I am thinking about decorating my classroom in a theme next year. I just wanted some ideas and suggestions.
Thanks!

[3grteacher]

I did a few things in my room that went along with a construction theme.

Door: Work in Progress

Jobs: Used work gloves to show who was the helpers/ Helmets with names on them

Road signs around the room that say things like "NO Bully Zone"

Character Traits with Construction theme

I imagine you could take it a lot further.

[Tigger518]

I did a jungle theme in my room:

Door: Welcome to the jungle!

Behavior: We're the best bunch! (Children earn bananas for good behavior.)

I had a jungle painted on my wall and jungle print pockets for the back of my chairs.

On the first day we went on a "Safari" and I bought cheap safari hats for them and we took a tour of the school. I gave the staff an animal mask I bought from Oriental Trading and they took it off and introduced themselves when we came and each student got a mask by the end.

If I was going to be in a classroom next year i'd do the same.

[iteachkids]

I have had the theme of castles for the past few years. Both the students and I love it! My whole classroom is based on this theme.
Castle Duties: King/Queen, Castle Attendant, Paper Pages, Throne Sitters (get to sit on the bean bags during silent reading), Royal Sweeper, and Money Lords (pay the students their BK Bucks they have earned. Bank of Knights Bucks-classroom money).
I have a Prince/Princess of the week. They wear a prince or princess crown during Friday's Friendship Circle while the students go around the circle and each give a compliment to the prince or princess of the week.
The students fight the mathematical dragon to pass off their math facts. They earn jewels for their crowns as they pass of their addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and mixed facts.
I decorate with castle art and frog princes.
I refer to the students as knights and ladies of the castle.
I teach 4th grade and both the girls and boys have loved this theme every year!

I went all out with a camping theme this year. It came out SO cute and was the talk of the town. However, I need a change for next year and think I am going to go back to my tropical theme from the year before. Please let me know if you want more details on either. Take care!

Scrapteach,
I've done a beach/tropical theme for the past 5 or 6 years now and I'm toying with the idea of a camping theme. I'd love to hear about yours!

Thanks!

[pearl57emma]

We use a camping theme in our 4th grade. But, I am totally stuck for a great bulletin board idea. One of the biggest problems is that our bulletin board (I share it with another 4th grade teacher) is that it's vertical rather than horizontal so we're limited to a more up and down creation than side to side. Any great ideas to start the year? We've used a red/white checkered tablecloth with enlarged graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows (labeled with our subjects) and the caption "Ready for S'more Learning?" or something like that...little late right now to remember the exact words. I'd really rather do something with more of a country lodge feel to it...any ideas?

Thanks!

[tammych]

pearl,
Try a camping theme search. It was just posted a couple weeks ago and someone posted a link with a ton of ideas and pictures. Have fun!
http://www.proteacher.net/discussion...hlight=camping
I think this is it.

[Luv2teacheced]

This is a Jungle Theme I used with a pre-k class:

decorate door with light green paper, monkeys, banana tree, trim with vines Label it " Rumble in the Jungle with ___ grade" Have a monkey for each child.

you could seperate the children into groups or "herds" or "tribes" and have it represented by animals of the jungle like the toucan tribe, or the lion herd, you could hang a mobile over each group's table representing that groups herd or tribe.

circle time I did ani-mail. I had a mailbox decorated like a lepoard and picked a mail carrier every day to get the mail. It had a letter that I would read to the children pertaining to the lesson plans. Maybe the letter would be from a character in a book we were reading telling the children to look for certain objects in the room. They loved it!

[ahanchett]

What did you have in your classroom and how did you incorporate it into daily activities? Do you have pics? Please email me at dhanchettsbcglobal.net

Thanks!