Back to School "Fur"-enzy

This year it seems as if Monsters and Furry Friends were all the rage!  There were so many cute items out there and creating a theme around it was a cinch! If you were one of those teachers on top of trends this year and you need an idea for Back to School, check this one out!  Here are the products I used...

• PAC57178 - Brite Blue 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• T92341 - Pink and Green Wave Striped Trimmer
• T79801 - 4" Furry Friends Combo Letters
• T8312 - Big Furry Friends Characters BBS (I layered them on the right hand side of the board)
• T8313 - Furry Friends Clubhouse BBS
• T8314 - Furry Friends Seasonal Fence BBS

The coolest thing about the Clubhouse and the Fence Bulletin Board Sets is that you can adjust them to fit the size of your board.  I have an unusually large board to fill, so perhaps you only need one set to fill your board. If your board isn't as tall or as long as mine, don't fret, there are several photo layouts shown on the inserts included with these 2 sets showing you the different ways you can assemble them to fit the size board you have!  That is one reason I especially like them!  I hope your year is FURtastic!  :)

Barrel of Monkeys

Who wouldn't love a barrel of monkeys?  Well, maybe stuffed monkeys would be a little less crazy. If you are doing a monkey/jungle theme or if you're looking for a way to decorate a hallway wall or maybe even the outside of your door...then this board is for you!  
I actually made a "barrel" out of a tri-fold board and attached it to the wall.  All it took was a little trimming...I cut about 5" off each side (mostly because I didn't want it to stick out from the wall too far), but if you have room then that isn't even necessary.  Then I covered it with the weathered wood paper, I taped a long flat box (like you would use to store things under a bed) in between the board and the wall.  This adhered it and also made it really sturdy (I covered it in the wood paper too, just in case anyone looked down inside).  You may have a better idea for how to attach this, but I improvised with what was available to me at the time.  :)  In order to make the monkeys sitting on the edge of the barrel sturdy, I attached the top half of a  popsicle stick to the back of the monkey and the other half to the back of the tri-fold.  This made them stand up straighter and kept them from falling.  I also used the banana cutouts as my "trimmer."  This allowed me to cover up those yucky crooked cutting edges on the side of the board.  Here is the full list of what I used...

• PAC56888 - Bamboo 48"X12' Fadeless Paper 
• T16009 - Banana Cutouts
• PAC56518 - Weathered Wood 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• A Tri-Fold Display Board in any color (White is usually cheapest, you'll be covering it so color is not important.)
• T8201 - Monkey Mischief BBS
• T79743 - 4" Yellow Playful Letters

This board was inspired by a bookmark from Trend Enterprises.  They are also the makers of the cute monkey bulletin board set!

Out of this World

Anyone out there remember the Jetson's? I do! It was a great futuristic cartoon and most kids I knew loved it. If you're looking for something that incorporates both nostalgia and some Sci-Fi, this board is for you! What a great way to say "Welcome to the Future!" Here are the items I used...

• PAC56228 - Night Sky 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• T92142 - Super Space Trimmer
• TF8017 - Space School Welcome BBS
• TF8020 - Space Station Job Assignment BBS
• T1613 - 4" Silver Sparkle Casual Letters

The night sky paper used here gives the finishing touch to this board. It really makes you feel as though it is set in Space! The centerpiece is the Job Assignment BBS and jobs may be written in the blank signs. The set comes with "space cars" that student names can be put on. I didn't use them all on this display, but you can tailor it to how many students you have in your classroom!

The Core of Learning

So many teachers find themselves stumped at the beginning of the school year, wondering what to put on their door to welcome students to class. Here is an idea that will also tie into the apple themes that always kick off the semester! Here are the products I used...

