Tips for Decorating and Theming your Classroom on a Budget

Everyone knows that teachers aren’t paid anywhere near what they’re worth, and if you’re a teacher, you probably spend quite a bit of your own money on things for your classroom. As the new school year approaches, here are some easy tips for decorating and theming your classroom on a budget. (The kids won’t know that you didn’t spend a lot, but they will feel the love that goes into each bulletin board border and classroom accent!)

1. Create a color scheme.

Save big bucks by theming your classroom with a color scheme. Choose a few colors that coordinate well together, and for the cost of a few packages of paper, you can cut your own bulletin board borders.

You can also use color-schemed items for the rest of your room. For example, you could make black and white alphabet posters, schedule cards, calendar pieces and other black and white décor and copy them onto your colored paper. You could also assign each student one of your colors and make all their labels with that color.

2. Use printable décor.

Sites like Teachers Pay Teachers have tons of printable classroom décor in a wide range of designs and color schemes. Look for one that’s editable, and for a few dollars you can print out bulletin board borders, posters, learning tools, and lots of decorative accents to make your classroom beautiful.

3. Make your own decorations.

Raid the art room or go through your own stash of art supplies to make DIY decorations. For example, cheap paintable letters from a craft store can become customized mantras for your students.

4. Craft bulletin board accents.

Use old fabric scraps to create banners or bulletin board borders or accents. Choose colors that match your theme or color scheme.

5. Dream up your own theme.

Skip the store-bought themes and come up with something on your own. Then you can use colorful paper to bring the theme to life instead of shelling out big bucks for matching bulletin board borders and posters. See what your school has on hand as you come up with your theme so you can use what’s already available as much as possible.

6. Print simple clipart and mount it on colorful backgrounds.

Find free images online and print them out to use as classroom décor. Pair them with colorful paper and you’ll have an attractive classroom in the time it takes to print and cut. You can also pick literally any theme you can dream up!

7. Make your own letters.

Instead of buying expensive precut letters, use a fun font and print and cut them yourself. You’ll save tons of money, and you can dictate the exact colors your letters are, as well as what they spell.

8. Make your own posters.

If you have graphic design skills, you can choose your classroom colors or theme and design your own posters. These can be alphabet posters, schedule cards, or posters with inspirational messages. Canva is also a great tool for poster design!

9. Design your own bulletin boards.

Instead of spending lots of money on pre-made bulletin board kits, create your own. A combination of images printed from the internet, colorful paper, cutting your own letters, and coming up with your own catchy sayings will save money and make your classroom unique.

10. Use student work as décor.

Hang up impressive student work and let it serve to decorate your classroom. You can ask your students to make something specific or you can choose their best examples and hang them up.

11. Have a décor exchange.

Gather your fellow teachers and go through all your classroom décor. Select all the things you won’t use and have your teacher friends do the same. Get together and trade so you all get a new classroom theme without having to spend a bunch of money.

12. Recycle book jackets.

Take the book jackets off books and use them to decorate your classroom. Perhaps you’ll use them to keep track of books your students have read or to decorate your reading area. Alternatively, you can print images of the covers of books rather than using the book jackets.

The best advice for decorating on a budget is to let go of the idea of perfection and remember that your students will love school if you love teaching. Of course, make your classroom your own, but remember that it’s not about how much you spend; instead, it’s about how much love you share with your students.