Family Events in and around Springfield

02/26/2026

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12/12/2025

The Dance Factory's 34th annual "Nutcracker" performance is this weekend only (Dec 13 & 14) at Springfield High School. Tickets available online: dancefactorynutcracker25.eventbrite.com
or at the following businesses (don’t forget to thank them for being such great community partners supporting The Dance Factory year after year):

* Tina's Hallmark in Springfield, VT
* Woodbury Florist in Springfield, VT
* Sage Jewelry and Gifts in Chester, VT

Saturday 12/13 7:00pm show details: https://www.facebook.com/events/848142667577935

Sunday 12/14 2:00pm show details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1510688003491955d

11/26/2025

On Monday, Dec 1 @ 10:00am

Head to Springfield Town Library with the little one(s) and meet other families!

A variety of fun baby and toddler toys will be provided for children to play with, as well as soothing music to enhance their cognition (and yours). Aimed for ages 0-2 but the library always has something engaging for all ages.

Libraries provide a safe environment for both you and your children to socialize and have some entertainment!

Get a reminder here! www.eventbrite.com/e/playdate-at-the-library-tickets-1975643102703e

10/31/2025

From Chris McKenna, a former middle school youth pastor, founder of Protect You g Eyes, THIS:

🌟 Middle School Parent PSA 🌟From teacher Jessica Phillips — and every parent who’s trying to raise good humans in a digital world 💪)

📵 1. Say NO to Snapchat.
They will eventually send or receive something inappropriate.
And yes — they’ll lie about it.
Many middle schoolers don’t have Snapchat — even if yours says “everyone does.”

🎬 TikTok
Hilarious? Sure.
Helpful? Sometimes.
Full of filth and F-words? Absolutely.

👉 It’s not for kids. Skip it. Skip all social media. They don’t need it yet.

🚪 Parenting preteens isn’t for the lazy.
You can’t leave them for hours behind closed doors with phones, TVs, or friends.
If you’re not checking their messages, don’t give them a phone.

🔒 Set up Screen Time with a passcode before handing them that iPhone.
You can even turn off the internet if things get out of hand.
Because — truth: they cannot handle it.

💬 Talk to them. About everything.
Their friends? Some are already having s*x.
Many are addicted to p**n.
They’re exposed to things we never were.

📱 CHECK their phones.

😴 No phones or gaming systems at bedtime.
Charge devices in your room.
Many stay up all night scrolling or playing.

🚫 Say no.
They’ll lie. All kids do — yours and mine.
They’ve already faced peer pressure. Ask them about it.

🚭 Va**ng = NO.
Google it. It’s a bigger problem than you think.

📚 Colleen Hoover?
Not for middle school. Seriously.

💡 Teach coping skills.
If anxiety or stress is running their lives — step in.
They need tools, not screens, to cope.

👫 Know their friends.
It’s everything.
“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”

🧭 Hold them accountable.
Let them fail.
Don’t freak out when they mess up — especially if they tried.

Be involved. Know their teachers, test dates, and assignments.

They’re 12. They still need you.

❤️ Love them through the weird.
Middle school is hard — awkward, messy, confusing.
But this is when they need your love the most.

✨ Equip them. Guide them. Love them.
That’s how we raise grounded, resilient, respectful kids.



Parenting with you!
Chris

10/30/2025

Basketball registration for Springfield Parks & Recreatiois NOW OPEN!!!!
Grades 3-6 starts at the beginning of December. Registration open until 11/24
Grades K-2 starts the beginning of Jan. Registration open until 12/22

10/24/2025

The 2024 nation’s report card shows declines in math, reading and science scores for U.S. students, especially by 12th graders.

In spring 2023, just 56% of American fourth-graders were performing on grade level in math, down from 69% in 2019, according to just one example of test score data cited in ASU’s Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) report.

The report mirrors what many teachers say they are seeing in their classrooms, as some sound the alarm publicly about kids who they say can’t write a sentence or pay attention to a three-minute video.

The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a nationwide testing company, reported that rather than making up ground since the pandemic, students were falling further behind. In 2023-24, the gap between pre- and post-Covid test score averages widened by an average of 36% in reading and 18% in math, according to the NWEA report.

“Focus and endurance for any sort of task, especially reading, has been really hard for a lot of teenagers” since coming back from pandemic closures, according to Sarah Mulhern Gross, an honors English teacher at High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey.

Among high school seniors, 2024 continues a long-term decline: average math scores are at their lowest since the assessment began in 2005, and reading scores have fallen 10 points below the first 12th-grade reading assessment in 1992.
Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, described the results as “sobering.”

“The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines among our lowest-performing students, continuing a downward trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Soldner said. “Among our nation’s high school seniors, we’re now seeing a larger percentage of students scoring below the NAEP Basic achievement level in mathematics and reading than in any previous assessment.”

Among 12th-graders, math scores were the lowest since 2005. Nearly all students saw declines except for the highest-performing group, widening the gap between top and bottom performers.

Even the youngest children are showing troubling signs of academic and behavioral delays. “We are talking 4- and 5-year-olds who are throwing chairs, biting, hitting,” Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association, told the NYT in June 2024.

PBS interview “falling short”: https://youtu.be/lEdbCpBn9kc

America’s high school seniors are falling behind. The decline in math and reading scores is more than a statistic. It’s a warning sign about our future. If t...

07/12/2025

06/02/2025

Saturday at Ferguson Farm 220 Spencer Hollow Rd in Springfield.

The derby also includes a FREE clinic and is open to people of all ages and levels of experience, including those who are completely new to fishing.

These FREE clinics are open to people of all ages and levels of experience, including those who are completely new to fishing.