Keeping your classroom on point should be no prob-llama with just a few fun elements and updates in your decor. There's no need to completely transform your space when just a few fun touches will go a long way. Cactus and llama are on-trend and in many classrooms across the country. I wanted to take my existing camping theme and mix it up a bit. My new theme mixes in boho elements with a lot of color and an explosion of fun!
The first area I really wanted to transform was my reading corner. I went with vibrant colors that really popped and brightened up my drab walls. To get started I used the Pacon® Fadeless®Weathered Wood Paper Roll to cover my walls. I am fortunate to have drywall behind my bulletin boards so it is easy to staple into. Hot glue is an option for those cement walls. For my bulletin board I covered it using the black and white dot fadeless paper. For the border I layered turquoise border trim and hot pink polka dot border trim using a staple to line them up. Once stapled, I added the orange lots of dots border with the scallop facing out to add some whimsy. To create the llamas I found some llama clipart online to use for inspiration. I free-hand drew a llama silhouette onto white paper, traced with a wide tip black marker and then cut it out. The fun speech bubble cutouts are available at simply sprout on TPT.
For the top of the bulletin board I layered bright and bold tissue paper fans in hot pink, turquoise dot, orange dot, lime and mint tissue fans. To keep my fans looking great all year I staple them together on the edges so they don't flop down over time. I staple these directly onto the top of the board. For the board's finishing touch I used the boho pom pom garland! The cute wooden beads mixed with felt pom-poms and honeycomb tassels was an adorable touch.
Every reading corner needs a little place to escape and a canvas tent does just that. It's a great place for your students to take some time to themselves. Just jazz it up with some colorful boho pom-pom garland and boho string lights. Add some cozy pillows and a soft rug and you will have a reading corner everyone is sure to love! Throw a few unexpected items in to decorate like the soft label me globe that can double as a pillow, a fun letter board sign with a fun quote and an adorable mini llama piñata. Your students will love to curl up with a good book in this precious, colorful reading nook.
For my main wall, where I like to display my student work, I used my favorite Pacon® Fadeless®Weathered Wood Paper Roll to cover the walls. I trimmed it out using the same border trim layering technique with green polka dot trim, hot pink polka dot and black and white maze trim. Fiesta luminary bags were used to make little pennant curtains for my camper windows. Just cut off the bottom the bag and create a slit on both sides at the top. Slide a ribbon through to hang. A variety of tissue lanterns were used to create a line of cacti along the bottom of the board. A mix of flutterball, round lanterns and green construction paper was used to get the look. To create the construction paper cactus use two sheets of green construction paper, cut a cactus shape and then fold vertically. When stapling to your board, staple one cactus flat and the second one in the middle on fold, so it fans out. Use colorful tissue paper in oranges and pinks to create a flower on top of the cacti. You can even use the pink pom-poms to achieve the same look.
Staying organized is key to keeping your classroom functioning throughout the school year. Here are a few of my favorite tips to staying on point and organized. Label buckets and bins for easy access to things like copies, unit materials, notes etc. I loved the cactus cutouts for labeling my baskets. I used clear address labels to label each cactus. These run through the printer and are easy to add and change especially if you laminate the cutouts first.
To keep all my important paper in my sight line and on my mind I hung a burlap file folder organizer on my wall by my desk. This is great for items you need at your fingertips or items you are collecting to file later or pass out.
Organizing my students keeps my teacher life in check and when I can do it with bright colors it makes this teacher heart happy. The colorful clipboards and storage container are a must for any classroom to stay organized. My students use these daily and they have stood up to several years of use.
Labeling storage cubbies for each student helps to keep items organized and your classroom running smoothly. I love these Schoolgirl Style Name Tags/Labels I used them to create personalized cubbies for each student. Download the Free Printable Label Template here then tape the labels to it. Afterwards, run the labels through your printer to put names on labels.
Peel and fold labels around the edge of the shelf to create a personalized cubby for each of your students.
Organizing materials around the room is helpful for a classroom to run smoothly. Cute cactus tumblers can hold highlighters and colored pencils. Set up an easy-to-access sharpen station and use cute pails to hold your sharpened and un-sharpened pencils. Combine that with some fun personalized pencils and your classroom pencil station will be no prob-llama!
