Tired of trying to come up with new January bulletin board ideas? We’ve got the recipe for beating the winter classroom doldrums. Creating a new bulletin board is a great way to warm up your classroom environment and create interest around new material. Whatever grade or subject you teach, we’ve gathered resources to help you put together meaningful classroom bulletin boards that expand and reinforce your teaching.
Table of Contents
What makes a good January bulletin board?
What makes a good classroom bulletin board is largely personal, and depends upon the needs and preferences of the students and the teacher. Bulletin boards should be designed to fulfil a specific purpose. The best bulletin boards are those that succeed in carrying out that purpose.
While many think of classroom boards as simple decoration, their usefulness can extend far beyond the aesthetic. Getting students involved in creating boards or door decor is a great way to get them more invested in learning.
Before designing classroom bulletin boards, it’s important to establish the purpose of the boards, along with a plan for how long the board will be up, a budget and how/if the bulletin board materials will tie in to lesson plans.
The three primary types of bulletin board by purpose are:
Display boards. These can display student work or serve as classroom decor, whether seasonal or year round
Informational boards. These bulletin boards can display classroom or school information, or content material.
Interactive boards. Interactive boards provide a hub for students to complete an activity on their own.
Many classroom bulletin boards will fulfil more than one of these requirements. There are a number of themes that can be integrated into January boards – winter, starting a new year (positive mindset), snow, a new semester, sports, and much more.
After deciding on a theme and a purpose for a board, it’s time for the fun part – the creativity! While it’s easy to get caught up in creating Instagram-worthy bulletin boards, remember that it’s really about how you teach and what the board will do for your kids. It isn’t necessary to be a crafting master to create attractive, purposeful classroom decoration.
Think of bulletin boards as an extension of your own teaching style and design them accordingly. If you enjoy creating boards, you may consider making a board that gets changed out at regular intervals. If it’s not at the top of your fun list, consider a board that can be used year round with some easy switch outs, or a bulletin board that contains evergreen material or whiteboards.
The best January bulletin board ideas are those that work for you! This means not just creating a board that provides value to your classroom but one that can be created within any time and budget constraints.
To help spark your creativity, we’ve gathered resources, along with examples of some of our favourite January bulletin board ideas for teachers.
January Bulletin Board Ideas
Warm Up With A Good Book Board By The Kindergarten Center
Although the example board in this post was designed for younger students, it could be adapted to any age. We love these cute hot cocoa mugs filled with students’ thoughts on their latest read.
2D Snowflake Shapes By Teach With Me
This craft and decor board in one encourages students to put their creativity and coordination to work cutting out decorative snowflakes. This activity can be integrated with both art and maths and make a festive winter decoration for a door or board.
A Toast For The New Year Board By The Bulletin Board Lady
We had to include this one, because it’s such a clever idea! Cartoonish cutouts of a toaster and pieces of bread spell out wishes, rules, or affirmations for the new year. Get kids to include their own quotes and hopes for the new year.
Winter Themed boards By Deanna Jump
This site is a treasure trove of creative ideas for winter boards with everything from a holiday truck board (complete with holiday tree in the bed) to adorable winter animals, snowmen, and more.
Curl Up With A Good Book By Caffeinated And Creative
This blog post on surviving the winter as a teacher includes a link to one of our favourite winter bulletin boards. The Curl up With a Book board has a large fireplace at the centre, surrounded by colour book covers. Best of all, there are complete – and surprisingly simple- instructions to make this design.
Arctic Animals Board By Deanna Jump
This board does double duty as winter classroom decor and an informational board/activity about arctic animals. Students will love writing – and learning – about walruses and polar bears.
Kindness Matters Board By Corner On Character
Kick the year off with a discussion about why kindness matters. This board asks students to consider how they make the coming year “one of a kind” and sets up a calendar with specific suggestions for kind deeds.
Life In A Snow Globe Board And Activity By Lessons With Laughter
This magical activity and bulletin board display asks your students to imagine what it would be like to live in a snow globe. Spark their creativity with a writing prompt and fun craft that puts them in the centre of their own 2D snowglobe.
Unless Dr. Seuss Resolutions Board By Barbara Gruener
This creative ode to the Dr. Seuss book, Unless…, is undeniably gorgeous! Best of all, students can display their own resolutions with a tie-in to a reading activity.
Winter Wonderland Board By Pre-k With Mrs. Lempe
We love this board for its calming, natural colours and uplifting design. This winter decor board is made of pastel cutouts of snow-capped trees arranged on a natural wooden print paper background.
Stained Glass Winter Tree Board By Pams Drawing Board
This winter-themed board is so beautiful that you’ll want to leave it up year-round. Students learn about colour by creating layered tissue paper trees that give the appearance of stained glass.
My Favourite Winter Activity Board By Teaching With Haley
This student display board was designed to follow with a unit on writing reviews. Students’ answers to a writing prompt about their favourite winter activities are displayed with accompanying paintings.
Tea And Coffee Boards By Teach Simple
These lovely warm pastel graphics will bring much-needed warmth to winter days. The bulletin board kit comes with several elements to make coffee or tea-themed designs with accompanying letters.
Are You Yeti For School Board By Teach Simple
This too-cute bulletin board features cartoon yetis to display student names – a great way to welcome kids back to school after the winter break or enjoy all year long.
Snowmen At Night Board By Sharon Riggs
We love a board that pulls together literacy and art while displaying student work. This first grade activity was based upon the book, Snowmen at Night. After reading, students were asked to write about their own snowmen and illustrate their stories.
Don’t let the post-holiday slump deter you from making a January bulletin board. It’s a great way to welcome students back to learning and add a bit of new colour to the classroom.
