Way back in October, I set myself to the task of making a new DIY project for my classroom decor. The back wall of my classroom has a huge bulletin board that spans across it (which I fill with lots of colorful resources for my kinders) but there was about four feet of unused wall space above the board. It it WAY too high up for me to change out throughout the year, but I didn’t want the “empty canvas” to go to waste. A brightly colored book banner (similar to the one that spans across my windows) seemed like the perfect solution! I gathered my supplies and began my latest classroom creation. If you’re a Facebook fan, you may recall this preview photo I posted at the time.
I actually completed my book banner in December. But I was so swamped planning my classroom Christmas party and making freebies to share with all of you, that I never had a chance to write about my latest classroom improvement…until now.
Here’s a photo from my classroom that was taken in August. You can see the brightly decorated bulletin board that spans across the back wall as well as the very boring space above the the bulletin board. In a room with so much color and fun, that BLAH space drove me crazy!
Here is the transformation with my newly-created book cover banner. I love how it fills the space with color, but isn’t too busy. The book banner fits perfectly into my classroom environment.
If you want to create a book banner of your own, check out the video tutorial I created this summer (I made the video before my classroom was decorated. You will see my ugly file cabinet before it was spray painted and my boring bulletin boards pre-polka dot.) You can also read my original book banner blog post with step-by-step information.
A great big thank-you goes out to my good friend (and amateur photographer extraordinaire) Steve Thompson for taking the beautiful “before” and “after” photos of my classroom!
Get Yourself Some Book Covers
If you don’t currently have any hardcover children’s books (or their covers) in your classroom. I have a few ideas for getting your hands on some:
- Ask classroom parents. If you tell your parents that you are working on a project to beautify your classroom, they might be thrilled to contribute!
- Beg your friends. Many of my friends have young children. I put a message on my personal Facebook page and it helped me get my hands on a few more covers.
- Shop used book sales. This sounds like it will be expensive, but I promise, it is NOT. I needed to enhance my own collection of book covers for this little project so I took a trip to my local library’s used book sale. I acquired at least a dozen hardcover books (plus 20-30 paperback books for my classroom) for $12. You might find this previous blog post on Used Book Sale Shopping helpful.
