One or Many? The Question of Classroom Themes
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If you are the teacher in that classroom you may be patting yourself on the back for the multitude of themes you have been able to cram into your closet-size classroom. Before you start mapping out any other themes, you may want to look at the room from a child’s perspective. Not only do multiple themes provide visual “noise”, but they also make it hard to concentrate on the tasks at hand. For students with learning disabilities and ADD/ADHD, this cluttered and chaotic atmosphere makes learning twice as difficult. The visual stimulation draws attention away from where you want your students to be focusing and places it on the room’s decor instead. By using a variety of themes and a multitude of colors, you are setting your students up for learning distractions. That is not to say that having a classroom theme is not a possibility, however, having more than one classroom theme should be discouraged. The simplicity of your room’s “extra” decor will leave you more room to display student work, color coordinate your classroom management systems, and provide a visually clutter-free space where learning can take place. If you have never tried having a classroom decorating theme, you might want to consider having one in the fall. It will simplify your back-to-school classroom preparations and give you a starting point for consistency throughout the year. While you can choose any theme, there are some that are more popular than others. For preschool and early elementary classrooms, themes revolving farm life, zoo animals, and primary colors are popular. For older elementary, it is important to keep everyone involved with team sports related decor. Middle school students may appreciate a theme geared toward older grades, such as hot air balloons or rain forests. Whatever theme you choose, try to stick with it throughout the room by color coordinating your bins and tubs and naming your small groups after theme related words/animals. If possible limit the color scheme to three colors. There should be two solid colors and a print to provide consistency. Use those colors throughout the room and keep other visual distractions to a minimum. Your students will appreciate the lack of clutter and may surprise you with their newfound ability to concentrate for longer periods of time. As you start thinking about next year, what themes are you considering for your classroom? Do you stick with one theme every year or do you change themes every fall? Share with us!
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Commented On May 26th, 2011 7:54 am
I am a new teacher and this tip will be very helpful in my future classroom. Thanks!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:36 am
Thanks for the great advice. I knew I needed to stick to one theme, but hadn’t thought about limiting the colors also.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:37 am
I use a new theme every year. I loop with my kids for 2 years and I don’t want them to get bored. Plus, I don’t want to be bored either! ; ) The last few themes I have done were western, monkeys, circus, tropical, under the sea, and frogs. My favorite so far has been the frog theme!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:47 am
I love to theme it up, but I changed grades last year and did not want to have anything too kid-ish. Don’t know what I am teaching yet next year so I will wait to hear, then think about the theme all summer.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:58 am
I use the theme Mrs. Bs birdnest. All my group are bird species names. Thekids love it and it helps me to keep on track! This is a great topic and I completely agree with it. I’ve been in those classrooms that have to much. I was overwhelmed and distracted even though I’m an adult. Good advice!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:59 am
As a beginning teacher I found this article quite helpful. I definitely thought about doing a theme for my future classroom, but wasn’t sure what to do. I have seen classrooms with all the different themes, and am glad that one theme is best for a classroom. Thank you RaeAnne for your theme suggestions also!
I can’t wait to begin my teaching career and use a fun theme!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:11 am
I’ve subbed extensively, and some classrooms drive ME nuts! Best one ever was at an old school where one wall was bulletin board almost floor to ceiling. It was divided into a couple of sections by paper color and solid border. She had repainted the ancient bookcases a beautiful spring green (paint first apologize later?), and used green and lavender throughout the room. There was some pink in several pastel drawer organizers as well. It was absolutely refreshing to walk into. Each item was carefully placed, even the stapler on a bookshelf. Her class ran like clockwork. When the children switched for an ability-leveled 30 minutes, these first graders knew exactly what to do. In my own room, I chose blue and green, with small amounts of yellow, and used frog cutouts as accents. (I’m laid off now and subbing while on a waiting list, collecting even more ideas)
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:13 am
I love my sports theme for fourth grade, but what else are upper elementary teachers doing?
