Big, Beautiful Bulletin Boards

I love decorating bulletin boards! I could spend hours and hours achieving just the right balance of color, message, and texture.  The only problem is that sometimes I need to go home and, you know, eat...or do some laundry...or maybe even sleep...

As a result, I've come up with some tips to help brighten up your classroom bulletin boards quickly and easily:

1. Use plastic tablecloths from the dollar store to back your boards rather than construction paper or art paper from a roll.  Paper fades so quickly and isn't as durable.

2. Another option for bulletin board backgrounds is fabric. Look for fabric in the bargain bin/clearance bin in a solid color or small print. Fabric will last for years!

3. Pick colors for your boards which can span the school year. Coordinate the boards with your room's color scheme and/or your classroom theme so they never look out of season.

4. Measure once, cut twice.  (Yes, I know that's backwards.)  Measure to find the center of the board and make a small mark with a pencil or marker or place a tack at the center point near the top of the bulletin board. Start at the center and work your way out to both sides when placing letters and other items on the board.

5. A general rule for placing items on your boards is to leave a little more blank space near the bottom of the board than at the top.

6. Planned randomness is your friend.  Rather than spending time trying to get items straight on your board, purposely tilt items and randomly place and space them on the board while keeping the entire board generally balanced.

Preparing your classroom for the new school year can be an intimidating task. I hope these tips help you streamline the job!

 I add student photos once the school year has begun.