Are you looking for things to do in western Massachusetts? Seeking place-based learning ideas? Are you a self-directed, life-long, and/or experiential learner? Are you curious or wanting to support the interests of your family? Our weekly Suggested Events list includes suggested learning ideas, resources, and fun events for all ages, each week!
Scroll down to discover featured events, learning opportunities, and educational videos to support learning from home. And be sure to subscribe to our free weekly eNewsletter so you never miss out!
On Friday, March 10, from 9:30–10:30am, join the first Playdates, an artful adventure program at Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA), designed for 2–5-year-olds and their caregivers. With museum educator Gina Hall and early childhood educator Ashley Miller, play-based activities invite toddlers and preschoolers to respond to sculptures and paintings in the SCMA collection. The theme for the March 10 program will be “Big and Little.” To request an accommodation, email: museduc@smith.edu. Registration requested: www.bit.ly/ECCpresents. SCMA is located at 20 Elm Street at Bedford Terrace in Northampton, MA.
NERD (New England Regional Developers) Summit is an inclusive, community-building annual tech event held in New England. Each year, local professionals present sessions on various topics, with audiences ranging from beginners to individuals with years of experience. The mission of NERD is to collaborate with the regional community to ensure that the annual Summit & events throughout the year offer everyone, regardless of background or finances, a diverse curriculum for relevant skill-building and valuable networking opportunities, supporting NERD’s vision of creating positive & supportive learning opportunities for people who work or want to work in web & related technology. NERD Summit 2023 takes place at Umass Amherst, March 17-19, 2023.
The Montessori School of the Berkshires (MSB) in Lenox Dale, MA, inspires children to develop independent thinking, self-assurance, inner discipline, and a love of learning in an authentic Montessori environment. Serving children aged 15 months through grade 8 on 40 wooded acres, MSB supports each child’s innate curiosity and helps them develop focus and motivation, and embraces collaboration and cooperation. Engaging materials, designed for hands-on learning through all senses, are continually adapted to meet each child’s needs, interests, and development, so they are best prepared for the next level of education. Open 7:30am-3pm; extended coverage until 5:15 pm. For more information: info@berkshiremontessori.org; 413-637-3662; www.berkshiremontessori.org.
Ready for Summer 2023? Envision your children outside building shelters, playing games, tracking wildlife, learning & practicing fire-making skills, carving, discovering, foraging for wild edibles & medicinals, experiencing, making new friends, mentoring & so much more! At Home in the Woods Camps are Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm. All summer for ages 7+; 4 weeks for 5- & 6-year-olds! Contact Earthwork Programs for information on additional camps specifically for teens/preteens. Register by April 1 for Early-Bird prices–don’t wait! Some weeks are filling quickly. Contact: 413-340-1161. frank@earthworkprograms.com; earthworkprograms.com.
Rising 2nd through 5th graders are invited to a week of open-ended creative expression at Creativity Camp! Campers will experience a joyful range of drawing, painting, collage, and creative writing projects. They will feel the flow of the creative process as they tinker, build, create and imagine. Campers will also take artist and writer walks on Hartsbrook’s farmland, and of course, they’ll enjoy plenty of breaks to move, play and cool off. On Friday before pick-up, families are invited to a celebratory art show. Campers will go home with a full portfolio of their creations. Get creative with Hartsbrook Creativity Camp and Creative Arts Facilitator Melissa Renzi, who draws from her twenty years of experience as an artist, writer, and teacher. Rising 2nd through 5th graders. Contact: 413-586-1908 x116. summerprograms@hartsbrook.org; www.hartsbrook.org.
