Bulletin Boards {Tips and Tricks}

16 comments Bulletin Boards, Popular Posts, Tips and Tricks

Bulletin Boards. Teachers either love them or hate them. I love them. A lot. Keep reading for some tips and tricks to make your bulletin board life a bit easier!

Bulletin boards are a great way to showcase student work, changing them out freshens up our space, and the kids love seeing their work on display! Displaying student work is an easy way to help students establish ownership and develop a sense of pride in their work. So, I make sure to showcase their work regularly!

I have three bulletin boards total, and each showcases student work. One is in our main hallway and two are inside my classroom. I change out these boards once a month. So, how do I keep these boards updated each month? It's easy!

The Hallway Board
The hallway board is always the first one that gets changed out each month. I always aim for the first week of the month. The decor framing this space stays put all year long. I have a Rock Star classroom theme, so I carried the theme out into the hallway.

We are required to showcase writing on our hallway boards, but I usually display a small craft alongside the writing. Since we write every day, it's pretty easy to come up with some sort of piece to showcase on this board.

As you can see, I just staple the work to the wall. I don't cover the wall with fabric or butcher paper With that said, the color of this wall is terrible for showcasing work. It needs some pop of color, so I always hang construction paper behind the students' writing. When I go to hang it up, I simply layer the writing page on top of the construction paper and staple them in place at the same time. This saves a ton of time!

The Classroom Boards
Ok, let's talk about those boards inside the classroom. One of these boards is our designated self portrait gallery wall, and I never change that board out. I just can't bring myself to do so. It's so darn cute and it always makes me smile. By keeping this board up all year long, I save more time!

But, I do change out the second bulletin board in our classroom. Sometimes I showcase writing on this board, and sometimes I showcase a math or art project. In other words, I don't go out of my way to create an elaborate display that requires extra planning and preparation. I simply choose something interesting that we are doing and hang it up. Remember to keep it simple and showcase anything your students have done that would make them proud!

The adorable zombie board shown above is from Haley O'Connor. You can find her Zombie Data Pack here. My students had a blast with it!

Just like I do in the hallway, I only switch out the students' work on these board. That's it.

I don't replace borders.
I don't replace fabric.
And, I very rarely include headings to match the work (and if I do, the students make it, like in the rainbow example above).

I simply do not have the time to create a brand new bulletin board each month. Instead, I set up the board (fabric and borders) before the start of the new school year and simply change out the student work each month. Easy peasy!

Tips for Covering the Boards
Use solid colored fabric.

This allows the student work to stand out, or "pop" against the fabric. I've used patterned fabric before, and there is certainly nothing wrong with using it, but the work didn't really stand out as I liked. I also have a very, very small classroom, too much print would create a chaotic feeling.

Keep the same borders up all year.

I like to double up my borders to add visual interest. Since I use solid colored fabrics to help showcase student work, I can add a little fun and playfulness around the edges.

Hanging Student Work
I prefer to staple my students' work to my boards. This way, I can make sure it lays flat against the wall/board. Not everyone staples their work though. My sweet neighbor likes to use push pins. She loves how quick and easy it is to hang up the work this way. Genius! Wish I took a picture of that for you! I have also used clothespins, and they are quick and easy when it comes to switching out work, but I found that I ultimately prefer to staple.

Quick Clean Up Tip
If you're like me and you prefer to staple you students' work to the board, your floor might look like this (or worse) once you're done removing the old work.

What a mess, and a pain! I have a quick and easy solution to that problem. Got one of these?

Yep, a magnet is all you need! Simply hover the magnet over that scattering of staples and be amazed at how quickly you can pick 847 staples up off the ground. That number may or may not be a slight exaggeration. But, seriously, it is the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way to pick those little pokey beasts up off the ground.