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:21 am
I am glad that Really Good Stuff shared this article. As a teacher I do want my room to be fun and exciting but not too busy! I like to go with book themes in my Kindergarten classroom. I let the students vote on a book. I change the theme a couple times throughout the year. Right now we have an Elmer theme
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:26 am
I can’t decide on a theme….so many good ones out there! Good advice though to stick to one:) Thanks!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:31 am
I am soo excited for my classroom theme next year! I am doing a beach theme! I am going to focus on three main colors, sea-foam green, light blue and black! I have found so many cute beachy things at Target and the Dollar Tree, it’s going to be spectacular!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:32 am
I just graduated and have always wanted a sports theme in my classroom. I like the idea of changing the theme every year!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:34 am
I’ve had a garden theme for three years no. I was all prepared with the theme my first year. Then I realized I had a class of boys and all these flowers. I adapted and added the bugs in my garden. This seemed to interest the boys and the girls. Next year I’m changing my theme and making flying items, planes, hot air balloons, birds etc. My suggestion is keep it simple at the beginning of the year and have your students complete projects with the theme to add to your room.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:36 am
It’s good yo be reminded of the effects of clutter and overdoing it!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:42 am
I love using themes in my classroom! I’ve ordered a couple of packages from Really Good Stuff including a team theme and garden theme. It makes getting your room set up for the beginning of the year really quick and easy! Thanks RGS!!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 9:48 am
I just started using a theme during this past scool year. I teach 2nd grade and chose a movie theme. My students definitely noticed and loved the theme! I feel like it unified our classroom into a team. Thank you for the great advice that will help me modify and better the use of my theme for the next school year!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 10:09 am
I have been teaching Kinder so I know that
too much visual stimulation is so distracting!
I am moving to Second Grade so I was thinking
of a space theme for the room. Thanks for the
good tips in the article.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 10:22 am
I want to have a cats and dogs theme in my future classroom. I already have many purr-fect ideas of how I’ll decorate it.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 11:01 am
I teach 6th grade in middle school and I don’t have a theme. My students are with me such a short amount of time. I need a math theme since I teach that subject. Any ideas? Thanks…
Commented On May 26th, 2011 12:48 pm
Lots of good info! Thanks! I’m still not sure of what theme I will use next year!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 12:50 pm
I’ll have my own classroom for the first time this fall (YAY) and all I can think about is the theme I want! I’m also thinking of a beach theme since our first day is August 16!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 12:54 pm
Thanks for the wonderful tip!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 12:56 pm
I used to COVER my walls in bright and exciting things because I thought it was stimulating. A special ed teacher pointed out to me that it was overwhelming. As soon as I started taking things down, the kids calmed greatly.
The theme I use now is “bizzy bees” and I attempt to limit it to just a few things….
It seems to help
Commented On May 26th, 2011 1:11 pm
This article made me feel so much better. I have received a lot of criticism over the past few years. I have tried to keep my room fun without too much visual stimulation. Many around me would comment about the boring room, but I could tell an immediate change in my students who live with ADD/ADHD when they entered a room with a multitude of wall acticity. I have found that my students would get in trouble when in classrooms with too much to focus on. Thanks for the article. It made me feel a little more confident in my decision.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 1:29 pm
I love having a theme going in my class.As a teacher I want my room to be fun and exciting but not too busy, so sticking with one theme is always good.I always thought to make my room look pretty and inviting to the kids, but never thought about the ADD kids,because the things that are pretty to other kids can be a distraction for them.Thanks for the article.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 1:40 pm
Hi Miranda! How about a Math Investigator theme? Your students could be math investigators searching for the clues and following the order of problems to arrive at a conclusion. You could use a large magnifying glass cut from paper with the phrase “Focus on the Facts” or something similar. Hope that helps! ~Brandi
Commented On May 26th, 2011 1:50 pm
I am looking for my first teaching job and I have been picking up supplies here and there, where ever I see it on sale. So, I don’t think I have the right material and decorations to create a “theme” for my classroom. I just want it to be bright, cheerful, colorful and FUN!!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 1:54 pm
As a recent graduate I am looking forward to decorating and setting up my first classroom! Thanks for the ideas and tips on sticking to one theme and limiting the amount of colors. I substitute teach now which gives me a first hand experience of different classrooms across all grade levels. Reading the comments below have given me even more fun and exciting ideas. Great article!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 2:18 pm