For over 45 years, MSN has offered exciting and engaging summer workshops for children in the tradition of Italian educator Maria Montessori. Located near downtown Northampton, Route 9 and I-91, they offer 8 weeks of programming starting at 18 months old up to 8th grade. Elementary and middle school workshops include Rock Band, Podcasting, Robotics, Digital Animation & Game Making, Outdoor Wilderness Adventures, Film & Videography, Visual Arts: Magical Creatures, LEGO Engineering w/ Minecraft and Pokémon, Graphic Novel/Comic Book Art. Their Toddler and Children’s House (pre/K) programs have half and full-day options available, with a strong teacher/student ratio, theme-based programming, and an expansive playground. Contact: 413-563-4645. summer@northamptonmontessori.org; msn.coursestorm.com.
Living Rivers School (LRS) students assist world-renowned river fish expert Dr. Boyd Kynard as he completes his third year of small fish habitat- and sea lamprey- data collection and concludes studies to determine the extent and quality of Connecticut River fish habitat between the Holyoke and Turners Falls dams. LRS students are credited by name for their service in the reports Dr. Kynard publishes in juried academic journals. They are invited to share their experience and findings with their schools and communities. This is a rare opportunity for students to get real conservation biology research experience and be nurtured as future environmental leaders. Biocitizen’s best program—a life-changer and career-inspirer! Contact: 413-320-0522. kheidinger@biocitizen.org; ma.biocitizen.org.
Mud Season 2023 Festival, an all-day multi-venue music festival with food, crafts, and merch, happens Saturday, March 18, in downtown Turners Falls at The Shea Theater. This one-day music festival features The Love Crumbs, The Dave Bulley Band, the barnRocket Imagineers playing John Lennon’s “Imagine” in its entirety, and The Jenny Burtis band. A children’s hour will feature the Hampshire County Fiddlers, an afterschool fiddle group for kids ages 8-14, playing tunes from America, Ireland, Scotland, Quebec, and beyond. Kids are free at this event, which includes two stages and much more! Doors open at 11am. More info: www.mud-season.com.
Children’s Chorus of Springfield Director: Laurie Ellington
The Children’s Chorus of Springfield offers high-quality musical education and creative experiences to children K-12: Willow Street Chorus (ages 6-8) meets on Mon. from 3:30-4:15pm; Neighborhood Chorus (ages 9-12) meets on Thurs. 5-6:30pm; and City Chorus (ages 13-18) meets on Wed. from 6-7:30pm. Children’s Chorus of Springfield introduces young people to a wide variety of repertoire, languages, and cultures. In addition to singing great music with beautiful tones and musical & artistic sensitivity, CCS students will grow in confidence, have opportunities to collaborate, and perform within & outside of Springfield. Children’s Chorus tuition is FREE for students enrolled in private lessons at CMSS & current Springfield & Holyoke residents.
The Somneuro Lab at UMASS Amherst is recruiting toddlers (15-21 months) for a study exploring the relationship between sleep and memory in early childhood. You and your child will be asked to sleep overnight in the lab at three timepoints (5 months apart). Children will play memory games and have their sleep recorded with non-invasive electrodes. The lab space is equipped with a kitchen, living room, and cozy bedrooms. Compensation is $200 per timepoint. Families can also receive compensation for time spent traveling to and from the lab. Want to learn more? Contact the Somneuro Lab today! Email: toddlernapstudy@gmail.com. Phone: 413-545-4831. Or, use this LINK to submit your contact info.
Whole Children offers afternoon and Saturday classes for kids and teens at their new Inclusive Community Center. Summer sessions include a variety of classes, including yoga, theater, art, music, cooking, performing arts, and so much more. Whole Children’s goal is to create an inclusive environment where every child is successful and valued for who they are, no matter their abilities or disabilities. Whole Children is filling a vital need by creating classes where the hard work of skill-building is made social and fun for children of all abilities and, perhaps just as importantly, by creating a supportive and caring community for their parents. Contact: 413-585-8010. info@wholechildren.org; wholechildren.org/hfsummer.
Berkshire Museum camps offer children going into grades Pre-K through 8 the chance to make connections between art, science, and history in the Museum’s new classrooms and throughout our galleries. Campers develop skills, create art, conduct experiments, and make new friends while having a ton of fun!
