A tool themed welcome board, whether you're a DIY/carpentry enthusiast or not, offers a great segue for talking to your newest learners about what to expect in the year ahead - i.e. it is your mission to partner with your students as they fill their 'toolboxes' with the right 'tools' to be successful learners, in your classroom and beyond! This mock-up pulls its color scheme and inspiration from the popular home improvement store, Lowe's, and can be tweaked to fit a multitude of objectives!

Here are a few ideas...

• Fill the board with tool cutouts {as shown above}, using each shape to highlight a different skill your kiddos will build in the coming year, the qualities of great learners, the subjects/specials your kiddos will encounter, etc.
• Nix the tool idea and have a fun first day of school photo shoot! Provide students with a Lowe's vest or apron, some safety goggles, and a tape measure {or other prop!} and snap a picture of each new student. Arrange the photos on the board - perhaps adding fun borders to the photos {i.e. nuts and bolts, l-square rulers, levels, etc.} - and add a name plate underneath. Again, the name plates could be small tool box, apron, screwdriver, etc. cutouts!
• A simpler route - create Lowe's vest cutouts, one for each student, and use a white paint pen to print their names on the cutouts.

Build & Grow in Kindergarten!

• Background: White bulletin board paper.
• Title: "__________ [Teacher's last name]! Build & Grow in __________ [Kindergarten, Room 203, etc]!" - The Lowe's logo and children's program slogan were the inspiration for the title. We suggest using maroon and dark blue bulletin board paper to create the traditional gable background of the logo. While the mock-up above shows a simple rectangle, the gable should be pretty simple to create as it consists mainly of simple shape and clean lines. The teacher's last name replaces "Lowe's" in the cutout and the rest of the title can be created using traditional bulletin board letters.
• Border: Solid maroon trimmer to mimic Lowe's colors.
• Decoration: Find tool clip art to print, cut, laminate, and display. We found all of the images above at Clker.com. Of course, you could create the cutouts {tools, vests, etc.} using construction paper as well.