Swim in the "School" of Success - Back to School Bulletin Board Idea

Elementary Ocean Theme Back to School Bulletin Board Idea
Photo Source: Lisa Dailey

Lisa Dailey, first year elementary teacher at Hartville Elementary in Ohio, designed this fabulous ocean themed welcome board! With it's vibrant colors, adorable sea creatures, and positive message, this display is certain to compliment any early childhood classroom so be sure to add it to your inspiration folder for next year!

"School" of Success Bulletin Board

  • Background: Aqua bulletin board paper.
  • Title: "Come Swim in the 'School' of Success!"
  • Border: Solid black trimmer.
  • Decoration: 1) The Seaweed. Freehand or search for "seaweed templates" in Google to find a black and white clip art image to enlarge and trace seaweed strands onto green construction paper or bulletin board paper. [NOTE: You might also simply print the black and white image onto green paper, cut out, and mount the pieces to the board.] Lisa chose several different styles of seaweed, intermingling them to provide more visual interest. 2) The Sea Creatures. Since we know that Lisa is a phenomenal artist, we suspect she probably drew and painted each of the animals on her board. For those of you who are less 'artsy', once again, consider finding a black and white clip art image online to enlarged and traced onto white background paper using your classroom projector system. Use craft paint to decorate the animal cutouts and a black marker {or paint} to outline and add detailing where needed. Lisa chose to include four different types of fish, a sea turtle, an octopus, a jellyfish, and a crab, but you can certainly play around with the 'characters' and include other sea creatures - a clam, a dolphin, a starfish, or whatever else suits your fancy!

Supplies for this bulletin board

We really do love the vibrant colors and inspirational message of this back to school board! We'd love to hear what you have up your sleeve for next year, so be sure to leave us a comment below!

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