Child Care Bulletin Board Ideas

An empty bulletin board is like a blank canvas for any day care art.

Excite young minds with decorative bulletin board ideas that will stimulate the visual sense while displaying scholarly material. Child care display boards often center around learned classroom themes such as community helpers, holidays and various animals. Oftentimes, daily routines are presented on in-class bulletin boards for use during circle time. Whatever the theme of the child care bulletin board, allow the feel of the display to promote a sense of accomplishment for the students.

Thematic Units

Use a carnival theme for your next bulletin board idea.

Bulletin boards often feature the weekly thematic unit studied or discussed in a child care setting. Shapes such as circles in ferris wheels, triangles found at the tops of game tents and rectangle popcorn boxes can represent a festive carnival theme for primary children. Marine life is another bulletin board idea centered around a thematic unit. Encourage the children in day care to create fish, octopus and shark art projects for display on the class board.

Daily Use

Weather-related pictures commonly appear on daily use bulletin boards.

Circle time is often a method of gathering day care children together to discuss subject ideas, do group activities or conduct daily routines. A portable bulletin board is ideal during circle time but adhering one to the wall near the gathering area is also efficient. Daily bulletin boards usually encourage children to observe the daily weather, count the days in the month, name months of the year and recognize multicultural holidays. The items on a daily use bulletin board remain all year long and are not replaced with other classroom decor.

Day Care Duties

Checking the weather through the classroom window is one child care duty that can be displayed on the job chart.

Children benefit from being assigned school duties by learning responsibility and pride in accomplishment. A job chart or listing found on a bulletin board can be used to delegate line leading, paper distribution or collection, lights or weatherperson jobs to the students. Surround the chart with die-cut shapes with child names written on them and use the shapes to designate which student is assigned each specific duty. Rotate weekly to give each child a turn to perform each task.

Interactive Bulletin Board

Display a picture of a school but on an interactive bulletin board for each child to take attendance.

Interactive bulletin boards allow students to use the materials attached to them. This type of display board must be at eye level with the average height of students in the child care class for ease in accessibility. Learning centers are often where interactive display boards are present but also may be used upon the entrance to the classroom for students to take their own attendance. Attach a large picture of a bus and one paper doll resembling each student to the attendance bulletin board. When students arrive to school, they will move their paper dolls (with their names on them) to an attached folder making their presence at school known. Folders containing coloring sheets, blank pieces of sheet music, finger plays and thematic songs can be attached to a learning center interactive bulletin board.

Project Display Board

Post each child's creative art on a student work bulletin board for parents to view when dropping off their children.

Most bulletin boards present child art projects, writing samples or creative pictures for all to admire. Attention drawn to student work allows for each student to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment to see their creations on display. Vary the student work at least weekly to allow for each student to be complimented on their imaginative creativity and, when applicable, decorate the remaining bulletin board areas with complementary colors and ideas.

References

• Everything Preschool: Preschool Bus
• Child Care Resource: Bulletin Boards

Resources

• Office Depot: Scholastic Calendar Bulletin Board Set