Kimama Halfmoon, located on Lake Buel, offers day and overnight camps from June to August for boys and girls ages 3 to 14. With specialty programming curated for each age group, campers get to indulge in all of the fun the Kimama Halfmoon facility offers, from water sports to zipline and even a skate park, plus much more. Join Kimama Halfmoon for a one week-long session or the entire summer! Contact: 646-779-5579. usa@campkimama.org; www.kimamahalfmoon.org.
Use code HILLTOWN at checkout for 15% off day camp or overnight camp.
Summer at Stoneleigh-Burnham has seven camps for girls & boys with boarding & day options to explore. Bonnie Castle Riding Camp is a riding program at the intermediate and advanced skill levels, and Horsemanship Day Camp is a riding program at the beginner skill level. Performing Arts Camp focuses on choral music, musical theater, and dance. Animation Camp I & II focus on 2D, hand-drawn animation, compiling frames, backgrounds, and other elements. Basketball Camp provides an opportunity for players to practice in a safe, fun, and supportive setting. Owl Day Camp is a traditional summer camp experience. Stoneleigh-Burnham is committed to making their camps accessible to all Hilltown families and offers financial assistance for select camps. Contact: 413-475-1656 x256. hgebo@sbschool.org; sbschool.org/summer.
Come to Bement for summer camp! A variety of programs, from day camp to outdoor adventure with AdventureEast to musical theater to digital storytelling, and much more, is offered for students entering kindergarten through grade 8. Check out their website Bement.org/Summer for information about all their programs. Registration is open, and programs are filling quickly. Contact the summer program coordinator at summer@bement.orgwith any questions.
The Massachusetts Academy of Ballet welcomes dancers of all ages and levels to enroll in its summer sessions. Emphasis is on the exploration and study of technique and terminology, concentrating on ballet as a means of expression and storytelling through musicality, creativity, and choreography. Workshops include Ballet Imagination (ages 5-7; July 17-21), Beginning Ballet (ages 8-10; July 24-28), Intermediate Ballet (ages 11-14; July 31-Aug 4), and Advanced Ballet (ages 14-19; Aug 7-11). Intermediate and Advanced Ballet classes are also available in-studio from June 20-August 19 for teens and adults. The Academy studios are located at the Open Square building, and feature state-of-the-art sprung floors, a dressing room, and a reception area. Contact: 413-536-6200. rflachs@massacademyofballet.com; www.massacademyofballet.com.
Learn tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Quebec, and the Appalachian mountains during a fun-filled week of Fiddle Camp. Have you ever performed for goats and chickens? Or used a handmade “crankie,” a moving picture box with musical accompaniment? Lots of fun and laughter abound while students collaborate on new songs and even try new instruments. Fiddle Camp is a full-day program from 9am-3pm. Music instruction ends at 12:30pm, and the afternoon includes outside games, informal music jams, and working on the crankie. Fiddle, cello, viola, ukulele, banjo, and guitar players are welcome! Rising 4th through 9th graders. Contact: 413-586-1908 x116. summerprograms@hartsbrook.org; www.hartsbrook.org.
Northampton Community Music Center (NCMC) offers a variety of week-long summer programs for young musicians. “Music Discoveries: Create-A-Musical” offers ages 5-9 the chance to explore a multitude of creative mediums in collaboration with peers to build and perform an original musical show. The “Summer Chamber Music Program” and “Summer Rock Bank Program” offer ages 10-18 the opportunity to apply their developing instrumental musical skills in the collaborative ensemble environment under the guidance of professional faculty coaches while exploring and examining great music from a variety of periods. Make music and make memories at the NCMC this summer! Financial aid is available for qualifying families. Contact: 413-585-0001. registrar@ncmc.net; ncmc.net/summer
Springfield JCC Summer Camp features a values-based curriculum, sports & ropes course, the arts, and immersive STEM experiences. Their staff & specialists develop personal connections with campers, cater to individual needs, and create memories that last a lifetime. Their Summer Camp is open Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm, for children in grades K–10. Pre- & post-camp is available. It’s camp with a purpose: Their weekly values, from yosher (honesty) to tikkun olam (repairing the world), are woven into their daily activities. Their facilities are on the Longmeadow/Springfield line & include playgrounds, athletic fields, trails, a high- & low-challenge ropes course, zip line, rock wall, auditorium, art studio, gymnasium, racquetball courts, and pool. Contact: 413-739-4715. sstone@springfieldjcc.org; www.springfieldjcc.org.
