At the start of every school year, teachers are responsible for setting up their classrooms, and some schools give out stipends in the amount of $250 or more to get all the supplies, posters, bulletins, and the like for the class.
But, in most cases, teachers are never given any guidelines or clear instructions on how to decorate their classrooms, and most of them have never received any training on how to set up a classroom, even though decorating is tied to building classroom culture, as it were.
They rush to buy all the posters, laminate them, and purchase all the materials depending on their content area but rarely do they adopt the mindset of an interior designer.
So, let us help you out and give you a few ideas you might be able to utilize to turn your classroom from a normal one into a unique and vibrant learning environment.
1. Design on a Dime
You do not have to purchase all your classroom materials from educational stores or even go anywhere at all. Explore different avenues for purchasing, say, school desks for classrooms, which you can find quickly and easily online. Or maybe flea markets or thrift stores, where you can find second-hand stuff and antiques.
There are plenty of things you can bring to the classroom that will add a cool vibe for the kids. Instead of the same old things that everyone has seen dozens of times and barely registers anymore, go for something unique, something unusual, something that will pique the children’s interest and prompt questions and research.
Children are naturally curious, and you want to use that to your and their advantage as much as possible, involving everything and anything that fits the class while being exciting, fresh, and new.
2. Colors That Match the Energy
When thinking about which colors you want to use in your classroom, choose colors that match or represent the energy you want your students to feel, not dissimilar to some prisons.
It is important to consider the color scheme, as it will have an effect on your students’ mental health and emotional well-being. As an example, dark colors can make some students feel depressed or sad, and bright colors can make them feel alive and energetic. More neutral colors can hold a very tranquil, almost zen energy.
Every design choice matters when it comes to your students and the classroom, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. Children are highly sensitive and will often pick up on the most minute and almost metaphysical details, things adults have long since gotten out of their system and learned to ignore.
3. Customize
Everything in our generation is customizable, from phone cases to earbuds to bags. So, why not apply some of this customization to your classroom, like adding your name to posters or bringing in a clipboard, pen, laptop, and things of that sort that are unique to you, making you more interesting and memorable to the children you are teaching?
Customizing classroom supplies, bulletin boards, and posters with your name will help you basically brand your content while helping the students remember not only your name but also you personally.
Add a personal touch to the class, such as a lamp or other student-friendly objects, to make it more welcoming and less intimidating, more like a second home than a prison in which they are trapped.
4. Plants
Decorate the classroom by adding small plants everywhere, eventually increasing the beauty of the room. We all know how vital fresh air is, especially in today’s huge cities and choking skylines, so these plants would help your students, as well as yourself, take in some fresh air.
How about getting the students to decorate it for or with you? They would definitely enjoy doing this and, at the same time, learn a lot of things that they would not be able to learn so easily during normal lessons.
Bring some life into your classroom, where children will not only want to study and learn but will also enjoy playing and doing practical things like projects. Make the children love not only what they are studying but also where they are studying.
5. Natural Light
In a rigorous study involving 21,000 students, it was revealed that those who studied in “classrooms with more natural light” scored as much as 25% higher on standardized tests than other students in the same school district. What does this mean?
You want as much nature and natural light as possible—illumination from skylights and windows rather than cold, sterilized light bulbs. The same thing applies to plants. As we have mentioned, this is not only good for the children’s interests but also their learning capabilities.
Employees and students have been found to be more productive when they are near a natural element, and studies have shown that simply incorporating plants in the classroom layout improved the grades of middle school students, reduced sick leave, and made students and staff feel more satisfied and comfortable, no matter their age.
In today’s hyper-technological, digitally focused world, it is far too easy and quick to forget about nature, and the consequences of that abrupt, drastic shift are becoming more visible with each passing day.
Try to reverse this process a bit and bring the children back in touch with the wonders of the natural world, and they will one day thank you for it, if not with words then by their actions and demeanors.
Teaching is difficult at best, and it is rarely enjoyable or something to look forward to, for either the teacher or the students, but with a few smart, small changes, you can quickly transform the classroom and the students into something much more productive, healthy, and actually enjoyable to be in and be a part of.
The list of things you can try in your classroom does not end here, of course; there are so many more ideas out there, just waiting for you to discover them. So get going and start looking.
Keep being AllDayChic!