I absolutely understand the fact of using just one theme and how it does keep the children calmer. I recently started using frogs but am thinking about changing it for the upcoming year.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 2:33 pm
The main theme of my room has been cute bugs and flowers. I have a collection of Peanuts/Charlie Brown stuff- books, collectibles, figures, etc… I would love to find borders or other classroom stuff that went with Peanuts.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 2:53 pm
I’ve never done a theme but it sounds like a nice way to organize.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 3:20 pm
Thanks for all the tips!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 3:23 pm
This year in my 2nd grade classroom I used a polka-dot theme. It was easy to execute. Not sure about next year. Today was our last day but I’m already making plans!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 3:37 pm
My classroom was painted green So I use Frogs or other green animals to go with my classroom. Plus animals go well with both genders.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 3:40 pm
The theme that I chose for next year is the cat in the hat. My students this year really enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss! I am so exited
Commented On May 26th, 2011 4:33 pm
Themes has always been a way to plan and organize, whether it be thematic planning or thematic decorating in this case. it is a good way to keep children’s attention span on you rather than other things around the room. I have a Word Wall in my classroom for each subject. Now, if I kept the same “Under the Sea” border and cut outs or “jungle” theme for each of those boards, the children don’t know what to work. My Math Word Wall has a math themed border around it, by Science Word Wall has a science themed border around it, and so on. I also like to keep the backing paper within the same color family, so there is no clashing. Thats pretty sore to the eye.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 5:07 pm
I’ve never done a theme for a whole year. I kind of do one every quarter as we study all about me and my community in first quarter, rain forest in second quarter, the world in third quarter and the ocean in fourth quarter. I create activities in all subject areas based on those particular “themes”. The kids’ work ends up being the decoration. =)
Commented On May 26th, 2011 5:26 pm
I choose a different theme each year and everything in my room revolves around that theme. Our work folders, objective/essential bulletin boards, strategies boards, Daily schedules, word wall, etc., I like to pick something that will help grab my kids attention in the year and that we won’t all get board the next or like my plans for next year (World Explorers) we are going to push the boundaries of what we know about the world.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 5:50 pm
Great article! I have already begun planning more organized classroom for next year. I am going with Dr. Seuss theme!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 6:23 pm
I have learned through trial and error that my classroom colors have to be blues and white. I think they make for a cheerful and calming classroom.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 6:41 pm
I usually use one theme because *I* get distracted with too much stuff around me. I currently teach 5th grade but will be going down to 2nd for next year. I look into the 2nd-3rd grade rooms sometimes and find myself very visually overstimulated. I could not teach with all of that visual clutter, let alone expect a child to learn anything.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 7:04 pm
Just finished completely stripping my classroom bare after 23 years for new paint, carpet, and asbestos removal. I will have to keep these thoughts in mind when I got to put it all back together!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 7:19 pm
I have a monkey theme and stick to blue & green. The monkeys are on several charts that I post during the year, but that’s about it. At the beginning of the year I just have my welcome chart, conduct chart, and word wall area. The bulleting boards have a are covered and have a border, but they are blank. There rest of my room is empty. I don’t decorate. We post charts and other materials as they are needed or being used by students.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 7:51 pm
The school likes to change the theme every year, but I really like to do a jungle theme and keep it every year. I think it pulls everything together. I keep my tables simple with green accessories. I also put a tent up in my classroom in the spring and the jungle theme lends itself well to that.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:08 pm
I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s theme ideas as much as the article. Thanks for the great suggestions! It makes me think differently about what I want to do for fall. I’m ready for the change in decor.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:24 pm
I am a 4th grade, Gifted & Talented teacher and I have a “Hollywood” theme. My “stars” love it!
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:30 pm
Our school chooses a unifying theme for the year. Each teacher then puts their own spin on it. This year we were “Teaming Up for Success”. This theme was great to emphasize cooperation and teamwork. Small groups were named after sports teams. Previously we have used “Growing Great Learners”, “Soaring to Success”, “Catch the Learning Wave”, and “Learning Under Construction”.
