Ways to extend students’ sense of community—plus freebies!
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ISSUE 6 | WINTER 2025
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You’ve worked hard to create a classroom community where students feel safe, confident, and challenged. How might you extend that one step further?
We asked teachers to share their favorite strategies for connecting students to a broader community in the school, district, or neighborhood. They delivered with ideas to engage guests and share what students have learned with others.
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Fun Fact: Field bees leave the hive daily to forage for pollen and nectar they bring back in “pollen baskets” on their legs.
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Inspired by the field bees, we’ve collected ideas from classrooms across the country to share with you!
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Team Up for Games!
Teacher Jody Vanderloo learned this tip from Graham Fletcher: Play math games in groups of four—a team of two versus a team of two—to provide opportunities for students to talk and compare strategies.
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Practice Quiet Kindnesses
A South Carolina teacher shared this idea for cultivating a kind classroom community. She invites students to think of subtle ways they can show kindness to others and posts their ideas in the classroom.
Later, she places two baskets filled with hearts next to the list and encourages students to tape a red heart on the poster when they do something kind for another person and a yellow heart on the poster when someone shows kindness to them.
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Share Kindness With Colleagues
Kindness isn’t just for kids! Faculty and staff at Lincoln Elementary created this bulletin board in the break room. They brighten each other’s days with simple notes of encouragement, thanks, and support.
How does your team promote kindness and celebrate each other? Share your ideas to be featured in The Hive.
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Fun Fact: The buzzing sound we hear near honeybees is caused by the vibration of their wings flapping 230 times per second!
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There’s a growing buzz about the value of handwriting instruction! EdWeek reports that 24 states now require some kind of cursive instruction. Is your state one of them?
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Free, On-Demand Webinar
The Simple View of Writing provides a framework to understand components of writing instruction. Teachers can use this model to understand and identify students’ writing strengths and needs.
Watch this webinar with national literacy consultant Amy Siracusano to learn more—including why solid transcription skills like handwriting, spelling, and keyboarding are critical for writing proficiency.
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Enjoy a taste of Zaner-Bloser with these free printables.
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2025 Classroom Calendar
Keep track of important dates in your classroom with The Superkids Reading Program 2025 Monthly Calendar.
Fun scenes and relatable elementary-aged characters make this calendar a perfect fit for any classroom. Print on 11x17 paper for best results.
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Winter Word Search
Warm up with a winter-themed word study! Practice decoding, spelling, and fine motor skills and have a little fun at the same time!
You can incorporate this freebie into a word study center or keep a basket of printed copies—perhaps even laminated for reuse—ready for a free choice activity.
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Work In Progress Flowchart
Students aren’t the only ones making progress this year. Don’t forget to take time to chart your journey of growth and discovery!
Inspired by the Teacher Journals included with Mindscapes: Becoming Our Best Selves K–5 SEL curriculum, this worksheet promotes self-awareness and mindfulness as you set a goal, track progress, and recalculate if needed.
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We’re serious about skills and value joyful learning—so we’ll leave you with some quick fun to tuck into your day.
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From Best Kids’ School Jokes Ever! Highlights (2022)
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Fun Fact: A honey super is a box a beekeeper adds to the top of a hive structure to give bees more room to store honey. The term is short for superstructure.
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The Hive’s Honey Super is a space for extra resources, too! We’ve included links to past issues you can explore again at your convenience.
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