Barbara Gruener - elementary counselor, character coach, and creator of The Corner On Character - invited us to check out her new back-to-school bulletin boards (she's in charge of decorating ten - count them TEN - bulletin boards each year!) and we're excited to be able to share her vibrant character-building designs!

Barbara recently published a book - What's Under Your Cape?: SUPERHEROES of the Character Kind - in which she defines positive character traits using the word, SUPERHEROES. She pulled from this theme when creating several of her bulletin boards...

Isn't the play on words super cute?! Simple and visually appealing, this design offers a great opportunity to remind you students that character counts and that, not matter their age, they can make a big impact at home, at school, and in their community!

You 'Crayon' Make A World of Difference!

• Background: Red bulletin board paper.
• Title: "You 'Crayon' Make A World of Difference!" (The lettering, created by a colleague, was computer generated, printed onto white card stock, and framed with yellow construction paper to make it stand out. You can create similar lettering the same way or use traditional bulletin board letters.)
• Border: Superhero themed trimmer or complimentary colored/themed bulletin board border.
• Decoration: The title creates most of the decoration. We love how Barbara replaced the "O" in "WORLD" with a printed image of the Earth and didn't just stick the letters on straight, but added shape to the word "DIFFERENT" to make the title more visually appealing. To create the crayon, we suggest covering a mailing tube with background paper, using black permanent marker or black construction paper to add detailing to the 'crayon wrapper', and a cone of paper attached to one end of the tube to create the point of the crayon. Fill the empty space with superhero cutouts and you have a completed design!