Making Classroom Decor Meaningful- Displaying Student work

Published by

missmeredithmadellc

on

January 16, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. You pay the same and I get a small commission! 🙂

Making your classroom decor meaningful to students, families, educational/learning experiences and you is (in my opinion and based off of education theory/best practice).

I get it, those Pinterest classrooms you see posted are shiny, aesthetically pleasing and “popular.” However, it is best to keep in mind that what is aesthetically pleasing to you or appealing to you, may not be what is best for children and their ultimate development.

When children know their work may be in display, they not only typically try harder while working, but they usually are also more engaged and reflective of their work. Many studies show, children who have creative experiences and who know their work will be displayed for peers, teachers, families to see encourages emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and the entire process of student growth.

With this being said, I always like my bulletin boards and classroom decor to incorporate my student’s authentic work.

Each month/season that I would change out my bulletin boards, my students would literally light up with smiles and be super excited to see their work on display (this is seriously no exaggeration)! It became almost a tradition for my classes as a new season approached, they would look forward to the changing of our class decor/bulletin boards!

Benefits of displaying student work as part of your classroom decor:

Posting student work as part of your classroom decor/bulletin boards shows collogues and families what your class is working on in a stylish way.
Motivates students to try their best in order to display their best work.
Students begin to develop a sense of pride and engage in reflection as they look at their work. This can also help motivate students to see what their work looks like compared to other classmates.
Builds classroom community and rapport with students as you show you respect and value their work.

Let’s be honest, making bulletin boards is time consuming! I usually made my bulletin boards after school or over weekends. Bulletin boards can be tedious and extremely tiring to put together. I have some bulletin board ideas to allow for an adorable addition to your seasonal classroom decor, but also help you incorporate teaching best practice-displaying your student’s hard work!

Valentines/February Bulletin Board Kit
New Year’s Bulletin Board Kit (2024-2050)
November/Thanksgiving Bulletin Board
Christmas/Gingerbread Bulletin Board Kit

As always, you may get inspiration from my ideas and recreate products I have made for free (personal use- you may not recreate my exact product to sell). All of the below products are Copyrighted. However, if you’d like to save hours of time and energy, I have linked bulletin board kits for your convenience that are fun, cute, and incorporate student work!

Click on the bulletin board pictures that interest you and it will take you to my TPT shop!