Monthly Themed Bulletin Board

by Bubba~Sue 1st grade
from the Teachers.Net Chatboard

For the Themed Bulletin Board you will need a background that will never change. You will need a HUGE bulletin board for this year long bulletin board.

1. Use BLUE bulletin board paper at the top for the sky.
2. Use GREEN bulletin board paper for the green grass. I usually cut it so it looks like little hills. Add a yellow sun to the top!
3. I usually outline the whole bulletin board with black borderette.

There..that is the basic background. It is an outside scene.

Okay here is what I do for my Monthly Themed Bulletin Board:

August: At one end have a little red school house and all around have a gray road with white dotted lines. In white clouds (put in the sky) Write this; "School House, School House, What do you SEE? I see Yellow Buses coming Towards ME! " On the first day of school have the children cut out yellow buses and let them write their names and bus numbers on the bus. Then staple them to the road going towards school! If you have car riders, you can do cars too. You can Say in the clouds..."School House, School House What do you see? I see First Graders coming to me!"

September: Take down the road and school house. Then put up a HUGE brown tree (made from bulletin board paper) put the huge tree in the middle. At the top of the tree....let students trace their hand prints on fall colored paper or you can let them cut out leaves on fall colored paper...they will need to do A LOT! Then staple the fall leaves to the top of the tree. You can add acorn faces later and squirrels too. You can add a basket of apples (next to the tree) with the childrens' stories or journals. The white clouds could say: Oak Tree, Oak Tree, What do you see? I see Acorns growing on me!"

October: You could leave the tree up and add pumpkins for a pumpkin patch. OR take down the huge tree and add a teacher made Scarecrow and some pumpkins around the scarecrow with stories written on the pumpkins (by the children). The white clouds could say: "Scarecrow, Scarecrow, what do you see? I see orange pumpkins all around me!"

November: Take down the tree or the Scarecrow and put up a teacher made Boy at one end and a teacher made Girl at the other end of the bulletin board. The boy and girl have napkins around their necks and spoons and forks in their hands. Have the children make turkeys from construction paper. You staple the turkeys in the middle. The white clouds could say: "Turkey, Turkey, What do you see? I see First Graders HUNGRY for me!"

December: Take down the turkeys and boy and girl. Let the students make kinda big reindeer from construction paper. I usually let mine write stories on the bellies. Have wiggly arms and legs. The antlers are the students hand prints. I staple the reindeer up like they are dancing and jumping. The white clouds say: "Rein dancin' is so DEER to us!"

January: Cover the green grass with white paper to look like snow. Have a teacher made snowman in the middle of the bulletin board. Let the students make Walruses out of gray construction paper. I let mine write a story on the belly. Then staple them up around the snowman. The white clouds could say: "First Grade isn't TWO TUSKS for us!" You could do Penguins instead of the walruses.

February: Take down the "snow" to reveal the green paper. Put up a huge red doghouse with Clifford! Let the students make dog faces from hearts...all colors of dogs...yellow...white with spots...black...gray...brown...all from hearts. On a bone, the students write their favorite Clifford book title. Put the bones in the mouths of the dogs. Staple them all around the doghouse. The white clouds could say: "We are in LOVE with Clifford books!"

March: Have a teacher made lion and lamb in the middle of the bulletin board. Let the students create from yellow and orange construction paper Lion faces. The let them make Lamb faces from black and white construction paper and cotton balls. Add a green stem and green leaves to each face...then you have Dandy~lions and Dandy~Lambs! The white cloud could say; "We're not LION....we are having a DANDY time in First Grade!"

April: Let the students make big rabbits (brown and gray) with wiggly arms and legs. I let them write stories on the belly. Then staple the rabbits like they are Hopping and jumping! Have one rabbit holding a sign that says..." We're so HOPPY it's SPRING!"

May: Have a Pooh and Piglet picture (store bought so you wont get into trouble) cut out and stapled to the middle of the bulletin board. Then let the students make tissue paper butterflies, construction paper bees, and construction paper ladybugs. I let the students write stories on the lady bug. Have Piglet holding a sign that says: F-F-First Grade didn't B-B-BUG us one b-b-b-bit!"

And that is it!

Bubba~Sue in NC
1st Grade
National Board Certified Teacher EC/Gen