Photo Source: lilteacher.com The best bulletin board ideas are the ones that, with only minimal alterations, can be used to complement several different units, seasons, or themes. This fall bulletin board idea from Renée Glashow of Mrs. Renée's Kindergarten Pad needs only a slight title change and a few more embellishments to make it a great Thanksgiving display! Falling Into Fall Crafts Day 1: Pumpkin Crafts To duplicate the pumpkin patch in Glashow's display, provide your students with orange pumpkin cutouts, various paper pieces in oranges and golds (e.g. foil, art tissue paper, etc.), gold and orange craft glitter, and Mod Podge. Invite them to collage their pumpkin cutouts using the paper pieces and Mod Podge, then carefully sprinkle glitter over the wet glue before it dries. Glashow then laminated each child's craft and scripted their name on it using a brown permanent marker. For other pumpkin craft ideas, be sure to visit our previous post right here on Bulletin Board Ideas >> Welcome To Our Pumpkin Patch! Day 2: Corn Crafts In the spirit of Thanksgiving, have your students create corn crafts for the board. Here are several ideas: Button Corn Cob. Create a card stock corn template - including both the ear of corn and its husk - inviting students to trace and cut out a cob from yellow card stock and its husk from brown construction paper or card stock. Provide students with buttons in various colors (e.g. red, brown, purple, yellow, white, etc.) and have them attach button "corn kernels" to the cob. Lunch Bag Indian Corn. Provide students with brown chenille stems, pony beads in various colors, and a brown paper lunch sack. Have each student string 3 pipe cleaners with pony beads. [NOTE: This could be a great time to discuss patterning and complimentary colors!] Place the beaded stems side by side and twist together the excess wire stem at each end. Create a corn "husk" by cutting a panel from the lunch bag and rolling/twisting it until it is a long thin "stick". When unrolled the piece of lunch bag should retain the curve and crinkle. Place the beaded stems in the center of the unrolled paper and twist it at each end to secure the "cob" inside the "husk". Popcorn Corn Cob. Create a card stock corn template - including both the ear of corn and its husk - inviting students to trace and cut out a cob from yellow card stock and its husk from brown construction paper or card stock. Provide students with popped popcorn kernels and school glue, inviting them to collage their cob with the popped corn. Thanksgiving Bulletin Board Background: Light blue or green bulletin board paper. Title: "Falling Into Thanksgiving!" Border: Fall-themed or Thanksgiving-themed bulletin board border. You might also consider a solid trimmer in a complimentary color. Decoration: 1) The Scarecrow. Glashow created a three-dimensional scarecrow using pieces of fabric stuffed with tan raffia. You could also create a dynamic two-dimensional scarecrow using bulletin board paper (or fabric) to fashion clothing and the scarecrow's head, then use the raffia to create hair and add "straw" embellishments - at the hem of each pant leg and sleeve as well as at the top and bottom of the scarecrow's shirt. It might also be fun to use construction paper or fun patterned scrapbook papers to create "patches" on the scarecrow's clothing. [NOTE: You can use a large tapestry needle and yarn to actually sew the patches on the cutouts!] 2) The Fall Tree. Glashow purchased a large tree cutout and decorated it with vines of silk fall leaves (easily found at your local craft store). You could also freehand a tree cutout onto brown bulletin board paper and have your students make leaf crafts to decorate it. For simple leaf craft ideas, check out our previous posts >> "FALL-ing in Love..." and We Are Jumping Into Fall! 3) The Fence. Freehand a fence cutout on light brown bulletin board paper and use a brown marker to create wood grain detailing. 4) The Pumpkin Patch. Use your students' pumpkin crafts and connect them with a green vine made from construction or bulletin board paper. 5) Thanksgiving Embellishments. Consider adding dried cornstalks at the edges of the board and be sure to add your students' corn crafts to the mix to give it a harvest appearance. You might also consider creating a turkey from bulletin board paper to place in the pumpkin patch! With a few simple tweaks, this fall bulletin board can be transformed into a Thanksgiving harvest display (and provide your students with several fun crafts to boot!). We'd love to hear your thoughts on this board or about your own Thanksgiving "decorating style", so leave us a comment below!
