Can I make a confession? Bulletin boards were one of the things that I was worst at as a teacher. I like the way they look when they are finished, but taking the time to put them up throughout the busy seasons of the school year often felt like too much. ESPECIALLY if I had to design any part of it myself.

I know exactly how it feels to have a million things on your to-do list, and also to know that your “Back to School” hallway display is still up and it’s already October. I have some ideas that I think could help!

Gain Inspiration by what’s seeing what’s already out there

One of the (many) great things about online marketplaces like TeachersPayTeachers is that you can purchase pre-made door decor and bulletin boards that can cover any season or holiday. I think it’s especially wise to save yourself a little bit of time and money and buy sets in bundles. A lot of sellers put their door decor or bulletin boards in seasonal bundles, holiday bundles, and year-long bundles so you can decide exactly how many options you want to have. If you only want to change out your door display for the four seasons, then you like we can find a set that helps you do that. If you only want to decorate your hallways bulletin board for special holidays, you can find sets that will allow you to do that.

If you want to have options that will cover the entire year, then you can find bundles that cover the entire year! Relying on the expertise of other designers and teacher authors is a huge sanity saver in the midst of a busy school year when you can’t possibly think about creating flowers out of construction paper.

Prep Ahead

I think a really wise use of our summer vacation time is to allocate a couple of hours here and there to printing and cutting letters for bulletin boards and door displays. There’s a lot of thought and effort that goes into preparing one bulletin board, and I have found that you actually save yourself some time when you sit down and prep several at once, rather than printing and cutting one display at a time throughout the year. Once you get into the zone, you find that you have cut the letters out for for bulletin boards in hardly any time at all. So, if you can use a little bit of time this summer to cut and sort your letters into plastic bags for different bulletin board displays…I would highly recommend it! You will thank yourself later.

Rely on parent volunteers

OK, how many times during the school year do you have a parent tell you that they would love to come in and help with anything that you need, and your mind goes blank with things that they can feasibly help you with (without a bunch of teaching from you)??

Designating a parent or two to come in and change out your bulletin board and door displays throughout the year is a really great way to utilize parents in the classroom! You don’t have to teach them how to do it. You can print a picture of what the final product is supposed to look like, hand them the pieces, and send them on their way!

Parents can also cut and laminate bulletin board pieces as well as putting them up. So, if over the summer or you only managed to get a couple ready to go, you can hand a stack of printed materials for future bulletin boards to some parent volunteers and let them prep everything for you. This way the letters are reusable so you won’t have to worry about this next year. Simply outsource the task and move on!

Extra layers of decor such as what you put on your bulletin boards and what you hang on your door does not have to be stressful. We are sometimes overthink these things and make it harder than it should be. If you can outsource it, outsource it. If you can work ahead, work ahead. But whatever you do, don’t take something that is meant to be fun, and turn it into a stressor!

How do you handle door and bulletin board decor in your classroom? Do you purchase printable decor, or do you DIY?

To browse my individual door/bulletin board listings, as well as the money-saving bundles, click the link below!

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