Bulletin Boards

I'm excited to be teaming up with some of my friends to talk to you about bulletin boards.  Some may disagree, but I really think bulletin boards can set the tone and theme of your classroom.  Noone wants to come in and look at some haphazardly bulletin board with some faded paper thrown up with some wrinkled borders that were found on the free table in the teacher's lounge.

Truth, if I wasn't a teacher, I'd most definitely be an interior designer.  I believe that your walls should be visually pleasing, be neat, and have a purpose.  And, if you're going to spend a good majority of your day in your classroom, why not make it something you love!

 When I posted about using sheets from Target on my Instagram a few weeks ago, people couldn't believe it.  But it's really the best thing ever.  Heck, fabric and cloth shower curtains work just as well!  I love them because they're so much easier to put up on your own.

 The picture above is of two shower curtains my mom was getting rid of.  I snagged them up!  If I was going to redo my writing wall, I'd love the shower curtain below!

In the past, I always used butcher paper to make my little palm trees.  There's nothing wrong with butcher paper, but I think the fabric makes it so much prettier.

I have always loved bright colors but never had a clear vision for using them because I was always moving classes, or grades, or schools and never had adequate time to get a classroom ready.  Just two years ago, I was hired THE day school started!  Last year, I had plenty of time to get my room ready. Having more time made me love my room and not try and redecorate or rearrange things and let me really focus on teaching.

This year, I'm changing out this wall because during the middle of the year, the IT department graciously added routers (or something) in each of our rooms.  Unfortunately, all of the equipment went straight down the middle of this bulletin board.  The paper got all crumply and it never looked right again.  This month, I purchased these XL twin sheets to replace it with the border below.

We are lucky to have glass windows so I'll add pop-up bulletin boards throughout the year with my favorite colors.  I love this one from my Instagram Resource because it's so happy!

If I have a busy background, I add a single color to even things out.

Years ago, we were required to use a process grid to go with our Open Court Reading Series.  It has stuck with me ever since because it's so powerful.  I love this bulletin board because it's interactive and gets a lot of use!  Kiddos refer to it all of the time throughout the week.  I added a turquoise  border to pretty it up and divided the sections with washi tape. So easy!

We do weekly writing process pieces so it's important that I'm able to change out our writing easily.

 

I promise you, the following idea may or may not blow your mind.  Every time I post a photo of student work with this bulletin board, just about a bazillion people have questions about how these little memory books work.  I've posted about them a few times, so check out how to make them here.

I got smart two years ago and posted these below our whiteboard so my kiddos could hang up their own work.  Brilliant, I know!  Just make sure you teach your kiddos the procedure for hanging up work and you're good-to--go!

We add monthly reflection writing, thematic activities, and art.  It's such an easy way to display work I'm telling you!

These file folders work perfectly.  They come in a set of 50.  Figure you have 25 kids, cut each folder in half.  These babies will last you 4 years if my math is correct!

I'd love to hear from you.  Which bulletin board trick do you already use or can't wait to implement?

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