Tips for Creating a Cheerful & Welcoming Classroom: Decorating Ideas
A cheerful classroom environment aids learning and gives students a feeling of comfort. A room that is well decorated and colorful will help students have a positive feeling about the class. Color dramatically impacts mood; a room with touches of high energy color will stimulate learning and help students maintain a cheerful mood. The mind craves visual stimulation and a cheerful room provides students with a focus for their energy as they are settling into the room as class begins.
Classroom Boards
Decorate the cork boards in the room with a display that utilizes an interesting background color. Hang posters on the board that are visually stimulating and provide lessons too. Change the boards frequently enough that students are not bored with them. Keep the room environment high interest by bringing in new posters or book covers to create new boards frequently.
The Motivation Poster
Create a poster that lists the names of the students who had the top 5 test or quiz scores. This poster will attract a lot of attention.Students like to call their parents’ attention to the poster if their name is on it at Back to School night.The motivation poster may encourage students to study a bit harder in hopes of winning one of the highest scores and thus public recognition of their achievement.Put up a new poster after every major test or quiz. Students love to see their name up on a poster. They will enter the room the day after a test looking to see who won the honor of being on the motivation poster; sometimes they may let out a whoop when they see their name on the poster.
Use Flowering Plants
A few flowering plants, like red, white, or pink geraniums, add a cozy feel to a room. The mind is soothed by looking at nature; let plants add a touch of nature to your room. The geranium is easily “cloned” by letting a stem rest in a bottle of water until roots are formed and you can plant the stem in soil. Thus you can create an ongoing supply of plants for your room at very low cost.
Honor Roll Display
Start a board at the beginning of the year that lists names of students from the class who made the school Honor Roll. This rewards students for overall high achievement and makes them feel proud every time they enter the room.
Good Deed Board
Create a board that gives information about a good deed the class participated in. The good deed could be sending letters to soldiers, raising funds for a worthy cause such as the UnicefHalloween Trick or Treat Fundraising program, or other public service good deeds the class participated in.Doing volunteer work make volunteers feel great and also improves their mood. So post information about past, current, and upcoming good deeds on a board to help students feel proud of their involvement in community activities.
Unusual Art Posters
Find unusual art posters of images the students have not seen before.Art adds a burst of energy to a room. Find posters with interesting graphics and colors and give students something to look at while they are settling into the class.
Maps
Give students the world by having a world map in the classroom. It is important to help students realize that there is much more to life than the town or city where they live. Give them a map to look at and use it in lessons too.
Books
Bring in books that relate to the subject matter for students. Having a share library in the classroom encourages students to do more reading. Reading is one of the best ways to develop a student’s vocabulary and logic skills. So find inexpensive books at garage sales and thrift shops or ask publishers to donate to your classroom.Books make a room come alive.
Computers
If the school does not provide computers for the classroom work diligently to find sponsors to provide them or get donations. A bank of computers makes a room much more interesting to students. Students love to do research on the computer. Computer research adds depth to any lesson.
There are websites and stores that offer free items to help teachers with supplies and classroom decorations. Check out the following websites to get information about free supplies for teachers: www.iloveschools.com, www.crayons2computers.org, www.schoolhousesupplies.org (for Portland, OR teachers only), www.agiftforteaching.org (for Orlando, Fla teachers only)