Learn to care for and exercise a world-class athlete – the Alaskan Husky Sled Dog. Choose a dog for the week. Learn to feed, pet, play, clean up after & train a sled dog. Ride a racing rig, scooter, bike, hike, jog, swim, and warm weather activities dogs & campers love together. All have fun bonding, playing & mushing with the team! “My daughter loved the week-long camp, really bonded with her dog, and plans to return next year. Hilltown Sleddogs is one of Pioneer Valleys’ unique treasures!” (JG). “The hands-on connection with dogs is amazing. At the end of the week, my boys don’t want to come home.” (EM) *Bonfire/BBQ eve is back Thursdays, Weeks 3,4,5 & 6. *Gals Only Week 5, all ages! New 7 Weeks of Camp starting June 26-30. Contact: 413-296-0187. hilltownsleddogs@gmail.com; www.hilltownsleddogs.com/camps.
Kamp for Kids brings together children with and without disabilities in a unique integrated model that promotes understanding and growth. The Kamp experience includes art, health, nature, and other inclusive fun activities. As a fully inclusive summer camp, Kamp for Kids’ mission is to serve a population of children with disabilities and their typically developing peers. Call for more information. Contact: 413-562-5678 Anne.Benoit@bhninc.org; www.bhninc.org
Amherst Montessori School believes your child is inherently intelligent and that hands-on learning is critical to their developing brains. In mixed-age classrooms, your child is empowered to explore, discover, and learn through all five senses. In a beautiful new building designed uniquely for children, classrooms are filled with sunlight, natural materials, and views outside to playgrounds. Trained Montessori teachers nurture each child’s innate curiosity and independence. For more information: 413-253-3101; kedreich@amherstmontessori.org; amherstmontessori.org.
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Partner with Hilltown Families in your online advertising! Delivering your message each week to over 35,000 subscribers, web visitors, and social media followers each week, Hilltown Families can bring your message to thousands of families in Western Massachusetts. Serving the region since 2005, Hilltown Families is an award-winning, online communication network, recognized as a leading family strengthening initiative in the region, promoting “positive parenting through the social norm of community social connectedness.” A trusted partner in your online marketing! To find out how we can partner together in your online marketing and outreach, contact us for info on our affordable options and packages: swildfield@hilltownfamilies.org. Have an event, resource, or opportunity you’re ready to promote? Click HERE to submit your information.
April and May might be filled with spring blossoms, but there is no need for flowers when we have sweet maple syrup to enjoy on our pancakes with family and friends! Let sugar season be a time of year to reconnect to the community and strengthen your sense of place through value-based community engagement that supports learning. Maple sugaring is a centuries-old tradition in New England, and the seasonal industry remains an essential part of the foundation upon which local agriculture is built. Additionally, maple sugaring brings opportunities for families to engage in intergenerational community-based learning through visits to farms, community meals, living history, and experiential, hands-on activities. Read more in our thread, “Learning Ahead: Early Spring is Sugar Season.” Explore Native American traditions, New England history, sugar shacks, shared meals, art & literature, and early spring food tradition, all through the lens of the first harvest of the year, maple syrup!
