Hilltown Families

09/23/2026

Rachel's Table invites teens to local farms for afterschool gleaning tomorrow (9/24), where they gather leftover produce for redistribution and learn about seasonal agriculture. This hands-on experience highlights food waste, hunger, and how volunteers help support food security in our region.
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: https://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

Rachel’s Table invites teens to local farms for afterschool gleaning, where they gather leftover produce for redistribution and learn about seasonal agriculture. This hands-on experience highlights food waste, hunger, and how volunteers help support food security in our region.

09/23/2026

Comics are a powerful art form that fuse illustration and narrative to reflect the times. From their roots in early newspaper strips to today’s graphic novels, comics have responded to social change and helped shape it. With genres ranging from science fiction to autobiography, comics support education in visual literacy, cultural studies, and storytelling. They offer an accessible way to explore identity, creativity, and history.
hilltownfamilies.org/sdlm/national-comic-book-day/
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more self-directed learning ideas: http://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

09/23/2026

In Sunderland, Mike's Maze at Warner Farm has become a New England tradition where families navigate creative corn designs. Visitors learn through play as spatial reasoning, memory, and math skills come to life while exploring agriculture, art, and the seasonal rhythms of harvest.
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: https://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

In Sunderland, Mike’s Maze has become a New England tradition where families navigate creative corn designs. Visitors learn through play as spatial reasoning, memory, and math skills come to life while exploring agriculture, art, and the seasonal rhythms of harvest.

09/23/2026

🏫 The Academy at Charlemont is an all-gender day school for grades 6-12, located along the Deerfield River in Charlemont, MA. Small classes, a range of arts electives, inclusive athletics, and personalized advising give students room to grow as learners and leaders. Round-trip transportation runs from Northampton, Amherst, the Hilltowns, and surrounding areas, and generous financial aid is offered. Prospective families can attend upcoming information sessions on September 27 & October 4.

Learn more! hilltownfamilies.org/featured-ad/the-academy-at-charlemont-3/
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

09/23/2026

The Belchertown Fair this Fri-Sun, one of the region’s oldest traditions, invites families to learn about agriculture and local heritage through activities and celebrations. By exploring judged entries, parades, and demonstrations, learn how skills and values are passed down through generations.
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: https://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

09/23/2026

Latin GRAMMY-winning musician and author Lucky Diaz visits Storrs Library in Longmeadow Thursday (9/24) to discuss “Paletero Man”, his bilingual picture book inspired by the cultural life of Mexican American communities in Los Angeles. The story and conversation explore how music, language, and storytelling reflect community, belonging, and the power of neighbors helping one another.
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: https://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

Latin GRAMMY-winning musician and author Lucky Diaz visits Storrs Library in Longmeadow to discuss “Paletero Man”, his bilingual picture book inspired by the cultural life of Mexican American communities in Los Angeles. The story and conversation explore how music, language, and storytelling ref...

09/23/2026

🚃 TrolleyFest returns to Shelburne Falls this Saturday, September 26, at Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum. The whole family can ride the trolley and try vintage railcars while taking in demonstrations of c***r pressing, butter making, weaving, and Morse code. Kids can explore a real caboose and play old-fashioned games from the 1900s. Live music and wood carving fill the rest of the afternoon.

Check it out! hilltownfamilies.org/featured-ad/trolleyfest-at-the-shelburne-falls-trolley-museum-3/
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more resources, community-based educational events, and self-directed learning ideas: hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

09/22/2026

🍂 Guest DJs The Jolly Pops celebrated autumn on last week's Hilltown Family Variety Show with an upbeat soundtrack for the season. The episode paired family fun with songs inspired by waterways and outdoor adventures, inviting families to carry their curiosity beyond the music by noticing seasonal changes or exploring local rivers and autumn wildlife. In case you missed it, check out last week's show here!
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Subscribe to the weekly eNewsletter to preview the hour-long commercial-free family radio show: hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

The Jolly Pops guest DJ HFVS with fall family fun, seasonal songs, outdoor adventures, and playful ideas that inspire autumn learning.

09/22/2026

The autumn equinox invites families to learn how Earth’s tilt creates equal day and night, while exploring how the shift cues migration, hibernation, and seasonal cycles. From astronomy to ecology and folklore, this turning point in New England opens an interdisciplinary path for discovery.
hilltownfamilies.org/sdlm/exploring-cultural-traditions-and-science-behind-the-autumn-equinox/
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Subscribe to Hilltown Families’ free weekly eNewsletter for more self-directed learning ideas: http://hilltownfamilies.org/weekly-enewsletter

09/22/2026

🍂 Happy Autumn Equinox 🍂

Fall is full of color! 🍂

Happy autumnal equinox! As the world outside begins to shift into shades of red, orange, and gold, we’re celebrating the vibrant colors found in picture book art, too.

📆 Explore all the fall exhibitions, events, and activities coming up at The Carle! https://bit.ly/4rcugZK
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🎨 Eric Carle, Illustration for The Tiny Seed. Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle. © 1987 Penguin Random House LLC.