Ok… I love bulletin boards. I do. But, maybe it’s more like a love/hate relationship. They brighten a room like nothing else can. My old room had HUGE bulletin boards. It allowed for so much creativity. I had a few that I kept the same all year, then I had a few that I would change seasonally. This seemed to be a good balance.
Bulletin Board Hack 1: Use Fabric on Your Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board Hack #2: Double the Border
Double, or even triple, your border. If Melanie from SchoolGirl Style has taught us anything about bulletin board style, it is to layer your bulletin board border. This not only adds visual interest, but it also takes up visual space. This makes it so you don’t have to put as much on the board. I call that a teacher win!
Layering border can be a little tricky… but, Maria from KinderCraze has your back. She shared this genius bulletin border hack for the perfectly layered border.
OMG the "Go Outside the Lines" hack…. I feel like my life has now been forever changed with this new nugget of info!!! My bulletin boards are all the same size and kind of *womp womp*… this is a game changer for me! Now off to think about how I'm going to use this tip to really bring my classroom to life!
LOL! You are too sweet, Angela. Thank you for making me feel like my little tips are "life changing" they are really anything but… 😉
Fire marshall said no fabric … fabric burns longer and paper will burn and be done. So our entire school that had done fabric for years is now papered!
If you use nursery fabric, it is fire resistant.
There is also a fire retardant spray. Bought it at a fabric store!
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I use twin size flat sheets instead of fabric. I found that it was even less expensive than buying cut fabric. I got 2 flat sheets from Walmart and it was about $5 dollars and covered a bulletin board that was 17' x 4'. It has been a real money saver and I take it down at the end of the school year and wash it because it can collect dust and I want everything to be fresh for the new year.
That is the best idea.. Thanks for sharing!
What is a flat sheet…like for a bed?
Yes!
I do too! I also use the same flat sheets as curtains in my giant windows to help block some of the light for my light projector.
I did that this year! I might have even gotten the idea from your comment because I feel like I’ve seen it before. They were easy to measure and cut, and I got solid colors to make the things I put on them really stand out (another idea from someone else!).
Tacks. OMG. So simple yet I never thought of it and just shrugged off my slightly crooked bits. THANK YOU!
These ideas are Awesome! I have a huge bulletin board that is overwhelming to update! Theses tips are great for me! Love all the ideas!
These ideas are Awesome! I have a huge bulletin board that is overwhelming to update! Theses tips are great for me! Love all the ideas!
Nicely done!! Proud of you. Would love to visit your classroom!
Hello…..I am responding to "Unknown's" comment. A good way to deal with a huge board is to divide it up into smaller boards. Just use borders to "re-frame" it into 2 or 3 smaller boards. One or two could be a "permanent" year-round or long standing board.
Enjoyed reading all of these great ideas! When you have been teaching for 20 years you doo need some new ideas… I LOVE IT!!
These are terrific! Thanks for helping out.
Another idea for the base is paint. I used black paint, and it looks great.
Another idea for the base is paint. I used black paint, and it looks great.
This is awesome! It's going to take some work to adapt it to an all-boys Middle School, but I'm seeing NE Patriots, RedSox, Bruins, Celtics, NE Revolution themes tied into maths! Thank you!
Love all the sharing of great ideas♡
I’ve used material for over 20 years….time saver for sure. *One thing to keep in mind (which I learned the hard way…lol) is your fabric needs to be fire proof, if not, you could spray a fire retardant on it. Some Fire Marshalls are stricter than others 🙂
Hi, I’m writing all the way from Costa Rica. I love doing bulletin boards, but I always cut the boards to make them fit the size of the board. I didn’t understand how to keep them in the original size without cutting them but still making them fit the size of the board…. Can you help me with that?
Thanks,
Carolina
Hello Carolina! To layer the border, I just match up the edges and layer them to fill in gaps. Save my border so I can use it again and again!
Hello! You layer them by matching up the designs and aligning it to the sides of the bulletin board! 🙂
Hi, love your tips! I started using fabric also, and it works so well! I’m wondering too how to avoid cutting the borders? Some boards are square , some are rectangle. So do you tuck the excess border?
No tucking! I just match up the ends with the pattern! No tucking, cutting, none of that!
Had a coworker that used wallpaper as background. Never faded.
I also like to split up the humongous board in my room by putting boarders down the center…or thirds, depending on what I want from it. Different background color helps, too…
Robin, 5th grade, VA
I use the large plastic tablecloths from the dollar store for the background on my bulletin boards.
My classroom has cinder block walls. I hot glue borders in square or rectangular shape and make instant boards anywhere in the room.
And the paint doesn’t peel off when you take them down? This is a great idea if it is easy on the paint. I have cinder blocks in half of my classroom ad would love to use this idea.
One of my favorite things to do is display student work on boards. At our school we get to decorate the hall boards two times a year on a rotation. Making sure you mount student work can really help it hold up and “pop” off the board. Printing titles on copy paper and mounting them also looks good. You can select from so many onts sizes too.
If you need a straight line, push 2 push pins into the BB and lay a yard stick on top of them. This makes tacking up your letters so quick and easy,
I have used “leftover” ceiling tiles as bad, too. Just covered them and mounted them to the wall.
Where do you suggest purchasing the black felt for the bulletin board? Also, was it fel fabric so it was still a large cut or small felt squares pieced together?
Thank you!!
I got mine from Walmart. It came in a huge roll, and I just measured and cut what I needed. I suggest doing that instead of trying to piece together smaller sized squares.
You can also layer background paper as well. I do four layers – one for each season.
That is GENIUS!!
In August I layer my paper, beginning with spring, then Valentines, winter, then Christmas and last back to school. Saves a lot of time! I also write it in my lesson plans so my brain doesn’t get tripped up!
Thank you for the Wow Work bulletin board idea! I put one up in my classroom last summer, and it not only brightens the room, but it saved me time all year. I found I put up MORE student work because it was so easy to unclip work and put up new. I’ve gotten compliments on it from teachers, parents, and administration, too. Keep up the great ideas!
I love the idea of using pegs on the wow wall. I just wondered how you stuck them to the paper? X
Our bulletin board are made from a canvas like material that allows things like staples and push pins to be pushed and pulled over and over again. Hope that helps!
All these ideas ate super great! In my case I have to cover plastic screens from the windows. I hardly have wall space too many windows,. What other ideas can you give me to have less problems & work covering those plastic window screens? Thank you for sharing your ideas & suggestions.
If you have blinds, you can use clothes pins to hold up student work.
Hello, thank you for sharing all your great ideas. At my school I have lots of windows with pladtic screens. Every year I have to cover them with paper because of the lack of wall space. I would appreciate any other ideas to cover these plastic screens. I’ll probably try fabric which seems to ne as a wonderful idea. But I can’t tack or staple anything because I can’t break the plastic screens. Help please. Thanks a lot for sharing your ideas & suggestions
Maybe paper? I’m not sure what you mean by plastic screens as that doesn’t seem like soemthing we have here in FL…
Hello,
thx for all these wonderful ideas.
I’m a teacher from Germany and we are pretty new to the bulletin boards. I just started to think about some ideas for my new teaching year.
As I now started to collect all the material, I came across a big question. I would like to reuse the letters for other projects again. How do you attach them to the boards?
I have just cork boards, which I will cover with fabric and paper.
I would love to hear from you!!
THX
I just staple them on, then remove them for the next project! Hope that helps!
Just use staples!