Arts Camp at Stoneleigh-Burnham School (SBS) in Greenfield is a camp for ages 10-16 interested in theater, voice, and dance! Performing arts is a great way for students to investigate the world around them and cultivate meaning in their lives. At SBS, performing arts classes are community-oriented, nonhierarchical, body-positive, and culturally relevant. Students will spend time learning and rehearsing a fun program of choral music, musical theater, and dance through participation in the performing arts camp. Students will have the opportunity to learn about vocal technique and health, work on acting and emoting, and focus on dance for musical theater. At the end of the week, students will share their learnings in an informal performance. Dates: August 7-13, 2022; Age Range: 10-16yo. Contact: 413-774-2711 ♦ sbschool.org

River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC) is a multi-faceted community-based mental health agency changing lives and empowering people throughout the Pioneer Valley since 1953. The offices are located in Easthampton, Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield, and Westfield. RVCC partners with school districts throughout Hampden and Hampshire Counties to provide therapy to students during the school day. RVCC is hiring clinicians! They offer a flexible schedule, bonuses for licensed and bilingual applicants, $1000 CEU benefit, $5,000 annual tuition reimbursement, generous health benefits, and more! Visit www.rvccinc.org to view current career opportunities and sign up for one of RVCC’s Virtual Hiring Events.

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

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Mindfulness

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 with 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 past seasons. 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 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 supports place-based education and strengthens a sense of place through the cultivation of respect for nature’s process and, ultimately, “understanding everything better.”

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Self-Directed Learning: National Scone Day

There is no better accompaniment to a good stiff, rust-colored cup of tea than a scone. There is, however, considerable variation in what is meant by a scone throughout the English-speaking world. In the first case, the population of Great Britain is evenly divided between those who pronounce it “scone” rhyming with “gone” and “scone” rhyming with “tone.” The word seems to have first appeared in 1513 and may be derived either from the Dutch schoonbrood, meaning “spoonbread,” or from the Gaelic sgonn, a “shapeless mass” or “large mouthful.” Apparently, the original scone was the size of a medium dinner plate and sliced into triangles, a shape more commonly found in the American iteration, while most scones in Great Britain and elsewhere are almost without exception round. But the difference in shape between the American and British scone is only the tip of the iceberg. While the American scone has a crumbly texture, the British version is much more like what we would call a biscuit, less sweet and with a fluffier texture. British scones are sliced in half and slathered with clotted cream and jam.

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Self-Directed Learning: Garden-Based Learning

Gardening is a multidisciplinary activity embedded with learning every step along the way, from botany to soil science to meteorology. Gardening with children encourages their natural curiosity and experimentation. Plus, most kids love to get dirty! If your child loves being outside, gardening will give you a productive reason to spend more time. Garden-based learning is a fun and productive activity for your children. After you have planted your foods or flowers, your child can nurture them and watch them grow. Children learn about scientific concepts such as habitat and life cycle as children nurture plants and watch them change. On an even more basic level, they learn the logic of cause and effect relationships; for example, if a plant does not get water, it will wither. Waiting for a bulb to flower or fruits to grow can teach patience, while plants that require a lot of watering can start discussions about responsibility. Combining gardening with cooking can significantly impact your child’s nutrition. Getting children involved in growing and preparing the foods they eat can positively affect dietary choices. Incorporating whatever foods are ready to be eaten into your dinner can teach you to be creative and add variety to your meals. Plus, harvesting the result of your effort and enjoying it in a meal can teach your children about long-term rewards. Gardening and farming make vegetables fun and instill in children the importance of understanding from where food comes.

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Self-Directed Learning: Fractals

Change is a constant, and as each month fades into the next, previous patterns blend into newer ones. 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 that you might not be aware of. We’re familiar with various 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 more significant piece of this universal pattern.

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Self-Directed Learning: Culinary Arts/Dandelions

For as long as human history has been recorded, the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has been used as food and medicine across the globe. While not native to this continent, this nutritious golden flowering plant arrived with the European colonization of the 1600s and is now commonplace in lawns and meadows across North America. In the spring, the dandelion is one of several common wild edibles foragers look for to supplement their dinner plates. Grow Forage Cook Ferment has a helpful list, which includes, of course, DANDELIONS! Looking through the lens of dandelions, interests in culinary arts, pastry arts, baking, and even home brewing can be supported. Within these interests, lessons in chemistry and math are implicit, while the art of taste and texture is an explicit driving force. Learn how to identify and properly harvest dandelion leaves, flowers, and roots this year, and give them a go in your own kitchen too. Try a recipe for Dandelion Lemon Cupcakes to support an interest in pastry arts, or if you prefer baking, check out this recipe for Dandelion Leaf Bread. Or put on your chef hat and pair Dandelion Fritters with a Dandelion Leaf Salad to experiment with the textures and flavors found within the culinary arts. If you’re interested in beverages, this Dandelion Root Coffee Recipe can set you up with a warm brew or learn about the art of fermentation by making Dandelion Mead or Dandelion Fennel Kombucha!

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Self-Directed Learning: Geology

Who is considered the “Father of Modern Geology?” James Hutton, of course! Today is Huttons birthday, so let’s use it as a catalyst for learning! Geological concepts we still use today took a previous simple understanding of our world and made it complex. Stemming from his theory on blood circulation, his theory of rock formations followed a similar train of thought. Theories like Hutton’s Unconformity and Uniformitarianism were born, paving the way for discoveries by future geologists, including the formation of rock and minerals. Get curious about geological formations in your area, and discover that rocks are more than just rocks… they’re the key to Earth’s history!

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Self-Directed Learning: Animal Studies/Frogs

On the heels of a New England winter, spring in Western MA can be very engaging to the senses. This week, take inventory through your senses and notice what’s “speaking” to you. As you move through the final month of spring, notice what you observe through your senses and how your observations might change and evolve. Our sense of place is interwoven with the seasons and our five senses, deepening our connection to place through seasonal changes. Embedded within this awareness are self-directed learning opportunities sparked by curiosity and supported by community-based resources. Native species are a community-based resource that can deliver lessons through our senses. Take, for instance, deep listening to the frogs and toads native to Western MA. Have you ever noticed how their chorus changes through the season? How they are quiet on some evenings and very noisy on others? Pay attention to their chorus (or lack of), and let it guide your learning! Start by learning the calls of different native frogs in your region. It’s a great way to support interests and education in herpetology, biology, and ecology. Read more in our post, “Nature-Based Learning: Spring Chorus of Frogs & Toads.”

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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, 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.