5 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Bulletin Board This Winter

Back to school, fall leaves, Thanksgiving and Christmas all easily lend themselves to great decorating themes, but what to do when those are over and spring is months away? Invigorate your classroom this winter in color and pizzazz with some simple and quick designs. Use the five ideas below to get you started on your winter bulletin board planning.

You Are Unique

Students are unique. Each child comes with a wonderful personality, personal interests, goals and ideas. Why not highlight the differences in a positive way on a winter snowflake bulletin board. Allow each child to cut out snowflakes while tying in a quick science lesson on how snow forms, what it is made from, and some interesting snowfall facts. After the snowflakes are cut, have the children write unique things about themselves on the cut-outs. Integrate a lesson on adjectives by having them only write descriptive words about themselves. Glitter, sparkles or tissue paper squares may help to liven up a light blue background before the snowflakes are hung.

Who is Hibernating?

Bulletin boards can also be teaching tools, so why not incorporate science into a winter bulletin board titled, "Who is Hibernating?" Using a list of animals that hibernate in the winter, cutout or draw them in their winter nook. If an interactive bulletin board is needed, place the animal on one side of the board labeled with numbers and the winter hibernating location (i.e. - nest, cave, hole in a tree, etc.) on the other side. Use clear pockets and small number cards that correspond to the animals for the children to match the animal to the correct hide away.

Acceptance Starts With Me

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday falls mid-January and there is always talk of equality and diversity around this time. With a bulletin board background of stark white paper place traced and cut-out hand prints of all colors all over the board. Have students trace and cut out both of their hands on colored construction paper. On the hands the students can write, "Acceptance Starts With Me," "Tolerance Begins Here," or another appropriate slogan to address the issue of accepting diversity. Not only does the bulletin board teach a lesson about tolerance and acceptance, it also opens up the discussion about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and purpose.

100 Days

Typically, the 100th day of school falls during the winter months. This celebration of the power of ten provides a rich opportunity to integrate math into the classroom bulletin board. Displaying sets of 100 items like gumdrops, Popsicle sticks, pencils or erasers make for a quick visual lesson. It is also a simple and potentially colorful bulletin board opportunity.

Have a Heart

Nothing says Valentine's Day like a heart, but this year make the heart more significant by creating a bulletin board of an actual heart. This teaching board will help with lessons on circulation, exercise and general health. To tie it in with the holiday, have students write and post things that they love about their heart on paper heart cutouts.

Bulletin boards are a fantastic way to reach students with a quick visual impact. They give teachers an opportunity to highlight the uniqueness of their class and teach important lessons in a non-obtrusive way. Be creative with bulletin boards and do not be afraid to work outside the borders.