Learning through the lens of our community not only supports interests and education, but it also strengthens a sense of place. This feeling of connection to where you live and the places you visit is vital to creating sustainable and resilient communities. In this TEDx Talk, Supporting Education Through Community Engagement, Hilltown Families Founder, Sienna Wildfield, shares the story of the history and mission of Hilltown Families. During a time when families… Read More
Maple Days ♦ Hamantaschen ♦ Butter ♦ Community Meal ♦ Sheep Shearing ♦ Botany Lessons ♦ Native Species ♦ Beavers ♦ Fish ♦ Owls ♦ Tulips ♦ Forest ♦ Story Hour ♦ Folktales ♦ Folk Dance ♦ Celtic Dance ♦ St. Patrick’s Day ♦ Purim ♦ Astronomy ♦ Spring Equinox ♦ Intergenerational ♦ Teen ♦ Parenting Workshop ♦ Fatherhood ♦ Rescue Dogs ♦ Bird Houses ♦ Fairy Houses ♦ Pottery ♦ Printmaking ♦ History of Books ♦ Sewing ♦ Neon ♦ Wildlife Photography ♦ Theater Studies ♦ High School Musicals ♦ Peace Activism ♦ Democracy
These are just a few of the community-based learning highlights we’re featuring this week, March 16-22, 2019. Peruse our list and make plans to get out into your community and learn while you play!
Glassblowing to Mooncakes. Quakers to Ecosystems. Creative-Free Play to Nature-Based Learning. These are just a few of the community-based learning highlights we’re featuring this week! Peruse our list and make plans to get out into your community and learn while you play!
Once school is back in session, the transition from summer to autumn is signaled by a steady stream of fall icons appearing across the region that mark the season. We begin to find ourselves behinds school buses in the early morning hours while dodging squirrels racing across the roads in search of acorns before the cold settles in. Pumpkin lattes and apple cider donuts appear on cafe menus. Scarecrows, mums, and gourds decorate storefronts and front porches. The leaves of deciduous trees bloom into hues of red, orange, and yellow, and apple orchards invite families to pick-their-own apples or the convenience of 1/2 pecks of locally grown fruit for homemade apple pies and cobbler. Signs of autumn not only mark the season and engage our senses, but they are also embedded with limitless community-based educational opportunities and value-based methods for community engagement. Let’s take a quick look at three different signs of autumn that are connected to the weather, local harvest, and cultural heritage of the region and how they can support learning while strengthening a sense of place.
Fireside Poets to Local Peaches. Zen kōans to Holy Tulsi. Monarch Butterflies to Beavers. These are just a few of the community-based learning highlights we’re featuring this week!
Peruse our list and make plans to get out into your community and learn while you play!
Literature in translation to Rube Goldberg Machines. Singularity to Anthropocene. Puppets to drums.These are just a few of the community-based learning highlights we’re featuring this week! Peruse our list and make plans to get out into your community and learn while you play!
Saturday, April 30, 8:30am-3:30pm
AGRICULTURE/HORTICULTURE/S.T.E.M
There are many reasons to want to get involved in the homesteading movement, a trend towards self-reliance in daily living. Homesteading is multi-faceted and can cover topics such as horticulture, agriculture, textiles, cooking, and carpentry. In learning about these subjects you can also be engaging a host of personal skills such as patience, mindfulness, dexterity, and even chemistry and other S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills. The HAY Conference is a wonderful introduction to many topics for homesteading, as well as the exploration of career paths for teens and adults. Teachers and homeschooling parents will gain ideas for engaging lesson plans. Please register online and indicate which sessions you wish to attend. A list of all sessions and workshops can be found at the Hawlemont Elemenntary School Facebook page. Call 413-339-8316 for more information. Charlemont, MA. ($ – $$$)