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:44 pm
I use a garden with insects theme in honor of our school’s garden project that supplies a local food bank with fresh vegetables. I also have used specific colored bins and baskets for my First Grade tables so the students can easily organize their supplies. Most have come from Really Good Stuff
Commented On May 26th, 2011 8:56 pm
I teach first grade and have decorated my room with an ocean theme. Our current reading series also has the ocean theme so it ties everything together. I labeled all the areas in my room with catchy little ocean sayings and themes, for example my computer center says “Surf the Web”, my reading center has a little kids swimming pool with pillows in it for reading, my time out area is called the “chill pool”. My bulletin boards all have the same ocean border and my desk tags are ocean. However I like things simple and organized so I don’t have much other than that theme related. We are getting a new reading series next year so I will go with a new theme next year!
Commented On May 27th, 2011 9:21 am
I am hoping to teach 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade this coming school year. I am wanting to do a “game” theme (board games, puzzles, game shows, etc.) with my colors being black, green, and purple. I figured this theme had a lot of room to work with and would appeal to upper elementary students. And who doesn’t love games!
Commented On May 29th, 2011 12:36 am
I like to do seasonal things. Not just one theme for the whole year.
Commented On May 29th, 2011 11:49 am
Our 5th grade theme for the entire year is “Survivor”. Each one of us chooses a different classroom them to start the year that would go with this overall them. I have used RGS’s Welcome Aboard them. My teaching partner has used a Jungle theme. I love the new “Wild About Learning” from RGS because I already use the Safari style bags for Meet the Teacher. I think one theme in your classroom is the best and work around it. I use nautical items, fish nets, etc. for my Welcome Aboard theme.
Commented On May 29th, 2011 12:45 pm
Can’t use themes anymore (except for intervention classes) LOVE them…(I try to “hide” them in my curriculum…:)
Commented On May 29th, 2011 3:01 pm
I’m getting ready to work on a hot air balloon theme — what a cheerful and uplifting theme, with lots of good opportunities for science and history tie-ins.
For my summer writing class, I’m working with an abstract theme: Happiness. We’re going to begin with personal reflections on happiness, move on to examine quotes about happiness and do an oral history project on the subject, and finish it up with research papers on current research on what makes people happy.
Hot air balloons ought to be compatible with this teaching theme, marrying the visual with the conceptual.
Commented On May 29th, 2011 4:13 pm
Thanks for sharing these helpful hints about how to beautify, organize, and simplify all at the same time!
Commented On May 30th, 2011 7:40 pm
This year was my first year and since I love to garden (and plus, I taught 3rd, and now I teach kindergarten), it was the perfect theme for me. Next year, I’ll be teaching kindergarten again and I’m thinking about going more with a Curious George theme because kindergarteners are so curious!
Commented On June 19th, 2011 8:26 pm
I took an HET (highly effective teaching) class last summer, and a big part of it was focused on classroom environment. Just as this article states, brain research says that too much visual clutter makes learning more difficult. They told us to think of decorating our room the way we would think of decorating our house–pick 2 main colors and an accent color. We wouldn’t put red, blue, yellow, and green all over a room in our house and cover the walls with posters, so we should not do it in our classrooms. It does not give your room a comfortable feel. This year I used that advice and did a complete make over for my classroom! It made me feel so much more comfortable to be in, and I was able to keep it much cleaner than I ever have before. I had a new group of students this year, so they never saw my room the way it was before, but my former students couldn’t help hanging out in my new room! They loved it! I am picking a theme for next year, but I’m not decorating my room with it. I am calling my class Mrs. Stout’s Scouts on the Look Out!, and I am going to decorate my website, projects we do, etc. with our theme, but my room is going to stay a relaxing, inviting place to spend our days. When we spend so much time there, it should be relaxing, comfortable, and inviting!
Check out my blog for pictures and tips on this subject: http://emilystuff.wordpress.com/category/classroom-environment/
Commented On July 25th, 2011 12:24 pm
Last year was my first year of teaching and I didn’t have a theme in my Head Start classroom. My room was a combination of many different things and it got rather hectic. This year though, I have found lots of fun and exciting themes thanks to Really Good Stuff! I have narrowed it down to 3 themes – frogs, stars, or monkeys! Anyone have any other suggestions of themes for 3-5 year olds?
