Teacher’s Brain

Christmas Ornament Craft and Door Decorating

Are you looking for some simple activities to help your classroom get into the holiday spirit? Use these worksheets to design a door to show Santa on Vacation, make a decorative wall, window, or bulletin board display. Students will create their own Christmas bulbs and write to a prompt.

Christmas Ornaments

First, grab this adorable free printable for students to design their own personalized ornament. Add any art tools with the printable ornaments to make a literacy center. Students will create their own ornament. Included in this download are primary and intermediate writing prompts. Students will write about working for an ornament company with the task of designing an ornament that captures the holiday spirit. Combine the writing with the ornament for a fantastic wall display.

Christmas Ornament Center

Door Decorating

Door decorations are a must in our schools during the holidays. We always scramble to find something amazing yet, easy to create due to the busy nature of the holidays. I won a door decorating contest. It is always exciting if there is a cash prize involved!

Here is a simple door decoration with Santa “Gone To The Beach” on a well-deserved vacation. The free ornaments used on the palm tree add that extra holiday touch.

Gone To The Beach Santa Door

Door Decor Steps

Print out the Santa clothes, color them, and use a string to hang the clothes with clothespins. Add some sand dollars for that extra beach feeling.  This door decoration includes palm tree parts and the beach sign.

Grab the free Christmas ornament center below.

Christmas Bulb Free Craft

Christmas Ornament Design

You can grab the easy-to-use Santa’s Gone to the Beach Door Decor resource HERE.

Holiday Door Decorations for School

Want to look at some more holiday doors? Check out this blog post!

Check Out These Christmas Classroom Decorations

If you are like me, you love to look at what other teachers are doing in their schools and classrooms to keep the school looking joyful during the holidays! One of my sweet friends and very talented teacher authors, Jamie Knefely shared the Christmas hallways teachers created for the holidays at her school!  These will make your school hallways sing!

Door and Hall Christmas Decorations

This part of the hall is a traditional barn theme.

Christmas Door Decoration School Contest

reindeer Christmas door decorations

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Door Decoration

Christmas Decorations Farm Theme

Santa’s Workshop Door and Hallway Christmas Decorations.

Santa's Workshop Door Decoration Contest

Winter School Decorations

You and I both know that it would not be Christmas without the Grinch! Look at these amazing door and hall Christmas decorations for you school.
Grinch Christmas Decorations

How the Grinch Stole Christmas school Decorations

Dr. Seuss Grinch Christmas Decorations

Want to try something a little different this holiday season? Try out this Louisiana Cajun Christmas themed hallway!

Cajun Christmas School Hallway  Cajun Christmas Decorations

Cajun Christmas School Decorations

Cajun Christmas

Even though Frosty is a little deflated, the amazing wall, window and door Christmas display makes you feel like he will come back to life any day now!

Frosty the Snowman Door Decoration

Credits Teaching with Tidbits and More with Jamie

See this reindeer writing resource to create a great reindeer window display!

See MORE >>>  Christmas Door Decorations


 

Classroom Themes and Transformations the Students Will LOVE

Pick a theme or color scheme that you will love all year!

Themed Classroom Decor

Camping Reading Area
Nicole Woody’s Camping Reading Area

Picking a theme that not only you love, but inspires your students to learn is one of the most important decisions for a teacher! Your classroom decor sets the tone for your students all year. Teacher’s want it to be warm, inviting, and materials to be easily accessible to the students. Keep your theme calm, yet fun. Nicole Woody’s camping reading area is warm and inviting! What student wouldn’t want to curl up with a good book in a tent next to a camp fire?

Create a STEM Area

If you love a particular subject, make sure you incorporate your favorite subjects in a way to make you feel happy and inspired. Not only will you walk in to your classroom with an instant feeling of happiness, your students will see your passion and follow suit! Check out Lisa Taylor’s STEM area for ideas in your classroom. She also creates amazing STEM products in her TpT store! It is bright, happy and screams “MAKE SOMETHING GREAT” with the way she organizes using accessible bins with various items. This also makes clean up a snap for students to easily put materials away.

