Hilltown Families 
Moving, Sending, and Settling Family Energy
Have you ever noticed that some individuals are grumpy and some are joyful?...
Pain Specialist & yoga instructor Ginny Hamilton spends a lot of time helping her 9 year old son face his fears. In doing so, she’s forced to address...
Dear Sarah, What do you think is a good age at which to start giving children chores? Should chores be a requirement for getting an allowance? Signed, Uncertain in Belchertown...
“Flames burn out not because light is shared but because fuel is gone.” In this month’s Off the Mat: Reflections on the Practice of Parenting, Pain specialist & yoga instructor...
Fun Gardening Activities for Little Hands!
Garden starts like tomatoes, pea shoots and other...
In our world where fake news is so prevalent, how do we teach our children to be truthful? How do we practice truth ourselves? Pain Specialist and Yoga Instructor Ginny Hamilton...
May is the Perfect Time...
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the month of May...Creating bath balls with your littles is a fun way to fizz up all their senses!
Time flies, gravity anchors us, and children grow. Maybe time wrinkles, children anchor us, and the universe grows? Pain Specialist Ginny Hamilton explores limits versus possibility, in this month’s Off...
Learning Landscape for April: Spring’s Big Night & Vernal Pool Habitat The April Landscape April is a month of massive transition here in New England. March’s maple sugaring season often runs...
A tasty way to enjoy the last dregs of winter!
“We all have our places – our passenger seat foot well or junk drawer or grimy fridge. Whether public or private, accepted or shame drenched, being human is messy.” Juggling the...
Whether the winter has been harsh or mild, late winter is the toughest time of year for wildlife to find food. Knowing a few easy-to-spot and heavily relied on food sources...
Use tape to build your way out of a sticky situation with multiple age groups!
As her son transitions from “little kid” to “kid”, Pain Specialist and Yoga Instructor Ginny Hamilton grows increasingly aware of the need to walk her talk. Yoga and meditation steady her...
Any Damn Thing Can Happen: An Unexpected Journey Through Dog Rescue and Adoption. A friend once said to me after a shocking turn of events in her life, “Any damn thing...
You may have heard that author Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017. Ishiguro is best known for his 1989 novel, The Remains of the Day. More recently,...
Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
Do you want to build a snowman,...
While the suddenly-bleak landscape of December may not seem like an ideal context in which to begin to connect more deeply with nature, it truly is! The snowy backdrop brings...
"Acknowledging how good I have it in this life, it’s ok to also acknowledge that being human – raising humans – loving humans – is still hard.” In this month’s Off...
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Published by Doubleday, 2011.
Being thankful isn't something with which we are born. We all have to learn how to be considerate, appreciative, and kind. Helping your toddler and preschooler learn these skills isn't easy,...
How Things Work
What makes the car stop? How are car brakes different from bicycle brakes? Train brakes? Roller...
..."Tibetan nun, Pema Chodron said, “Fear is the natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.” The truth is, maybe things WILL go wrong. Completely, horribly, terribly wrong. Pema Chodron also...
When our children encounter difficulties, when they run into brick walls or have a problem that needs to be solved, we need to meet them where they are, help them grow...
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
Monsters, ghosts, aliens, wizards, and magical librarians all make an appearance in Pretty Monsters, a multi-genre book of...
Feeling Fall
Fall is such a busy time for the valley. Apple picking, pumpkin patches,...
“Safety is what we want for those we love. Autonomy is what we want for ourselves.” Hearing this quote on NPR, Pain Specialist and Yoga Instructor Ginny Hamilton recalls leaf piles...
J.J Johnson's young adult novel This Girl is Different centers around Evie, a homeschooler, entering school for the first time as a high school senior. This book flips the typical high...