
Last week I shared some teacher hacks that every teacher needs in their back pocket! This week, I want to share some creative classroom ideas that will make your room unique, welcoming and comfortable for the kids that enter your room.
Use an apron to create a mobile morning greeting “wall”
Using morning greetings is a great classroom idea that welcomes students to the classroom each morning. It allows for a happy start to both the teacher and students. I like to offer a variety of greetings so students can choose whichever they feel comfortable every morning. Our moods change, so some days we don’t want a hug and would rather wave from afar.
Instead of taping the morning greetings to the wall, you can use an apron! Wear the apron around as you help students with their morning tasks, unpacking and supervising in the hallways. Students walk up to you and choose their greeting. No more running back over to the classroom doorway to choose a greeting, they’re right there on you at all times. You can create your own greetings or use my Boho Rainbow Morning Greetings HERE.
Attendance Stones!
This is one of those classroom ideas that teachers have used for years, but I put a spin on it. Some teachers use popsicle sticks or name tags to track their students’ attendance each morning. I thought using smooth stones would be a cool way to take attendance and they can be used for other activities as well.
I lay the stones out on the table in front of the basket each morning. Then, students grab their assigned number and place it in the basket when they arrive. Any stones left on the table when the day begins lets me know who is absent.
The stones are also a fantastic tool for choosing students for different activities throughout the day. I like to grab a stone to select students to choose brain breaks or to run helpful errands for me. This keep the kids from saying “I didn’t get a turn” once they realize their stone will be picked eventually. The numbers and rainbows on these stones are from the Boho Rainbow Classroom Decor collection.
Clear Matte Spray Takes the Glare Off All Your Decor!
I talked about this glare spray in my post last week and it’s currently one of my favorite classroom ideas. I just had to share it again. The Matte finish of the spray gets rid of glare on classroom posters. We have lots of flurescent lights that make it hard to read some posters, so the spray helps tremendously.
Just spray the matte spray on any posters you want to protect from glare. You’ll notice a significant difference in how easily your students can see the displays. My only suggestion is to avoid spraying posters or displays that you want to be able to use dry erase marker on. Once you put spray onto your posters, the dry erase does not work well.
The resource displayed for this classroom idea is the Rainbow Classroom Decor.
You can enlarge regular sized posters at Staples for cheap!
Some posters in the classroom deserve more surface area on our walls. If you have truly inspirational or important posters that need to be enlarged, you can do so at Staples for cheap. Just follow THIS LINK and be sure to select “engineering prints” and you can get large posters for less than $4.
This classroom idea is a great one for school specialists like the librarian, media specialist, P.E. teacher, or even the PTA. You can enlarge posters to be hung in the gym, library or the hallways for all students to see!
One of my customers, Lakyn O’Brien, enlarged her Modern Boho Posters and attached string to create these beautiful enlarged posters! You can find the Modern Boho Posters HERE.
I hope these creative classroom ideas gave you some inspiration this school year. I love learning new ways to make the classroom fun for students. To find the resources shown in this post you can click on the images below!
Blog posts you may enjoy:
- 5 Easy Teacher Hacks & Ideas for Classroom Decor Every Teacher Needs to Know!
- Simple Tips for Time Management For Teachers That Will Make Life So Much Easier
- How to Create a Beautiful Teacher Toolbox that Will Help Organize Your Classroom