Decorating Classroom Walls Before Students Come Back to School

In some lucky years, I have been able to go into the classroom throughout the summer and leisurely decorate my room a little bit at a time. Usually, though, that’s not an option. Often, we barely could get in before the students arrived.

If you’re struggling with what to hang up or how to keep it all up, this post is for you. I’m going to share what stuff needs to be up before the first day, what can wait, and how to keep it all up even on notoriously difficult cement walls.

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What needs to be displayed on your classroom walls? What doesn’t?

If this is one of those years when you don’t have much time for decorating your classroom walls some things may have to wait.

Most resource charts and inspirational posters can wait. Hang them up as you introduce them.
Go ahead and put backgrounds and borders up on all the bulletin boards, but wait to fill the bulletin boards. Hang up a sign that tells parents student work is coming soon.
Go ahead and hang up a class list and welcome sign.
Wait to create a display for student work in the hallway.
Go ahead and hang the number line and alphabet. Your students are likely to use it in the first few days, although upper-grade teachers can probably wait.
Go ahead and set up a display area for anchor charts. One of your first anchor charts is likely to be classroom rules or key procedures. You can find a bunch of ideas here.
Think about what resources your students will use right away. Those are the things to hang up now.

What’s the best way to hang stuff up on classroom walls?

Another thing to consider is how to hang things so they stay up. I can’t count how many times I’ve walked into my classroom after a particularly humid day and found my posters lying on the floor. That’s a frustrating way to start your day! If you’re going to put in the effort to decorate your classroom walls, you want things to stay put. Here are some tips.

Hot glue is one of my favorite ways to hang things. I use hot glue for things that I want to hang up all year.
You can put blue painter’s tape flat on the wall and add hot glue on the back of the tape to avoid damaging the walls. If you want to avoid damaging your posters, you can also apply a piece of painter’s tape to the back of the poster. Usually, I glue things straight to the wall, but that’s not an option for everyone.
Invest in a cordless glue gun. It will prevent you from running across the room trying to hang things before the glue cools.

Command Strips are awesome. They make ones just for posters. They are particularly great for schools that don’t allow hot glue. Command Strips and hooks are also excellent for hanging pocket charts on the wall.

Stikki Clips are perfect for items such as word wall cards, essential questions, and unit-specific posters that need to be changed frequently. Larger items will take more than one clip, but they are super easy to use.
Clothespins are another option for frequently accessed materials. A bit of hot glue on the back is the most common way to attach it to the wall, but you can also cut a Command Strip down the middle and use it to attach the clothespins to the wall.

Hopefully, these ideas will save you some work as you prepare your classroom walls for the back-to-school season.