Back to school, autumn leaves, Thanksgiving and Christmas all easily lend themselves to wonderful themes, but what to do once those are over and spring is just months away? Invigorate your classroom this winter in color and pizzazz with some simple and fast designs. Use the 5 ideas below to get you started on your winter bulletin board planning.
You Are Unique
Every student and child is unique. Each student has a great personality, personal interests, goals and ideas. This provides a wonderful opportunity to actually highlight the uniqueness and the differences of each child. Allow each child to cut out snowflakes while tying in a simple science lesson on what snow is made from, how it forms, and some interesting snowfall facts. After the snowflakes are cut, have your students write unique things about themselves on the snowflakes. You can have them only write down descriptive words on the snowflakes to teach them about adjectives. In order to brighten up the white or light blue snowflakes you might want to use some tissue paper squares, sparkles, or glitter. After you are done you can have the students sit on comfy classroom rugs and share unique things about each other!
Who is Hibernating?
Bulletin boards can also make great teaching tools, so why not incorporate some simple science into a winter bulletin board titled, “Who is Hibernating?” Using construction paper, cutout or draw a handful of animals that hibernate in the winter months. If you are looking for more of an interactive bulletin board, place the animal on one side of the board labeled with numbers and the location where they hybernate (i.e. – cave, nest, hole in a tree, etc.) on the opposite side. Use clear pockets and small number cards that correspond to the animals for the students to match the animal with the correct hideaway.
Acceptance Starts With Me
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is in the middle of January and there is always talk of diversity and equality around this time. With a background of completely white paper put hand prints of all colors all around the board. Have your 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 similar slogan to address the issue of accepting diversity. Not only does the bulletin board teach a great lesson about tolerance and acceptance, it also can lead to a discussion about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and purpose.
Celebrate the 100th Day!
Usually, the 100th day of school falls during the months of winter. You can easily turn this celebration of the 100th day into a mathematics lesson by integrating the power of ten into your bulletin board decoration. For a quick visual lesson you can use popsicle sticks, erasers, gumdrops, or pencils in sets of one hundred on the bulletin board. It's also an easy and potentially colorful bulletin board opportunity.
The Heart of Valentine's Day
Nothing says Valentine's Day like a heart, but this year you can make the heart even more significant by making an actual heart on your bulletin board. This educational board will help with lessons on general health, exercise, and circulation. To tie it in with the holiday, have the children write and post what they like about their heart on heart-shaped cutouts.
To find tons of incredible bulletin board decorations that will last for years take a look at this unique teaching supply store. Classroom bulletin boards are truly a great way to reach children visually. They provide educators an opportunity to highlight the uniqueness of their class and teach important lessons in a unique way. Use your creativity with the classroom bulletin board and do not be afraid to work outside the borders.