✨ Take what you need this week!

Welcome to your weekly POWER Up! I’m here to support you with simple, actionable strategies, ideas, resources and freebies!

P = Personal 💁🏼‍♀️

Well. It's been a minute.

I honestly don't know where the last month went, but here's the highlight reel: Ollie turned one (how?), we had what felt like a rotating door of sickness in our house, I sprained my ankle, made it to a conference on said ankle, and then somewhere in the middle of all of that, I ended up on the Today show talking about teacher support on national television.
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Life lifed, as they say!

I felt very guilty about going quiet on you. But also, I was in survival mode!
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So here we are. Glad to be back!

O = On the 'gram 📲

In case you missed it — here’s some of our most popular posts from the past few weeks (a few more than usual because there's been so many that have resonated recently!!)

• ​9 habits that look productive, but are actually burning you out as a teacher.​
• ​The best explanation of decodable readers I've ever seen!​
• ​But what about comprehension?​
• ​How do we *actually* teach kids to write? *
• ​Niche little things that help students stay focused​
• ​This changed the way I think about handwriting *

* includes freebies

W = What's trending?📈

A few weeks ago, I was asked on national TV how teachers can be better supported. I said three things.

Pay them properly. It's not a 40-hour job and everyone knows it.

Stop adding layers of admin that have nothing to do with actual teaching. Teachers want to teach. Let them.

Build genuine flexibility into the profession. Especially for anyone juggling commitments outside the classroom - whether that's raising children, caring for ageing parents, managing their own health, or simply having a life that matters to them.

That last one sits with me the most. So many of you are doing exactly that, holding your own family together while showing up completely for 25 other kids every day. It's a lot to ask of a person. And not enough people say so out loud.

I hope they listened. What would you add?
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(You can watch the Today show interview here)

E = Education Tip 💡

When behaviour starts slipping, my first move is never to raise my voice (I know that is so much easier in theory than in practice!)
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Here's what I (try to) do instead.

1. I pause instead of talking over the noise Silence often resets the room faster than repeating instructions.
2. I lower my voice instead of raising it Students naturally lean in to hear what’s being said.
3. I move closer to the disruption Proximity solves most issues without calling attention to it.
4. I slow the lesson down for a moment When things feel rushed, behaviour often follows.
5. I revisit the expectation. I clearly name what students should be doing in that moment.

It's not rocket science. But most behaviour issues aren’t solved by volume. They’re solved by clear routines and calm, consistent responses.

R = Resource Spotlight 🔦

I've been away for a little while, so I want to make sure there's something here for everyone!

Early years (Kindergarten): We have 52 beginning sound crafts, one for every uppercase and lowercase letter. Hands-on and no "I is for ice cream" in sight. Plus, we've just launched our next set of CVC word crafts! [Grab all the free phonics crafts here.]

Year 1/2: If fluency instruction has ever felt vague or hard to pin down, our differentiated fluency passages might be exactly what you need. Built at three entry points, aligned to phonics and fully editable. Ten sets are completely free. [Grab them here.]

Year 3/4: English spelling is about 97% predictable once you understand the patterns. My free spelling generalisation cheat sheets break it all down in a way that actually makes sense to teach. [Grab them here.]

Year 5/6: Morphology is having a well-deserved moment right now, and our free prefix, suffix, and base word posters and cheatsheets are a brilliant place to start. Over 120 morphemes covered. [Grab them here.]

Happy exploring!

In the meantime, have a wonderful rest of the week!

Love,
Tam

P.S. we have spent the last few months building what is genuinely the biggest Hive update we've ever released. We've rebuilt the Hive slides editor and dashboard from the ground up - think the best parts of PowerPoint, Google Slides and Canva, but built specifically for teachers, with Hive learning tools built right in!

If you've been curious about The Hive, this is the perfect time to give it a go! Explore The Hive with a 14-day free trial and see whether it lightens the load for you.