Creating classroom bulletin boards can be a lot of fun, but also a task that takes time away from other activities; that’s why we’ve assembled the best preschool bulletin board ideas for busy teachers. Effective and attractive bulletin boards are a great way to communicate with students, which is particularly important for the not-yet-readers preschool-aged crowd.
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What Makes a Good Preschool Bulletin Board?
Bulletin boards can serve many different purposes, and the best ones not only help to create a welcoming and pleasing environment, but offer educational benefits as well. As preschool teachers know, opportunities for learning are all around us, and bulletin boards are no exception. As most preschoolers are still learning to read, boards are a great way to communicate information via visuals while reinforcing reading skills by placing words with pictures.
Most bulletin boards serve one or more of three purposes: decorative/display, informational or interactive. Decorative boards can be used to showcase student work, and often feature a seasonal or curriculum based theme. But don’t sleep on these types of bulletin boards. Whatever theme you choose, the board can still be used to initiate conversation, build vocabulary, or serve as inspiration for art projects or writing prompts. Decorative boards can display student work – a wonderful way to boost self-esteem!
Informational boards share information with students, parents, or the school community as a whole. A subset of information-based boards are learning boards which present or reinforce curriculum materials. One of the best things about bulletin boards in the preschool classroom is that students can benefit from both a teacher’s use of the board as a learning aid, and the reinforcement that they get by simply seeing the information regularly.
Interactive boards work particularly well with the preschool set, and help build the independence that they’ll need to tackle kindergarten.. Interactive boards include an activity that students can complete independently. For this reason, preschool boards should be simple, clear, and very visual. The directions for student activity should be clear and not require teacher assistance, for the most part.
Each of these bulleting board types can be used to not only teach subject matter, but also to reinforce emotional intelligence skills and classroom procedures and expectations. After all, learning to make friends and work together is as important to a students’ future success as mastering counting.
The best preschool boards will be accessible, age-appropriate and easy to use. Ideally, bulletin boards should be at eye level. While this isn’t always possible for the smallest students, it’s a good rule to follow when possible. Interactive boards must be accessible to students, which may mean putting them in a corner or creating your own board which can be set at a lower height.
When creating preschool boards,, you should also consider durability. Preschool students are not known for their gentle handling of materials, so interactive board components should be able to stand up to repeated usage. Using velcro to attach materials and integrating laminated pieces or whiteboards can help with easy clean-up and resetting an activity.
When designing a board, teachers can sometimes overlook the obvious – boards you create should, foremost, work for you and your students. This means taking into consideration their interests, needs, and cultural backgrounds. A pretty bulletin board is great, but one that can contribute to creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom atmosphere is invaluable.
Coming up with creative ideas for new boards can be challenging, whether you’re a new teacher or a vet. Teachers can feel pressured to create the best, or most aesthetically pleasing, boards in the school. But, in the end, a student-centered classroom is one that provides the materials and support that matters to the students – and the students will not notice whether or not you’ve cut perfectly straight shapes or made the neatest decorative edges.
In that spirit, we’ve pulled together a variety of inspirational ideas for preschool bulletin boards.
Preschool Bulletin Board Ideas
- How To Make Bulletin Board Letters By Polka Dots Please
Whatever preschool bulletin board you choose to make, odds are that you will need some oversized letters. Buying letters can get quite pricy, so we love this simple advice on creating patterned letters with your own printer.
- Snowmen At Night Board By Sharon Riggs
This board is a terrific example of creating a board that integrates several curriculum areas. The board is decorated with students’ responses to prompts related to the book, Snowmen at Night.
- Kindness Quilts By Debbie Clement
This beautiful quilt-themed board is made up of students’ own thoughts on what kindness means to them. What a terrific way to spark conversation among preschoolers.
- Social-Emotional/Welcome Board By Greg Smedley-Warren
This teacher kept things simple with rainbow colours and student photos; it’s a great way to make everyone feel welcome and encourage students to get to know each other.
- Backstage Helpers Board By Supply Me
Teaching independence and encouraging helping behaviours are a part of every preschool classroom. This rock star-themed board is a great way to remind and acknowledge the classroom helpers for doing their jobs. Kids will love the bright colors and eye-catching patterns.
- Apple Tree Counting Board By Play To Learn Preschool
Play to Learn has a host of ideas for preschool bulletin boards. Check out the apple counting board – a very easy to make activity in which students place apples into numbered trees.
- Student-Created Back To School Board By Supply Me
This cheery board features student-completed “about me” worksheets and art – a fantastic way to liven up your classroom and boost students’ self-esteem.
- Crayon Color Sort Board By Play To Learn Preschool
This crayon board is a simple interactive board that allows students to practice matching and naming colours by placing objects with their matching crayons.
- Rhyming Baskets Board By Play To Learn Preschool
This interactive board encourages phonics and vocabulary practice. Students choose words to put in the basket that features a rhyming word. It’s a fun activity that students will enjoy replaying as you update with new vocabulary words.
- Multipurpose Interactive Board By Teach Preschool
This clever focus board design creates an open-ended board which changes according to needs and activities. Students’ names are arranged across the bottom and can be moved to different areas of the board. This is a particularly useful design for a small classroom or limited wall space.
- How To Make A Bulletin Board Awning By Pre-K Pages
This bulletin board awning makes a fun addition to any board and can be dressed up for different occasions or seasons. Best of all, it’s easy to put together using only poster board, wrapping paper and adhesive.
- Eat A Rainbow By Sarah Hillier
Healthy eating is important at every age. This attractive rainbow bulletin board can serve as a conversation prompt, a way to introduce and discuss new foods, and a colour review tool in one.
- Focus Wall By Preschool Packets
Here’s a slightly different style of focus board, which offers students multiple interactive activities that can be switched out to practice a variety of skills, including letter and name recognition, numbers, sight words, shapes, seasons, and weather.
- Week In Focus Board By Learning Wonderland
This focus board takes a slightly different approach, in that it explicitly lays out weekly learning objectives for students and teachers in each subject area, with examples of things the class is working on.
- Our Work board By First Grade A To Z
This display board is oriented to reach from floor to ceiling – all the better to show off students’ work! Brightly colored laminated page serve as a backdrop to student work, while clips make switching papers out a breeze.
- Halloween Maths And Literacy Board By Inspired By Kindergarten
Spooky spiders and webs give students the opportunity to both create Halloween art, and practice counting.
- Sunny Sunflower Facts Board By Traci Clausen
This bright and engaging science board was designed for first graders but could easily be adapted to preschool-age science. Sunflower cutouts provide space for writing facts about plants and illustrating how they grow in the ground.
Coming up with new preschool bulletin board ideas can be challenging, but it’s also a chance to use your creativity and carry learning over to every wall of your classroom. Happy creating!