• PAC56518 - Weathered Wood 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• CD108004 - Pop Apart Apple & Black Check Trimmer
• FST5257 - 5" Lowercase Fancy Font Punch Out Letters
• T10834 - Discovery Apple Mini Accents
• TF8001 - Big Apple Puzzle BBS

The trimmer I used is actually a pop apart trimmer by Carson Dellosa. It is actually 2 trimmers in one, so you get a lot of product for your bucks! Here I only used one side of it, but the other side is adorable as well! I used the small apple cutouts as accents for the letters. The large apple is actually a puzzle! If you've checked out any of my other posts, you might have seen it used in a different way. This set is versatile and you will find many ways to use it in your classroom too!

Panda-monium

This year one of the Vacation Bible School Themes is Pandas. So, since we are gearing up for the start of Summer and an exciting season of VBS I wanted to share this Panda themed board. This one in particular is designed for the classroom, but it could easily be changed for VBS by revising the title. Perhaps something like, "God is Wild About You" or "We're Wild About Jesus!" Titles similar to these would make it go along with the Pandamania theme nicely. Here are the products I used...

• PAC56058 - Sage Green 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• TF8044 - Pandamania BBS
• TF8210 - Panda Welcome 2-Sided Decoration
• TF8274 - Bamboo Trimmer
• T79741 - 4" Black Playful Punch Out Letters

This board is very versatile and can be used to draw attention to anything you want to feature in the classroom. Because most of it is black and white, it works great with most color schemes!

In Our Class You Fit In

Puzzle pieces are all the rage right now and with these colorful cutouts you can't go wrong! This is a great board to encourage diversity, a sense of welcome, and teamwork. Here is what I used...

• PAC57308 - Black 48"x12' Fadeless Paper
• T92144 - Jigsaw Trimmer
• T10906 - Puzzle Pieces Accent Variety Pack
• T79306 - 4" White Splash Letters

This board is pretty large, it's about 12 feet in length. Because it's so big, I used three packages of puzzle piece cut outs. Obviously, if you have a smaller board that much is not necessary. Perhaps it will help you determine how many packs you need for your board. I chose white for the lettering, because it shows up better considering everything else is so colorful! The symbol for Autism Awareness is also a puzzle piece, this would be a great board for a special needs classroom as well!

Arrrg You Ready For School?

Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean came out it seems that Pirates are all the rage. Here is a great way to incorporate them into your classroom and welcome students at the same time!

• PAC57210 - Light Blue 24"x12' Fadeless Paper
• CD1240 - Ocean Waves Big Border
• CD110133 - Pirates BBS
• T79401 - 2" Black Casual Ready Letters

I happened to have a circular bulletin board to use here and it gives the look a port hole or spy glass feel, but if you don't have a circular board it still works great on a small rectangular board. There aren't a whole lot of pieces to this set, so it accommodates a smaller space much better. When used on a larger board sometimes the pieces can get lost and it looks too plain.

Obey The Rules With Dr. Seuss

The manufacturer for all the fun Dr. Seuss products, Eureeka, has come out with a really cute set for the rules of the classroom. Here are the products I used to create this board...

• PAC57178 - Bright Blue 48"X12' Fadeless Paper
• EU845018 - Cat In The Hat Trimmer
• EU847131 - Dr. Seuss Rules BBS
• EU487125 - Dr. Seuss Upper and Lowercase Punch Out Letters
• EU842660 - Dr. Seuss Welcome Go-Arounds BBS

The "Go-Arounds" BBS are the characters you see on the outside of the board around the frame. It comes with a welcome sign and looks great around a classroom door as well! The title says, "Don't Be A Silly Goose, Obey The Rules With Dr. Seuss!"

Apple Puzzle

What better way to welcome students to your room than with a board that lets them know how essential they are to the success of the entire class?

• TF8001- Welcome! Apple Puzzle
• T10834- Apples Discovery Mini Accent Variety Pack

I used the mini apples as a trimmer for this board since straight border is impossible to use on a circular board. :)

Look Whooo's In First Grade

Nothing makes a student feel more special than being welcomed to the classroom with an amazing door or wall display. For this one I used the following products...

• CD110136- Pop It Tree BBS
• CD110137 - Owl BBS
• T79401 - 2" Black 3D Ready Letters

I made the quotation bubble by cutting out a piece of light blue poster board.