Coyotes and Bobcats add to our soundscape in late winter, while skunks add to our scent-scapes. This time of year is the mating season for all three mammals. While coyotes and bobcats are wrapping up their courtships, the Striped Skunk mating season spans into early spring, with March being the peak of the season. Because they are covering territory to find their mates, crossing paths with other animals that might threaten or scare them, the noxious spray of a skunk tells us that spring is here! This spray is a defense mechanism for the skunk and a lovely, albeit stinky, lens for learning! Using your nose to alter you to their presence, get curious and learn about their mating behavior, the chemistry of their spray, and how skunks
March is National Nutrition Month, an excellent opportunity to inspire learning and healthy eating habits. Start by reading about the history of National Nutrition Month, then follow up by learning about the physiology and biochemistry of nutrition, including metabolism, vitamins, calories, fats, water, and the impacts sugar & food have on the brain. Expand your learning by integrating what sparks your curiosity with the foods you consume. Research the nutritional composition of different favorite foods and how that may (or may not) be a part of a healthy diet. With this new knowledge and understanding of food and nutrition, head to your local farmers’ market and food co-op to see what inspires you for your next family meal.
Western Massachusetts isn’t threatened to sink into the ocean any time soon; however, plenty of local ruins serve as reminders of the past. The region’s ruins speak volumes about its history, from cellar holes to quarries. Families can safely explore old hotels, drowned towns, abandoned quarries, and old mill sites to learn about life in the past and explore how nature can reclaim spaces. Discover more in our post,Exploring Ruins Reveals Local History and Culture.
American Woodcocks, also known as Timberdoodles, return their migration north in the early spring, where males perform their mating displays at dusk in open fields. Catching sight of these interesting breeding displays can teach you a lot about woodcocks – how the males attract mates, their ideal habitat, which mating displays seem most effective, and how females react to the displays. Budding birdwatchers can learn how to enter the ideal woodcock habitat in search of these birds to observe their unique behavior. If you’ve never heard the telltale peents of the woodcock looking for a mate to do its early spring sky dance, you’ll fall in love with this ground-nesting, football-sized bird once you do! Get curious and learn about their feeding behavior, diet, eggs, nesting, calls, and young.
NERD (New England Regional Developers) Summit is an inclusive, community-building annual tech event held in New England. Each year, local professionals present sessions on various topics, with audiences ranging from beginners to individuals with years of experience. The mission of NERD is to collaborate with the regional community to ensure that the annual Summit & events throughout the year offer everyone, regardless of background or finances, a diverse curriculum for relevant skill-building and valuable networking opportunities, supporting NERD’s vision of creating positive & supportive learning opportunities for people who work or want to work in web & related technology. NERD Summit 2023 takes place at Umass Amherst, March 17-19, 2023.
Corned beef has become synonymous with Saint Patrick’s Day and Irish American culture, but the history of this dish is much more complicated than one might think. First, the name “corned beef” refers to preserving beef in coarse salt, known as “corn” in old English. While some versions of salted or “corned” beef can be traced back to 12th-century Ireland, any version of the dish that would be recognizable today is derived from a product that originated in the 17th century. Until the late 19th century, Ireland was the world’s largest producer of canned corned beef, which became a major tradeable commodity because it was nonperishable. Irish corned beef was traded across the Atlantic to the French to be used in their sugar plantations in the Caribbean and many other British and French colonies. Despite the considerable amount of corned beef produced in Ireland, the vast majority of the product was exported and not consumed by Irish people. Moreover, the corned beef industry played a role in the Irish Potato Famine. As more and more farmland was taken over for corned beef production, Irish farmers were pushed onto smaller, poorer-quality plots of land, where potatoes became the only sustainable crop. Nevertheless, corned beef has become an essential part of Irish American cultural heritage linked to Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations. In Ireland, to this day, corned beef and cabbage remain the traditional dish eaten on this holiday
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.
Hilltown Families’ list of Suggested Events is supported in part by grants from the Agawam, Amherst, Bernardston, Buckland, Chester, Goshen, Greenfield , Hadley, Heath, Huntington, Lee, Montgomery, Northern Berkshire, Orange, Pelham, Plainfield, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Springfield, Tolland, Washington, Westhampton, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
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