Decor, management, room set up…there’s always so much to think about during summer. Teachers typically don’t turn our brains off very well and yes these thoughts run through our head.
I’m headed into my 27 th year of teaching – don’t worry I started when I was 10. ( haha ) I’ve come to realize for myself at least that I like to have ‘accents’ more than a real theme. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a bee theme, owl theme, Hollywood theme, chevron theme ( so trendy 10 years ago ), and so on and so on.
I’ve tried to be aware of what my students need, yes this is our space and yes it’s my second home for sure so it needs to be something I like too but what do my students need?
When I had bees hanging all over the ceiling I thought it was darling…of course the fire marshal not so much. But, I had a little friend that only wanted to look at the bees and when someone opened the back door and they swayed a bit – his eyes were glued on them even more. You can forget the math lesson I was trying to teach. That’s when it hit me. Some kids don’t need all that stimuli, it’s just too much for them.
After that incident I started to observe my students more, especially the ones that I knew had ADD. Time and time again I saw their distractions and it made me sad.
So, I decided to hang less and accent more. Rather than having bees or superheros hanging from the ceiling, I had a few main pieces of a theme in my library or on my desk. I added it to their name tags and desk cubbies. I found little ways to include a theme that was more based on colors than big repetitive objects.
There are so many ways to include a ‘theme’ without going over the top with one. For instance, I have a friend that loves llamas, she has a llama bulletin board in the hallway, llama bunting in her window and a few llama pieces ( job pieces, student numbers etc. ) but nothing overwhelming.
That’s pretty much how I have evolved into a giraffe themed room. It’s really more of a black/white polka dot with turquoise accent room with some giraffes thrown in here and there. It shows off my love for giraffes without overwhelming my ADD kids.
If you need student numbers that can be a perfect way to carry your theme in a non intrusive way I have several to choose from in my store.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Victoria-Moore/Search:student+number+labels
So – just something to think about….consider a color scheme first that you love. Then if you want to have a theme you can add in a few accent pieces to incorporate it. These student/cubby/calendar numbers are perfect to add some accents to match your theme.
Don’t see what you like??? Find me on fb or instagram and DM me with an idea to match your theme and I’d be happy to create it for you!
As always…happy teaching!
xo,
