Preschool Bulletin Boards

Preschool bulletin boards are a great teaching tool as well as decoration for the classroom. They can be used to teach the children about holidays, seasons, a particular subject, shapes, colors, or just for fun. An interactive bulletin board is especially effective as it can be used for weeks on end to get across a particular objective.

For example, if you are learning about different animals, try making a bulletin board that is sectioned off into several different habitats. (Examples might be desert, ocean, forest, barnyard, etc.) Have the children place each animal in the correct habitat. You could even have different animal tracks to match the footprint each animal makes and see if the children can figure out the clues.

Seasonal bulletin boards are important in teaching children about the different seasons of the year. For fall, you could have each child trace their hand on colored paper to make "leaves" for a large tree. This can help them with tracing and cutting skills. If they're learning to write their names, have them practice on their own leaves. A similar idea can be used for Christmas where each child gets to design and make ornaments for the Christmas tree on your preschool bulletin board.

Preschool children may have a basic understanding of a few major holidays such as Christmas or Easter, but bulletin boards are a great way for them to learn about other important special days throughout the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, and Earth Day can also be easily incorporated into a preschool bulletin board and can teach your preschoolers valuable lessons about history, as well as other important values such as conservation (Earth Day), gratitude (Thanksgiving) and love (Valentine's Day).

If you are learning about various shapes in your preschool class, try making a bulletin board that has plenty of multi-colored shapes attached with sticky tack. The children can move the shapes around and learn about making patterns at the same time they are learning their shapes!

With a little creativity almost any bulletin board can be interactive. Children love seeing their handiwork showcased. It makes them feel important and special. Having them "help" you make different materials for your preschool bulletin board may mean that it won't look absolutely perfect, but it will save you a lot of extra work!

Having your students help with your bulletin boards has other advantages too. For example, when certain parents come in with a lengthy list of "helpful suggestions"(translation: everything you are doing wrong) you can distract them by saying, Oh look what little Jimmy made in class today! He is so talented! You must be so proud! Problem averted.

In all seriousness though, bulletin boards are a great way to showcase each child's development as they learn. Even simple skills like coloring, drawing, gluing, tracing, and cutting are big milestones during