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Back-to-school season is full of newness. . . school supplies. . . classroom décor. . . routines. . . schedules. . . friends. . .
There’s also plenty about starting a new school year that’s timeless and predictable—like these four time-tested tips that will set you and your students up for a successful year together.
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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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Use Your Noodles
A teacher in Indiana shared this idea for an independent center or station activity. Students can practice spelling patterns by stringing large “beads” together.
The teacher made these beads by cutting pool noodles with a bread knife and using a permanent marker to print letters and common letter pairs (digraphs) on the pieces. She used one color for vowels and a different color for consonants.
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Math Intervention on Wheels
Mrs. Deane stores all the materials from her Kickstart: Number Sense kit on a small cart that can be easily moved around or between classrooms for push-in or pull-out intervention groups.
The cart holds all the hands-on manipulatives, activity cards, dry erase sleeves and markers, reproducibles, song book, Teacher Guides, and even a plush Cota the Kangaroo to support small groups working on grades K–3 skills.
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Warm and Welcoming Spaces
From Mrs. Sigala’s affirmation mirror to Ms. Jarvis’ playful door and Mrs. Jones’ to-the-point pencil. . . we ❤️ seeing the ways you welcome students and families back to school.
Send us a photo of your decorated door or a favorite welcoming space in your classroom along with a short note about why you or your students love it. Your image can inspire other teachers in a future issue of The Hive or on Zaner-Bloser's social media channels.
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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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Guess My Number and More
Looking for ways to inject more fun and skills practice into short wait times throughout the day? Try playing “Guess My Number” during a restroom break or transition between classes.
Want more games like this? See the full list of ideas. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for timely tips throughout the year!
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Enjoy a taste of Zaner-Bloser with these free printables.
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One Thing to Know About My Child
Establish a partnership with families by inviting adults to share something privately with you about their child’s strengths, challenges, or interests.
Consider setting up a station featuring this handout during your back-to-school open house. Families can drop completed copies in a dropbox or place them in sealed envelopes in a basket for you to read later.
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Class Newsletter Template
Strengthen the school–home connection with a weekly newsletter that showcases what’s happening in your classroom.
This free template includes space for a conversation starter and an at-home activity that can extend the learning at home.
Just download and type—or print and handwrite—to make it your own!
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Find-a-Friend Bingo
Help students start conversations and find interests they share with new classmates. A short ice breaker like Find-a-Friend Bingo makes it fun!
Bonus: Find-a-Friend Bingo will get students out of their seats and moving around the room to talk, so it adds a few minutes of physical activity, too!
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Congratulations to the winners of our Teacher Appreciation Week prize packages. Thanks for subscribing to The Hive!
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Michelle Bullis
Kindergarten Teacher, North Dakota
Terri Douglas
Grade 2 Teacher, Iowa
Michelle Ang
Resource Teacher, Arizona
Sandra Bornemann
Kindergarten Teacher, New Jersey
Maria Piscopo
Grade 5 Teacher, Illinois
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What do you love most about The Hive? We’d love to hear from you! Email us
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We’re serious about skills and value joyful learning, too—so we’ll leave you with some quick fun.
Back-to-School Check-In
Did you know that summer breaks for most U.S. elementary schools are 10–11 weeks long? But when exactly they start and end varies widely from May to September. Click the image that best represents your back-to-school stage as you read this edition.
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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 you might like to explore.
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