Refreshing Your Bulletin Boards

Whether your program is celebrating a particular season or focusing on a special topic, bulletin boards offer the perfect canvas to showcase children’s creations or brighten your space to welcome and engage the families and children in your program.

Consider materials you may need. Plastic tablecloths from a dollar store, inexpensive flat sheets and wrapping paper can create colorful, textured backgrounds.

For borders, try layering several colors to add depth, or fasten items like playing cards (think Uno or Go Fish) or themed paper plates (think kids’ birthday parties) to highlight a bulletin board that may focus on math, the daily schedule, the ocean, or sports.

If you choose to decorate a bulletin board as a display, children can proudly show their work and feel like they’re part of a community, while parents can have a chance to see what has been going on in their child’s classroom.

You may wish to include a dedicated community resources bulletin board for the families in your program. Consider adding current information about the local library, health care services, and resources for children with disabilities.

Seasonal or holiday bulletin boards may need to be updated more often, but they give you the opportunity to have a visual and possibly interactive complement to lessons you have planned. A fall theme, for example, can have a movable thermometer to help teach about weather, display colored leaves handmade by the children, and have felt (material) scarecrows that can be taken apart and dressed up as an activity that works on motor skills.