Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Hilltown Mobile Market is back for a 4th season! This year, they are operating an online store of products from 20 Hilltown farmers & producers where you can shop weekly for freshly harvested produce, meat, dairy, eggs & pantry items. Orders will be packed & delivered to 18 pickup locations throughout the Hilltowns with convenient hours. They are also offering choice-based Farm Shares where you can spend down your balance throughout the season whenever & however it works for you! Share options range from $150 – $500, with a fully reimbursable option for those with SNAP/HIP. The Market will also be offering door delivery for residents at Westhampton Woods, Hamblin Court, Highland Village Circle, Hillside Terrance, Nash Hill, & The Maples.

Yoga Sanctuary has two week-long programs for kids this summer! Yoga Monkey Kids (ages 6–10) weaves yoga and creative movement, mythic storytelling, creative crafts, and games into one fun and enchanting week! Play Practice: Exploring Yoga & Theater (ages 10–13) includes yoga techniques, theater games, and creative exercises designed to unleash each student’s unique expression, as well as foster dynamic group creation. Plus, all the summer fun of daily outdoors time and a special day spent walking and swimming in our beautiful local nature! Both programs include a special sharing for parents on the final day. Yoga Monkey Kids: June 25–29, 9–2 pm. Play Practice: August 1–5, 9–2 pm. www.yoga-sanctuary.com/kids-summer-programs; studio@yoga-sanctuary.com
➡️ Now through June 15, mention “Hilltown Families” and receive $25 off each program.

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

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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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: Dandelion

Once respected worldwide for its nutritional value and medicinal properties, today, the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is seen by many as a noxious weed. Why? We have the rise of “lawn culture” to thank, whose origin stems back to 17th century England where lawns were a wealth status. Before this landscaping trend took root in the U.S., we might have seen dandelion varieties in seed catalogs and homegrown samples entered in the county fair during the 1800s. But here we are 200 years later, and this delightful and tenacious little flower has been hexed by many as undesirable. And to add insult to injury, the cost of herbicides spent each year to kill this gift from nature is in the millions, impacting far more than just the dandelion. Learning about history through the lens of the common dandelion can help us understand how our culture has gone from loving to hating (and hopefully back to loving) this flowering herbaceous perennial plant. This approach to history might tap into established or budding interests in nutrition, medicine, culinary arts, agriculture, social studies, ecology, and even mythology. 

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Self-Directed Learning: Agriculture/Asparagus

In the Connecticut River Valley, late spring is always associated with harvesting asparagus or ‘Hadley Grass.’ Hadley, once known as the ‘Asparagus Capital of the World,’ was famous for its asparagus from the 1930s to the 1970s. In May and June, the whole Hadley community would come together and harvest up to 50 tons of asparagus a day by hand. While Hadley and the surrounding towns once had several hundred small asparagus farms, in the mid-1970s, a fungus called Fusarium was introduced to the area and decimated the asparagus industry. Local asparagus production may only be a tenth of what it once was, but the asparagus harvest is still an important cultural event for many in the region. Many of our local towns honor the asparagus harvest as a traditional part of spring through food celebrations and community meals, marking the season and connecting us to where we live through food traditions.

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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: Fishing

There are many places to go fishing in Western Massachusetts while connecting with the local landscape while spending time outdoors. The season kicks off with fishing derbies happening around the region in the spring. Getting curious about the impacts fishing has had on our local culture, the history of fishing, how anglers stored fish without refrigeration, and what fish species live in our region can guide your learning. – What is the fishing cultural heritage of New England? How has Western Massachusetts participated in this culture as both consumer and through recreation? Before the invention of refrigerators and freezers, how was fish preserved? How were fish caught before the introduction of contemporary materials? Do you know how many species of fish live in the Connecticut River? The Westfield River? The Housatonic River? – Let these questions lead your learning this spring. Read more in our post, Learning Ahead: Fishing.

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Self-Directed Learning: Homesteading/Backyard Chickens

There are many reasons to want to get involved in the homesteading movement, a trend toward self-reliance in daily living. It can be empowering to learn how to produce your food, clothing, or other products you use daily. You might be motivated because you want to know where these things come from while wanting to cut down on your environmental impact. Growing a garden, raising chickens, making or swapping clothing, and building your own furniture can be fun! Plus, so much learning can happen in the process, expanding your knowledge and skills. Homesteading is multifaceted and can cover horticulture, agriculture, textiles, cooking, and carpentry. An easy place to start is with a vegetable garden and a small flock of chickens. Learn about raising chickens in your backyard!

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Self-Directed Learning: Art Studies

In the second half of the 19th century, Paris was undeniably the center of the art world. Artists worldwide traveled to Paris to experience the dynamic and creative energy in the academies, museums, and salons. The Impressionists were notable for many women artists who joined the movement, among other reasons. The three so-called ‘grande dames’ of Impressionism were Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Marie Bracquemond. After Morisot married Edouard Manet’s brother, she and the artist became very close friends. Manet was a significant influence on Morisot’s work, and she often posed for him, perhaps most famously in his striking 1872 piece “Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets.” Despite the enormous impact of Morisot and the other women of Impressionism, their work continues to be overlooked. Get curious about art history through the lens of female Impressionists, and then head to your local art gallery and museums to pursue primary source examples of historical and contemporary women artists. 

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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.