14 Classroom Bulletin Board Ideas for Teachers
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With the back-to-school season upon us, it’s the perfect time to prep your classroom with unique bulletin board ideas for your incoming students. Going into a new grade at school can be intimidating for students no matter what their age, but an inviting classroom can make all the difference. The first step to curating that vibe is with your classroom bulletin board. From there, you can also create play corners and reading nooks that are complementary to your theme, and consider hanging string lights or using portable lamps for added warmth. When your classroom looks approachable and welcoming, your little learners will feel right at home.
After all, your bulletin board themes and decor are the backdrop to your students’ learning space! So whether you decide to do a sports-themed board for your high school freshmen or a cute school bus bulletin board for first grade, they’ll be happy to step into a classroom that feels encouraging from the start. We all want to see our kids succeed, and providing them with a comfortable place to learn and develop new skills can help motivate their studies even more. Our ideas also keep budget in mind, with print-out illustrations and affordable classroom decor that doesn’t skimp on design. Explore our favorites, from outer space-themes to Western ideas, and even seasonal spring and fall-themed bulletin boards, for an A+ in classroom design.
Teaching Is a Work of Heart
Art teachers, this one is for you! Encourage young artists with a bulletin board that embraces every medium, from painting to coloring, drawing, and more. Heartfelt and welcoming, this bulletin board will encourage creativity in the classroom. Bonus points if you incorporate your own art into the bulletin board!
Ride Into Learning
For first graders or kids who are taking the school bus for the first time, an adorable school bus-themed bulletin board is a no-brainer for a simple, versatile classroom theme. You can decorate your door with a custom bus sign that has your name on it, or hang up little school buses on the bulletin board with all your students’ names or birthdays. All aboard!
Welcome to the Team
If your school takes their sports seriously, what better way to celebrate future game days than with a sports-themed bulletin board? Fall kicks off the football season, so it’s the perfect time to kick that school spirit into gear. Cute sports and cheer decor, including pennants, footballs, and other sports gear with your students’ name on them, will get everyone feeling like they’re on the same team. Talk about a touchdown!
Step Up Into the New Year
Get your cowboy boots on and saddle up for a great school year! Drew and Jonathan’s show, Chasing the West, has us all excited for home on the range, so why not embrace the Western look in school, too? There’s so much you can do with Western-themed decor and cowboy style classrooms—hang up Western paper boots with students’ names on them, throw a rodeo-style welcome party with cactus-shaped snacks, or even host a horseshoe trivia game.
Smart Cookie Crew
There are so many cute bulletin board ideas for the school year, but who doesn’t love a fresh-baked idea like this? Your smart cookies will love to see their name on a yummy snack, and there are plenty of ways to decorate the classroom to give them that warm, welcoming feeling. On the first day, you can even host a cookie party, where each student brings their favorite!
Changing Our Mindset
It’s so important to teach young learners about positive self-talk. How we think determines how we perceive ourselves and the world around us! Positive thinking also encourages understanding, motivation, and curiosity. This bulletin board is the perfect reminder that changing your mindset can change everything. You could also pass out positive affirmations at the beginning of class each week, or have each student come up with their own to write down throughout the year.
Be-leaf In Yourself
When fall kicks in, your bulletin board might be in need of some cozy updates! Encourage your students to be-leaf in themselves this year with a friendly seasonal bulletin board that reminds them to keep up the good work. Add in some autumn-themed pushpins, and go the extra mile by handing out fall leaves that have personalized uplifting notes to each student at the beginning of the season.
Happy to Sea You
For science teachers or just teachers who want their students to dive into learning this year, an underwater-themed bulletin board is perfect. DIY a cute octopus like the one seen here with eight pink paper chains and a big smiley face in a matching color, and hang it on the wall or the classroom door.
Plant Kindness and Everybody Grows
Our young learners aren’t just growing taller—they’re also planting new seeds in education! There are plenty of milestone moments from childhood to teenage years that should be celebrated. Decorate a bulletin board with a garden theme like this one, and add a leaf to the trellis every time your class passes a certain unit this year. By the end of the school year, your garden will be overflowing with their new learning experiences that your students can look back on and be proud of.
All the Fall Feels
Cozy décor, easy hosting wins, clever costumes, crafty projects, and more for a fabulous fall.
Learning Is a Journey
Encourage young readers and jetsetters by turning a bulletin board into a travel-themed center for learning. Make use of a small map and cutout pictures of the book covers you’ll be reading throughout the school year. When the time comes for your students to start a new book, take a cutout paper plane and stick it onto the book. It’s a fun and interesting way to combine reading with travel and history.
Get In the Groove
Ready to break out your old pair of bell-bottom jeans and daisy flower sunglasses? Don’t worry, you don’t have to go that far—unless you want to, of course! A colorful and cute retro ’80s themed bulletin board can brighten up your classroom and bring some much-needed energy into the space. (Not to mention, add something a little bit fun and unexpected to your learning zone!) Come correct with groovy bubble letters, Volkswagen van stickers, and retro vinyl name tags.
All Are Welcome Here
Every teacher wants all of their students to feel welcome and celebrated in their classroom. A simple way to do that? By making the room reflect those values. Hanging up posters and decorations that incorporate ASL signs, kids of all different ethnicities, and kind words is a small but powerful way to make your students feel safe and welcome. School can be scary for some little ones, so greeting them with an inviting space can truly make all the difference. Plus, leading with kindness will teach children to do the same.
An Out-Of-This-World School Year
Blast off into an out-of-this-world school year! A space-themed bulletin board will surely be a hit among your future astronauts and astronomers. Alien friends, constellation bulletin board paper, and plenty of planets and rocket ships will set the perfect backdrop to a year filled with solar system learning or planetary science. You can even hang some paper stars from the ceiling for added effect.
Get Wild About Learning
Get your students feeling wild about learning with a jungle-themed bulletin board, complete with safari animals, lush forest plants, and plenty of leopard print. It’s a unique theme that can translate well into any classroom—and you can even incorporate some real plants into the room, too. Add faux grass or paper tropical leaves around the board and you’ve got yourself the coolest class in school. (This theme works especially well if your school mascot is the Lions, Wildcats, or Tigers!)
Bree Pulver
Bree is the Senior Digital Editor at DrewandJonathan.com. In the past, she’s worked for publications focused on home improvement and sustainable living. Bree’s Pinterest board is filled with cozy textures; vintage patterns; sculptural furniture; and moody, warm-toned colors. She has a degree concentrated in the intersection of writing and architecture, which influences her passion for exploring creative solutions to unusual home layouts and stylish renter-friendly decor. She’s a self-proclaimed pro at finding the best antique furniture in the most unlikely of places (but her cat Blue can certainly back these claims).
