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Martha Bongiorno
Community Manager
Martha BongiornoCommunity Manager
Community Manager
December 19, 2025
Question

🌍 ACE Community Monthly Share – January

  • December 19, 2025
  • 6 replies
  • 401 views

Hello ACE Community!! ❤️

 

January is here, which means one thing around our corner of the internet… a fresh start for creative thinking is officially live!

This month is all about reflection, imagination, and low-lift creative wins giving ourselves (and our students!) space to explore goals, identity, and growth without pressure.

This thread is your creative corner to gather, try something new, share what you’ve been creating, and cheer each other on as we kick off 2026 with creativity and intention. 

 

How to Join In

  • Share your January wins: Drop a link to any social post, video, or project you’ve tried this month.
  • Add a quick reflection: What brought you joy? What surprised you?
  • Use the Reply button so everything stays in one thread (easier for us all to scroll and celebrate together!).

 

Not sure what to share? New-You Starter Pack

❤️ Try it here: https://adobe.ly/start2026


Using Adobe Express, students design a “starter pack” that represents personal goals, or demonstrates deep understanding of a character or historical figure. It’s playful, symbolic, and packed with opportunities for meaningful conversation and creativity.

 

January (Starter Pack)-1-1080x1080.png

 

Idea Sparks

Here are a few ways you can bring this to life in your classroom:

  • SEL & Advisory: Students design a personal “New-You” vision for the year ahead
  • ELA: Create a starter pack for a novel’s protagonist or antagonist
  • Social Studies: Represent a historical figure’s values, tools, or motivations
  • Library & Makerspaces: A low-lift, high-impact creativity station to kick off the year

 

We can’t wait to see how your learners bring meaning, symbolism, and imagination to life this January. Scroll through, share what you’re trying, borrow ideas, and celebrate the small creative wins together. This space is better with your voice!


With creative joy,
Your Adobe for Education Community Team

    6 replies

    Ann Kozma
    Community Manager
    Ann KozmaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    January 20, 2026

    Had to take a self-care spin on my Starter Pack! This was a fun one to kick off 2026 with some new intentions and goals for self-care. Love seeing what folks created! Cannot wait to see the other designs folks will share!

    2026 Starter Pack.png

    charlesr50624317
    charlesr50624317
    January 15, 2026

    Hello all,  This is my "Super Me-2026" Super Me-Charles R Jan 2026.png

      thenextgenlib
      thenextgenlib
      Known Participant
      January 15, 2026

      Love this so much, Charles!

       

      Amanda Hunt @thenextgenlibrarian
      T
      TheNextGenLibrarian
      Participant
      January 10, 2026

      Thanks for sharing, Martha!

       

      The first week back is always… a lot.
      Schedules shifting. Routines restarting. And this year? We had some 2026 testing to kick off the second semester. This usually brings *anxiety*
      I was watching it play out in real time: tight shoulders, shallow breaths, kids complaining. So I gave my library aides a simple option during testing week:
      👉 Use the January Creative Challenge in @adobeexpress to make a Testing Week Calm Starter Pack.
      Nothing heavy. Nothing forced. Just a space to name what helps when things feel overwhelming.
      What I didn’t expect?
      ✨ The conversations.
      ✨ The self-awareness.
      ✨ The way students started trading ideas for coping instead of stress.
      That’s when I knew this needed to be bigger than a “testing week thing.” So I turned it into a lesson plan for Health classes (or during your school’s Advisory time) focused on stress, overwhelm, and coping strategies.
      Because sometimes the best lessons come from paying attention to what students actually need in the moment. 💚
      🔗 Calm Starter Pack lesson plan: https://bit.ly/calmstarterpack

      🎨 Adobe Express Guided Activity: https://adobe.ly/start2026 

        Misswezi
        Community Manager
        MissweziCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        January 12, 2026

        Wow, Amanda! This is so thoughtful and responsive. I think the first week description you laid out is so relatable across the board and thank you for giving us a window into what you were seeing and why you approached the activity in the way you did with your aides. Calm Starter Pack sounds like a resusable activity that we should all keep in our toolboxes for these heavier times. Thank you for sharing:)

        Catherine_Stewart2504
        Catherine_Stewart2504
        Participant
        January 8, 2026

        Gemini_Generated_Image_7kqq1l7kqq1l7kqq.pngGemini_Generated_Image_a0ea4za0ea4za0ea.pngNew You Starter Pack.jpeg

          Misswezi
          Community Manager
          MissweziCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          January 12, 2026

          Hi Catherine! Thank you for sharing how you incorporated this activity with your students. The goal setting and reflection is really inspiring, and you making it into more of a multi-media project with them added dimension and voice to their expression. It looks like many of your students also took creative liberties in renaming it from"Starter Pack" which I love! One student has "rest pack" and now I want to make a rest pack lol. What a class!

            Catherine_Stewart2504
            Catherine_Stewart2504
            Participant
            January 8, 2026

            The Starter Pack was such a great back to school activity! We have been using them in the classroom to talk about memories from 2025 and goals for 2026 - the children loved making them! We also added animations and voiceovers to explain our image choices!

              S
              Community Manager
              ShelMcConvilleCommunity Manager
              Community Manager
              January 5, 2026

              Ok I had to give it a try! Can't wait to see everyone else's AND how you all use it in your classrooms! 

              Untitled (1).png

               

              Martha Bongiorno
              Community Manager
              Martha BongiornoCommunity ManagerAuthor
              Community Manager
              January 15, 2026

              Shel, I love that you jumped in and tried it yourself first. That curiosity always shows! Your version models exactly what we hope educators feel with this activity: playful, reflective, and low pressure. Can’t wait to see how this evolves in classrooms too!!

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