A back to school bulletin board is often a major part of the first impression to students and parents. It can help set a classroom tone, develop a theme, and make students feel welcome as they enter the room. Today I want to share a few tips and tricks I have learned along the way.
INCORPORATE STUDENT NAMES
A back-to-school bulletin board that incorporates the names of incoming students helps them feel welcome in your classroom. A new teacher and new classmates can seem quite intimidating. Walking into your new classroom and seeing your name shows that the teacher has been thinking about you. Pro tip: make sure you get the spelling right!
LET YOUR BOARD DO DOUBLE DUTY
Not only can a great back to school bulletin board help develop your theme, but it can also serve multi-purposes. Consider filling empty space on your bulletin board with classroom jobs, birthday tags, or your daily schedule.
BUY A KIT
Your board doesn’t have to be a master design produced 100% on Cricut. A bulletin board kit like the one pictured here can help you finalize your theme’s colors and overall direction of design.
DECORATE YOUR DOOR
I like to use the classroom door as the place to display student crafts throughout the year. I change it seasonally to keep variety. It’s a great place as we see it upon entering and exiting the room.
The door is another great place to incorporate student names!
FILL THE EMPTY SPACES
I would consider myself more of a minimalist when it comes to decorating the classroom. I don’t feel the need to cover every square inch of the classroom with decor. However, there are some spaces that just need… “something”. You know the spaces I’m talking about. This particular space was a rather large gap at the front of the classroom over the white board. It was the perfect space to develop the classroom theme and add some decor.
MY TWO FAVORITES
This particular board is hardly finished, but it does display my two favorite necessities when it comes to decorating bulletin boards.
First, I always use fabric as a background. It holds up well, is relatively cheap, and comes in all kinds of varieties. When I’m ready to change the board, I just fold it up and save it for next time. If it gets too wrinkly, it can also be ironed or even washed.
Second, I think a good banner can add the perfect finishing touch to any board. It’s a great way to tie in a color theme, add an exciting pattern, or even tone down a busy pattern. Banners can be done so many different ways — the possibilities are endless.
CONSIDER A YEAR-ROUND BULLETIN BOARD
The perfect one and done solution is to decorate your board with decorations that work for the whole year and leave it. If you want to add a seasonal flare, you could add a banner the changes with seasons or make one section of the board a place to display student work.
Back-to-school bulletin boards do not need to be intimidating. Use them to set the classroom tone, develop your theme, and before you know it, students will feel right at home.
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