Are you looking for creative bulletin board ideas to make your classroom a welcoming space for the beginning of the year? These creative teacher bulletin boards will help you transform different areas of your classroom into a warm, inviting space in no time!
Themed bulletin boards are a wonderful way to decorate your classroom walls in style while making a statement about your teaching philosophy or personality.
Whether you want to foster a growth mindset, help your students imagine beyond their wildest dreams, or learn how to be more resilient, these school bulletin board ideas will do the trick!
But, should you even decorate your classroom? Learn about the pros and cons of decorating your classroom and get my tried-and-true tips for decorating the right way.
15 Creative Teacher Bulletin Board Ideas
Ready to dive in? Here are 15 of my favourite bulletin board displays you'll want to keep up the entire school year! No matter what colour scheme you're going for - whether it be bright colours or something more subtle, there are plenty of creative and interactive bulletin boards to choose from!
These easy bulletin board ideas are all intended to help either expand how your students think about themselves or cultivate a sense of community, so they're extra special!
1. We are LEARNERS Acronym Poster
If you want to open your students' eyes to the wide range of skills they bring to the table, be sure to get this free poster! It is potentially my favourite bulletin board - a big call, but I love how this poster celebrates all of the different student learning that will occur throughout the school year.
Our students will fulfil each of those roles at different times during the school year, even if they don't think of themselves as mathematicians or scientists just yet.
I love to have this poster up at the beginning of the school year to lay the groundwork for a year of learning.
2. WELCOME Acronym Poster
Especially for the start of the school year, this bulletin board idea is the perfect way to welcome students back to school.
This freebie download will help set norms for your classroom so all students can understand that your classroom is a place where we respect and care for each other, try new things, and celebrate our learning! It highlights the different ways that students can work together as a classroom community throughout the year.
It comes in a variety of options; use the design that best suits you!
3. Reading Corner Display
Create the cosiest reading nook with these classroom posters! You can either add them directly to the wall or use them to make the perfect bulletin board to spark a love of reading and invite students to curl up with a good book!
You can watch to see how I assemble these creative bulletin boards here.
4. Be the I in KIND
I'm all about promoting kindness wherever possible. This interactive display is a powerful tool for getting kids to take ownership of their actions and think about ways to be kind every day! This free display comes with bulletin board letters for "Be the I in Kind" and large letters for K, N and D. I've included printing and assembly instructions so that it doesn't take a long time to put together!
5. BOUNCE BACK Acronym
If you aren't familiar with the BOUNCE acronym from Pearson Education, it is a fantastic way of encouraging students to bounce back and build resilience when things go wrong.
B - Bad feelings go away again
O- Other people can help
U- Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset
N- Nobody is perfect. Mistakes help you learn.
C- Concentrate on the good things and have a laugh.
E- Everybody feels sad and worried sometimes, not just you.
These BOUNCE BACK posters now have a new look, but as you can see in the example above (with the previous design), I also created a decorative border using cheap foam sheets which I pinned to my felt bulletin board.
6. Mindfulness Wall Display
If you're passionate about mindfulness and want to incorporate that from day one in your classroom, you'll love this beautiful bulletin board display!
Discuss how to be mindful and create a wall of ideas to guide them through the entire year.
Get this mindfulness bulletin board display here.
You might also want to create a matching calm corner, with a range of calm down strategies and problem-solving skills that your students may like to refer to. Encourage your students to find which are the most effective ways for themselves to calm down, as it will be different for every child!
Get this calm corner bulletin board display here. Alternatively you can might like the full bulletin board set!
7. THINK before you speak
Encourage students to THINK before they speak with these free posters.
T: Is it true?
H: Is it helpful?
I: Is it inspiring?
N: Is it necessary?
K: Is it kind?
8. Bee Posters - Classroom Values & Expectations
Are you looking for colourful, whimsical classroom decor to brighten up your classroom space and engage your learners? With a muted rainbow palette, the Beeyond the Rainbow Collection is the perfect mix of colourful and fun, but also clear and calm!
