I remember gazing at my bulletin boards after a busy day of teaching a lively bunch of four and five-year olds and feeling guilty that the pictures on the faded construction paper background had been pinned there for more than a month.
By three o’clock, I was pretty tired and spending another hour changing my bulletin boards was the last thing I felt like doing. Eventually, I learned the five time-saving school bulletin board ideas below.
1. Only use fadeless bulletin board paper or fabric…
Fade-resistant paper saves a lot of work. It comes in bold, vibrant colors and is also available acid free. It lasts for long periods of time and when you take down pictures there are not faded shapes left behind, requiring a whole change background paper.
This type of paper can also be used for arts and crafts projects as it is durable, strong for folding and it cuts cleanly. 
2. Check paper widths…
The most common bulletin board is 48 inches tall and the most common paper width is 48″ wide. There are an assortment of bulletin board sizes in classrooms but to really make your life easy, find ones that are 48″ tall. You will then only have to cut and fold the sides under and the top and bottom will fit neatly.
If you separate your learning center areas with smaller, mini-bulletin boards, make them 48″ wide or tall so you’ll only have to cut and fold once. This saves time measuring and fussing with the paper, trying to get it to fit neatly.
3. Make creating your bulletin board an all class lesson
Instead of working late after school, combine creating your bulletin board into a class theme. It may take a week for students to complete the bulletin board but they will notice it more if they have been part of creating it. See a sample Halloween bulletin board done this way here…
4. Packing tape time-saver…
Another great tip is to use packing tape when you don’t have time to laminate. For the Rosie the Hen interactive bulletin board display, I quickly applied some packing tape to the front and back of Rosie and the fox and trimmed them with scissors. Fast and easy and it keeps the children from accidentally tearing interactive bulletin board characters.
5. Use black…
Some teachers look at me with disbelief when I suggest covering the whole bulletin board with black paper but once I discovered how great it is for showing off student work I loved it. It gives a dramatic pop to student artwork and makes construction paper look brighter. You can add strips of other color on top of it for specific topics.
