Classroom Decorating Tips

You've gotten the keys to your new classroom, and you are excited to get in there and start the decorating! I am so excited for you. This is probably one of my favorite parts about being a teacher.

Before you begin, consider this...

• What is your budget for decorating? From my experience, teachers spend their own money to make the classroom adorable. I have yet to hear of a district that pays for that :) My advice would be to not overdue it your first year. Remember that you have your whole career to make the classroom yours. You don't have to spend tons of money the first year to make it cute. Chances are, if this is your first year teaching or your first year in kindergarten, you will be spending a lot of your own money buying materials throughout the year. Don't spend a lot on just decorations. I buy things here and there throughout the year to add to my decorations. I've also sacrificed a few birthday and Christmas wishlists of personal stuff for classroom wishlists. I know...I'm a little crazy (and my family thinks so too), but I sure do love my classroom. 

• Have you chosen a theme for your classroom? If you're a Pinterest addict like my, you've probably already set up a board on your Pinterest full of ideas for decorating. If you haven't...go, go, go! It is so much fun. Pinterest has tons of great ideas...often things you can DIY.  

         Note: Your classroom doesn't have to be as cute as those on Pinterest to be a great learning      
         space for your kiddos. Don't be intimidated. My classroom doesn't look like a Pinterest
         classroom. I'm working on it one year at a time.

• Where do you plan to shop? I got my decorations through a combination of Michaels, the Dollar Store, and Target.
• If you haven't already, sign up at Michaels for the 15% teacher discount. I purchased my bulletin board fabric and scrapbook paper for student displays from there. Why do I put fabric on my bulletin boards instead of paper? 

This bulletin board has lasted for three years now. Use fabric on your bulletin boards. It's more expensive than paper, but it saves you a lot of time from redoing it every year. The fabric doesn't fade from the light or rip when I take staples out. Make sure you choose colors that you won't regret because they'll be up for years.

This is how I display my student's work. I taped 12x12 scrapbook paper onto my cabinets and then attached a clothing pin with an index card for their name. The kids love displaying their work, and it doesn't take up my bulletin board space! If you take down the paper carefully, you can use it again next year. This will be my third year of using this scrapbook paper.

• A lot of my bulletin borders came from the Dollar store. They actually have some really cute ones. Go there throughout the school year because they get different prints/patterns in all the time. The Dollar Store is also where I got a lot of my tubs. They have tons of colors to suite your classroom color schemes. 

• Target has cute back to school decorations during July and August. This is where I purchased a lot of odds and ends that you need for the classroom...reading corner chairs, classroom calendar, no name board, etc. 

Last minute notes:

*Check with your custodian about your walls, whiteboards, and cabinets. What are you allowed to put on/in them...tape, nails, thumb tacks? I've worked at schools where tape is not allowed on the walls. I've also worked at schools they really didn't care. You may come across a lot of suggestions about putting tape on the whiteboards to separate your schedule, notes, etc. on the board. Again, check with your custodian because tape actually ruins whiteboards...oops :) Same with tape on the cabinets...the tape leaves a pretty sticky mark. Before you begin, check-in.

*Get on Craigslist...I see posts during the Summer from retiring teachers all the time wanting to get rid of all of their junk. Another teacher's junk is another teacher's treasure. 

ENJOY!

-Kinder Who