Commented On July 25th, 2011 3:51 pm
My 3 year old votes for the monkey theme, Beth! =)
Commented On July 29th, 2011 2:46 pm
I agree about not having too much color and stimuli. I teach first and my walls are white and my trim is white and my shelves are white. I add color by using posters and colored bins. We are Becker’s bears but I do not decorate with all bears. We have a few stuffed bears and my door poster is a bear and I have a sign that says our name. I also do not do much decorating for each holiday. I feel that learning poster/wordwalls, etc are much more important. they get plenty of holiday decorations at stores, etc.!
Commented On July 29th, 2011 3:37 pm
I teach 2nd and have a different theme every year! This year it is going to be a combination of camping, polka dots, and bugs!
Commented On August 1st, 2011 5:47 am
I typically do not do a theme in my classroom. I try to find fun borders for my bulliten boards and keep my posters to a minimum so I have room as the year goes for class generated posters and student work to put on the walls. I would prefer my students see work that they created on the walls as the year goes than a bunch of ready made posters hanging on the wall the first day with no room to post class generated posters and student work.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 8:25 am
I use one theme in my classroom with soft colors in one corner of the room I call Bora Bora. It is a safe place for kids to put themselves in timeout when they feel overwhelmed. I use brighter colors in other areas of the room to allow students to remember the learning posters or activities in those areas. For example, fractions are red and yellow, plant parts are green. This helps the students trigger the memories when asked to recall on assessments. I have had students tell me as seniors that they still think of the red and green for fractions they learned in third grade with me. Limiting the themes and visual noise helps the kids, but changing themes each year keeps me from getting bored with my room.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 8:37 am
I am beginning my 5th year of teaching and have always used a frog theme, right down to our classroom pets – everything is frogs and we leap into learning each fall.
I am learning each year to put up less and less since all of it has to be taken down at the end of the school year. I use the poster size sticky notes and create class generated strategy boards and posters to decorate most of the walls as well as student work and exemplars.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 8:55 am
Thank you for this information. I am a first year teacher and am planning on sticking to one theme, but didn’t think about limiting the colors in my classroom.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 9:16 am
I teach 1st grade. I like to use 1 different theme each year. Last year, my theme was a western theme and my students were my “partners”. This year, I am using a team theme that also goes along with our district’s mascot. Most of my team decorations are located in the hallway beside my classroom door where I feature a large display to showcase proficient student work. I have animal cheerleader cut-outs with the slogan “2, 4, 6, 8…take a look. This work is GREAT!” I also made a foam sports picture frame for each child’s photo to be displayed above a tack strip where each student will have their own specific area to highlight their work. I decorated my door with the same team characters featured on the wall with pennants and megaphones labeled with the students names. It is very colorful and inviting. I topped my door with real pom-poms at the top corners that the students will walk under. Decorating for the year is one of my favorite things about each school year. I keep most of these theme decorations outside of the room to leave the inside areas available for student generated charts that will be referred back to during lessons. Thanks so much for the informative article. I really found it useful.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 9:20 am
I have never really used a theme throughout my room, just borders around the bulletin boards or outside my door. While my borders did not always have the same theme, I did put the same background color behind them which seemed to unify everything. This year I am going to try Around the World theme as I am moving from 1st grade to 4th grade. We will see how it goes…
Commented On August 1st, 2011 9:28 am
This is my first year as a classroom teacher and I decided to go with the stars and space theme. I thought it was something fun and yet I could still find a lot of things that would go with it!
Commented On August 1st, 2011 10:05 am
I love having a theme in my class. I do the cooking theme. I do agree that you should only have one theme going on at a time. Keep it simple and clean! : )
Commented On August 1st, 2011 11:07 am
For the first couple of years, I just went with multiple colors to brighten up my dreary room. My third year of teaching, someone stated the obvious, “Why don’t you go with a rock ‘n roll/music theme?” Being a music lover, it just seemed to make sense. From there it made it a lot easier to match up simple colors with musical borders and my titles of bulletin boards, jobs, and procedures also follow the theme. The students really enjoy it, and I feel like I’ve created a fun environment to teach in for myself as well.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 1:45 pm
I am beginning my 5th year of teaching and have always had a frog theme, right down to our classroom pets – 2 African Dwarf frogs.
