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. Ordering 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.

List of Weekly Suggested Events

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: International Sushi Day

Every year on June 18, the traditional Japanese meal of sushi is celebrated. Using observation days as a lens for learning can be a delicious way to explore many subjects, including agriculture, culinary arts, and social studies. For International Sushi Day, invite the kids to help make sushi at home. But first, together, head to the local farmers’ market for fresh veggies and your local international food market for necessary ingredients. Then back at home in the kitchen, parents can demonstrate knife skills and cooking methods. And at the dinner table, families can discuss the custom of eating with chopsticks while practicing together. Alternatively, head to your local Japanese restaurant and order sushi to try together, discussing flavors, textures, ingredients, and culinary techniques.

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Father’s Day

Father’s Day is an annual observation day where we can pause to appreciate the Father and Father figures in our lives. Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day has a history rooted in gratitude, which signals the celebration of family every year. But Father’s Day and Mother’s Day aren’t the only family-centric days of appreciation. There’s also American Family Day (8/2/20), Parents’ Day (7/26/20), National Grandparents’ Day (9/13/20), and National Aunt and Uncle Day (7/26/20), among others. Different observation days can lead the way to learn about history through the lens of the family while practicing gratitude and appreciation for our family members and within our community that holds spaces in our hearts.

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Juneteenth

These days, when a monumental government decision is made, technology allows the news to travel quickly, and we can find out instantaneously via social media. However, before the internet and telephones, and even before the printing press were invented, information took a lot longer to travel. News could take days, weeks, or even months to spread, and the further information had to travel, the longer it took to get there. In the case of the Emancipation Proclamation, for example, word of President Lincoln’s granting of freedom to enslaved people in Confederate states took nearly six months to reach some parts of the country! While Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, word of emancipation took until June 19th to travel from Washington, DC to Galveston, Texas! The day upon which Texas enslaved people learned of the Emancipation Proclamation is celebrated today as Juneteenth. Celebrated initially only in Texas, this day was made a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth has served as a commemoration of ending slavery in the United States since 1865. Across the country – and even around the world – Juneteenth is celebrated to honor the struggles of those who endured slavery and to remind us of how our country’s history has affected (and continues to affect) our current society. Now a federal holiday, Juneteenth is an excellent opportunity for families to educate their children within the context of their community via community events and learning opportunities! 

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Summer Solstice

Seasonal patterns can be as subtle as the daily shifting shadows of the Earth-orbiting around the sun. The summer solstice is the culmination of shifting light towards that liminal space where the trend toward increasing sunshine hours pivots towards a decrease in daylight. Today, at precisely 5:13am EST, cultures worldwide and throughout history celebrate the sun reaching its farthest northerly position from the Earth. The summer solstice is a community-based educational opportunity to which everyone has access. Getting curious about the science of the solstice and its impact on the humanities can be a catalyst for learning while strengthening a sense of place. Cultural heritage, science, and pastry arts are a few points of entry to consider during this seasonal observation.

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Strawberry Season

To Algonquin tribes, for whom present-day New England was once home, as well as many other Native American Nations, June’s full moon is known as the Full Strawberry Moon. The burst of red berries happens quickly, and the time strawberries are harvested is relatively short compared to many other fruits and vegetables. As a result, June’s moon served as a symbol of strawberry season. Learning these traditional names of the moons and their associated Native American stories will teach us about Native American culture within the lens of the seasons. An experiential way to learn about the strawberry is to pick your own. Western Massachusetts is filled with farms, many of which begin their summer season with PYO berry patches. For young children, picking organic berries on a farm offers experiential learning about agriculture, botany, and ecology (worms, spiders, slugs, etc.). For older children, berry picking provides a chance to learn about farming practices and seasonal foods. Learning how strawberry plants grow can give children an entirely new appreciation for the seasonal nature of the delicious red berries. 

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Butterflies & Moths

Much like bees, butterflies play an essential role in our ecosystem. As pollinators, butterflies help ensure that plants exchange genetic material, which we depend on to enjoy many of our favorite foods! However, changes in the way humans live and interact with our surroundings have caused butterfly populations to decline (especially the iconic monarch). Learning about butterflies and their role in our ecosystem can support an understanding and appreciation of our surroundings. Luckily, opportunities for self-directed learning about these beautiful Lepidoptera happen all summer as different species of butterflies visit your home gardens, local parks, and nearby meadows. Paying attention to the different colors and sizes of butterflies, their behavior, plants they visit, the days and times you see them, and participating in a butterfly count are a few ways to connect to the season through butterflies. Keep a butterfly journal where you can take notes and include sketches of butterflies you see and the plants they visit or images you might snap with your phone or camera. Following the changing flora and fauna in your local landscape is a great way to support interests and education while deepening a sense of place.

[RETURN TO TOP]

[RETURN TO TOP]

Self-Directed Learning: Summer Sun

Helioseismology is the study of the structure and dynamics of the sun through its oscillations. Whether studying the physical characteristics of the sun, like its core, solar flares, or sunspots, or the relationship between light and heat, examining evaporation, or exploring UV radiation, sun-based science is best when conducted during the sun’s brightest, warmest, and strongest time of year! Utilizing the summer sun can mean making the most of the long days, but the endless rays this time of year lend themselves to sunshine-based science projects, including sun prints, distillation, and cooking with the sun.

[RETURN TO TOP]

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.

Subscribe ♦ Advertising & Partnership Opportunities ♦ Learning Opportunities ♦ en Español

---

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.