Imagination

Amazing Classroom Decor
The Fairy Tale Teacher – Kirstian Bryant

Check out The Fairy Tale Teacher’s classroom where imagination meets blooms of color to engage her students and set a happy tone to the school day! Using your imagination to design your room is a great way to model for your students how they should use their imagination. Not sure what theme to pick? Consider leaving the room a blank canvas and let the students choose a theme and maybe even a class name. You can invite the students help create the decorations or help write a grant to obtain materials they want for their room.

Visual Editable Schedule for the Classroom

Classroom schedules can help spruce up your classroom and be a helpful tool to help students with transitions during the day. Check out this editable schedule for primary or intermediate classrooms! 


Flexible Seating Board

Rikki Heyman
@MissHeymaninThird
Objectives in the Classroom

Rikki Heyman
@MissHeymaninThird

 

Bulletin Boards are the best way to spruce up a classroom! Rikki Heyman has utilized hers to make a “Smart Spot” and another to place her learning objectives, so students can clearly see the targets they should be aiming for during lessons. She said, “Creating a learning environment is a lot of work, but well worth the community I get to share it with…” Do you have a spot in your classroom for placing learning objectives? Her “Smart Spot” board is used for students to be able to locate flexible seating choices. What child wouldn’t want to be in this class?

Add Some Color

Michael Behrens

Michael Behrens

Sometimes all you need is some great colors to brighten up the walls of a dull classroom! I love the way this room utilizes colorful pompoms, blue hanging paper lanterns, various forms of lighting, and the cute chalkboard table stands. Adding pennants and lanterns are fantastic ways to transform a classroom into a positive environment for learning.

Don’t forget about your doors. They are the first thing your students will look at in the morning! Either decorate your door, or for younger students, have a choice for them to pick for a MORNING GREETING (Grab the freebie!) or GOOD BYE. If you don’t have time to greet the students in the morning, let that be a student’s job. It can change the mood of a student who had a rough start at home.

Travel the World

Tropical Classroom Decor
Teacher’s Brain -Cindy Martin Tropical Themed Classroom

Want to bring Hawaii with you into the classroom for the year? Use this tropical themed classroom decor set that includes watercolors and real photos of Hawaii. Decorate some palm trees for holidays. Create a warm environment by using bamboo, beach colors and tropical decor in your classroom. Students can relax in beach chairs in the reading nook.

Colors make a Difference

Paint Cans as Table Markers and Pencil Holders
Paint Cans as Table Markers and Pencil Holders
Paint Cans as Pencil Holders
Paint Cans as Pencil Holders

Find you local home improvement store to find paint color sample strips. This will help you pick some colors that really go together, if you want to transform you classroom without having a particular themed room. You can find empty new paint cans there also. Use the paint cans as pencil holders, flower pots, spray on some chalk paint to easily use chalk to write table numbers, and use the lids for students to practice tracing circles. You can spray the lids with the same black chalk paint, add a magnet to the back and write your class schedule on the lids. So many possibilities! Whatever you decide, make it feel like your second home, because that is really what your classroom is to you and your students.

School Holiday Door Decorating Contest

This year our school has decided to do a door decorating contest.  Although I didn’t win, the contest made the school look festive, challenged teachers to a little friendly competition, provided a fun tour of doors for the kids, and inspired me to share some of my favorites in this blog post. Enjoy!

door11
Oh Deer Holiday Door Decorating Contest

door33
Gone to the Beach – First Place Winner – $100 Gift Card

GRAB A Door Decorating KIT for this one!

door44
Read Your Way Through Some Snowy History Door Contest

door22
Elves At Work Door Contest

door55
My Door – Let It Snow Sight Words – Students made sight word snowflakes for the walls and windows.

Check this out if you are looking for some Winter Holidays Around the World Ideas!