I have had many themes over the years. I have had daisies with yellow and black polka dots. I have had teal and gray theme. When I first started teaching I taught middle school (a long time ago;) and I had a space theme. My most recent theme is bright colors with black and white polka dot. In fact, every theme I mentioned above has always had the common color of black and white polka dots mixed into it. The reason why is because it is so easy to coordinate black into many ideas and colors.
Here are a few pictures from my OLD CLASSROOM theme. When I moved schools I decided to brighten everything up. However, you can still see I kept with black and polka dots as a base color. The caddy below I actually made myself using a sonic drink holder, spray paint, ribbons, and tag. If you are on a budget this is an easy and cheap way to spruce up your classroom while offering cute storage solutions for student supplies. If you are interested in knowing how to make this DYI classroom caddy I have a blog post all about it. Click here to read.
In my OLD CLASSROOM I had a bulletin board with super cute growth mindset posters. I actually still use the mindset posters. I changed the color to match my current bright themed classroom. You can find the teal with black growth mindset posters here.
Cute Storage Solutions
When people ask me about my classroom decor or for suggestions on how to make something I always suggest the color black mixed in with some other color. The longer I have taught the more I just like using colors as a theme. We all know that students can be messy. If you have black baskets and bins not only do they hide stains, but they can be used year after year when you change out to a different themes. In fact, I have had my current baskets, bins, and tables, for about 10 years. To make them match my current theme I use tags and ribbons that correlate with my classroom colors. The picture below shows how I use ribbon and tags to bring in my color scheme. I love to tie tags with fun ribbon on everything. I feel like it gives the classroom so much personality.
The picture below shows how I used bright colored ribbon and tags to spruce up a caddy storage solution. The black caddies can be found here.
I spruce up all baskets and bins. Even my treat jars get ribbons and labels. The treat jars can be found here. The baskets are from Target.
Hallway Displays
To keep with my classroom theme I even decorated my hallway. We do not have racks for hanging work. To bring in some color to my little section of the hallway I used bright colored scrapbook paper. I also used my Silhouette Cameo to cut letters and words. The flowers in the hallway were made using a Silhouette Cameo. I have made flowers both ways: I have cut them by hand using a free template from Pinterest and I have cut them using my Silhouette Cameo.
Easy to Make Curtains
My current classroom has 4 windows. I wanted to tie in more of my color scheme, so I made curtains for my classroom. These are super easy to make. All you need is fabric that matches your colors (Hobby Lobby has sales on fabric all the time. Plus, you can use your coupon too). I cut one inch strips. Then I tie the strips onto a spring rod. It is super easy to make, but time consuming if you have 4 windows like me.
Bullentin Boards
For my bulletin boards I brought in my same colors. I layered my bulletin board borders. My first and biggest board is always used for student work. I cut bright colored folders in half, use a double hole puncher, and add a prong to the folder. As the year progresses I add students’ writings, art work, etc… to the folders. At the end of the year I pull the folder off the board and it goes home with the student. All of the students work is in one place. The links to the borders can be found here: Black and White Polka Dot Border by Teacher Created, Bright Green Border, Bright Blue Border, and Bright Colored Folders.
This is one of my other favorite bulletin boards. I teach second grade. In second grade students are expected to know their basic facts. We work our way through fact drills to earn a fudge sundae. The link to the borders can be found above. The resource I use for time drills and bulletin board set can be found in my TpT shop. I cut the bulletin board letters out at school using our die cut machine.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek into my classroom. I want to make it a fun place since so much of time is spent here. Thank you for stopping by and taking a peek.
Please note there are affiliate links throughout this post. I provided links to products that I have actually tested and used.
