Hilltown Families 
In this month's Literary Guide, Megan Dowd Lambert, a Senior Lecturer in Children’s Literature at Simmons College, explores a Whole Book Approach to Reading Picture Books with Children, which she developed...
Jacob Ellinger is a local beekeeper living in the Hilltowns with his wife and three children. As a freshman apiarist,keeping bees since 2013, Jacob relishes in the joy of sharing this...
Homesick and Kidsick I have a confession. I never liked the term “homesickness.” Missing your family and the comforts of home is normal. Our families are our safe haven. Of course...
Preparing Your Child For Summer Camp Camp is just around the corner and there’s a lot to prepare. Whether it’s your 5 year old’s first time at day camp or your...
Can Your Child with Food Allergies Go to Summer Camp? If you’re the parent of a child with food allergies, I’m betting that you prepare all of her meals. You do...
Thinking About Camp? Questions for the Camp Director. If you’re thinking about summer camp, there’s a wide range right here in Western MA to match everyone’s interests, schedules and budgets. As...
DIY Pictorial: Yarn Wrapped Tin Can Planters By Amber Ladley When Hilltown Families asked Knack: The Art of Clever Reuse to come up with a creative (and decorative) way to help...
Do You Want to Know a Secret? 1963 was Big for the Beatles … and Berkshire Lyric By Jaclyn Stevenson 2013 will be a banner year for golden anniversaries. Among many...
Ghost town, fiber arts, sauerkraut and more! An Inside Look at Hatfield’s Fall Festival by Kathie Gow If you’re looking for a traditional New England Fall Festival with bits of local...
Massachusetts Treasures: Famous Formations: Clay Concretions By HF Guest Blogger, Maria Sansalone Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Connecticut Valley Mineral Club’s geology contest! To answer our last contest...
Massachusetts Treasures: Official State Gem Stone of Massachusetts By HF Guest Blogger, Maria Sansalone Thanks so much to everyone who contributed entries for Week One of the Connecticut Valley Mineral Club’s...
Massachusetts Treasures: Official State Fossil of Massachusetts By HF Guest Blogger, Maria Sansalone It’s an honor for me to be a guest blogger for Hilltown Families on behalf of the Connecticut...
Having a Baby Changes Everything By Saborna Roychowdhury, Hilltown Families Guest Writer “So you are not coming back next year?” asked the department head at the Winsor School in Boston. “That...
Food Allergies and Summer Camp By Hilltown Families Guest Writer, Karen A. Jordan It’s that time of year again…the final countdown of school days, warmer weather, and plans for summer camp....
Farmyard Tails: Dreaming of Green By Jennifer Bennett, HF Contributing Writer As we ring in the new year, on the farm we are busy preparing for the year to come. There...
Farmyard Tails: Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer By Jennifer Bennett, HF Contributing Writer Ah, the lazy days of summer… WHAT? Did I miss the boat on that one? Summer seems to...
Farmyard Tails: Feche la Vache! By Jennifer Bennett, HF Contributing Writer As I sit at my desk, I find myself looking outside at all of the beautiful flowers and buds. I...
An Open Letter to Rachel Maddow By Lynne Marie Wanamaker, HF Guest Blogger Dear Rachel Maddow, It’s been a few years now, and I know you’ve had a lot of exciting...
Sean Chapel writes: How do we know when a good night will be to see salamanders hatching at a vernal pool? Sheri Rosenblum of Plainfield, MA replies: Trying to guess what...
Rodents? What rodents? By Ellen Doyle, HF Guest Blogger Living in an old house in the hilltowns, we’ve had mice flock in each fall only to journey back out into the...
In their Beginning I see my end By Saborna Roychowdhury, HF Guest Writer I have a strange relationship with my twin daughters. They are only ten months old and beautiful… big...
So, whenever he’s curious about anything, he’ll take a running start, head pointed downward, spike ready to investigate. I always know when he’s gotten out of his stable because the piercing...
So, there I am, working in my medicinal herb garden when I hear townspeople screaming, “Stigmata! Stigmata!” Clearly not something I hear being shouted every day, I quickly made my way...
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always so chaotic around these parts. Aside from the occasional stray cannonball making it’s way into the Great Hall as you’re sitting down for a...
The Struggle to Raise Jewish Children by Shoshana Zonderman, Hilltown Families Guest Writer When I became a Jewish mother in 1981, I had many questions about the “best” way to raise...
Where do we go now? By Steve Weeks, HF Guest Writer VACATION MEMORIES For decades, my wife’s family has been vacationing in Rhode Island during the summer. Her parents would rent...