These bee posters will help you to promote positive classroom expectations & values. 2 designs are included for the following:
- Bee kind
- Bee safe
- Bee respectful
- Bee a learner
- Bee responsible
- Bee honest
- Bee positive
- Bee curious
- Bee grateful
- Bee brave
- Bee unique
- Bee you
If you're wanting to adjust the wording, an editable PowerPoint file is also included.
9. Buzzing Bee Birthday Display
Following on with another bee-themed idea, your students will feel so special seeing their names and birthdays displayed on your bulletin board! This buzzy bees hive design is just right for a bee-themed or rainbow-themed room!
Prefer something more subdued? You'll love this flaura and fona themed birthday display.
9. Superheroes in Training
This superhero door design can be used either on a classroom door or stretched out onto a bulletin board! Add students' faces to the superhero bulletin board cutout templates
It goes great with a superhero-themed classroom design.
11. Sprinkle or Throw Kindness Like Confetti
I love teaching about kindness, and this awesome bulletin board is a great visual reminder to spread kindness everywhere you go. It is a fun way to spread good vibes!
These kindness activities for kids will help you cultivate a kind classroom where all students will feel safe and welcome.
12. Growth Mindset Bulletin Board
At the beginning of a new school year, take the time to help your students cultivate a growth mindset! You can teach them about the brain and help them set goals for themselves for the end of the year.
This free growth mindset bulletin board works for students of all ages, including older students in middle and high school. Older students could decorate or create their own flower versions. This will look amazing during open house or conferences!
13. All About Me Class Display
Celebrate your class community by creating an All About Me display. You might like to use these free templates!
These pop on some colourful paper or black bulletin board paper!
15. Bucket Fillers Display
I love teaching kids about friendship and bucket filling because it's such an important life skill!
Creating a bulletin board about 'how to be a good friend' or a bucket fillers display can be a great way to inspire children to be kind friends to one another. You can create a stunning display using 'buckets' from your local party store or Kmart - over the years, I've used paper cups, party hats and envelopes for buckets.
15. Our Brightest Work Display
A colourful display is great for showing off your students' work! Use construction paper as a placeholder and backdrop for impressive student work.This bright colours bulletin board display would look fabulous in a rainbow classroom theme!
More Classroom Decor Ideas
Any of my rainbow classroom decor displays would be a great addition to your literacy or math bulletin board! For example, you might love the Rainbow Place Value Posters!
Calming Pastel Decor or Calming Eucalyptus Decor. You might like the pastel visual timetable or the eucalyptus number line.
Looking for neutrals? You'll love the neutral decor range! One example is the Neutral Alphabet Posters.
You'll also love the following collaboration classroom decor ranges!
- Wonderland by Deb McNaughton
- Jagun by Holly Sanders
- Beeyond the Rainbow by Kasey Rainbow
- The Brentos Collection
- Inky Soda Collection
- Muthi Tidda Collection
Classroom Bulletin Board Design Tips
Especially as we learn more and more about which environments make us feel calm and safe, it's crucial to be thoughtful with your classroom design.
- Don't forget white space. Sometimes we're so excited to display all the cute designs we find that we go overboard! Less is more. Leave white space around your bulletin board so it isn't overstimulating. A good bulletin board is not too cluttered!
- Stick with a colour theme. If you love bright colours, it can help to use them sparingly and balance them with plenty of white and black.
- Incorporate natural elements. Include natural elements like leaves and branches in your designs for a calming classroom.
- Focus on calming colours: Colours like blues and greens are really calming, so I love using these as my main colours and adding a few extra pops of colour here and there!
There are so many creative ideas out there! These unique bulletin board ideas are some of my favourite ways to transform an empty bulletin board.
I highly recommend building your displays with your students to make them more than just cute classroom decor.
You have such limited wall space in your room - use it to build community, show off student achievements, or motivate your students to do their best.
Did someone say FREEBEES?!
Many of these posters can be found in the Freebee Section of Mrs Learning Bee. Click here to access them all.
If you use any of these posters in your classrooms, I'd love to see them in action! Don't forget to tag me @mrslearningbee on Instagram!
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