I am learning, year to year, that less is more and allowing the students to help decorate with their work, exemplars, strategy boards and posters – they learn to take pride and ownership in the classroom.
Commented On August 1st, 2011 3:14 pm
The theme of my third grade classroom is teamwork. On the door is a poster from Really Good Stuff that says “Welcome to our team.” I try to have matching pencils for the students on the first day as well. The students get their pictures taken on the first day, and we put them in the sports-themed picture holders (circular in shape) that match our door poster. Teamwork is an amazing theme and the students really buy into it for the entire year!
Commented On August 1st, 2011 11:19 pm
I try to stick to a color theme overall and then multiple “smaller” themes for reading and math. For example my overall class theme is aqua and lime dots. Then for reading I am using cute kids which match. For math I am using frogs and ponds. It all goes together but it isn’t so overwhelming and I won’t get sick of it so fast.
Commented On August 2nd, 2011 7:15 am
I love the fact that teachers are thinking about their students with learning differences as they plan their classrooms! Just think what an impact our consideration of distraction will have on a year’s worth of learning for them. Our brains love consistency and patterns so why not stick with one “Really Good” theme!
Commented On August 3rd, 2011 7:31 pm
I’ve never fully committed to a theme other than my first year where I used stars. Next year I am doing an ocean / beach theme!
Commented On August 3rd, 2011 9:56 pm
Themes are so awesome! It is really cool when you change the theme for holidays or special units you may be teaching. When anything is changed in the classroom, kids notice and get even more excited about learning new content!
Commented On August 4th, 2011 1:12 pm
Themes are an easy way to string everything together in your classroom. You can pick one theme and find a multitude of things anywhere you shop. However, I do agree with the article, that it is very easy to get out of control. In my classroom, with younger students (I teach First Grade) I try to keep it to one theme and if I cannot find something in my specific theme, I use something with simple, primary colors. This way, I am not combining owls with frogs with apples with monkeys. I have found that younger students are easily distracted, so adding too many pictures and illustrations only distracts them more.
I do love how excited they do get about my owl theme. They love to complete scavenger hunts searching for all the owls in my classroom!
Commented On August 4th, 2011 1:14 pm
I have to keep my “wall Themes” to one at a time–I teach Special needs and too much going on around the students in the room or on the walls make learning very hard.
Commented On August 5th, 2011 8:49 am
I feel that having one theme in a classroom is very important. I even use the same border all around my classroom. I find it helpful for the students and me to stay focused.
Commented On August 5th, 2011 9:42 am
This article could not have been posted at a better time! I’ll be teaching 4th grade, self-contained, this year and although I am trying not to “work” I have been thinking of my decor & theme…I’ll be in a new building, new classroom and even though I am a pro at getting all my ducks in row effectively and efficiently, this year I’ve decided to keep it simple…just like the article states. Glad to see I am on track;-)
Commented On August 6th, 2011 7:49 pm
I too agree that having one theme and color scheme is the best policy when organizing your room. However, with the amount of money I spend per year…I am really starting to make my themes a bit generic so that I can just spruce it up a little each year. . Speaking on tubs…I am at a loss. I kept getting new books each year (yeah), which means I buy new tubs each year. Those dollar tubs get expensive when you keep having to buy new ones…ugh!!!! OH and stores never really have the same color schemes year after year…so color coordinating might be a thing of the past for me, as well:(!
Commented On August 7th, 2011 3:45 am
Im a brand new kindergarten teacher and would love ideas on how to decorate my classroom. I saw that you mentioned we should stick to a theme for the class. I love frogs, do you think this could be a relevant theme for kindergarten?
Commented On August 8th, 2011 6:19 pm
I find a lot of the character bulletin board sets to even be overwhelming…it’s too stimulating. I really try to stick to one color theme vs a theme like ocean, frogs or whatever. It’s easy to implement a lot of student generated material that may have not fit in with the theme of your room.
Commented On December 4th, 2011 3:58 pm
I try to to buy all of that theme stuff. I like to keep it simple with bright colors and simple welcome signs. I agree that overwhelming kids will cut down on the learning. Do they really need to see of those colorful themes? I think they tune it out and it only looks good to a visitor. I prefer to use kids created themes.