The back-to-school season is now in full swing, and you may be finding that you still need to find some ways to spice up your classroom or – if you’re not a teacher – sprucing up your child’s play or learning area. According to ScienceDirect, a heavily-decorated classroom will overload children with too much visual information, whereas a study by Salford University in the UK showed that students perform better when the walls have decorations rather than being bare. Finding that perfect balance will give kids just what they need to have an enjoyable time in school, without being too distracting. With that in mind, keep reading for the best ways to spice up your classroom or playroom!
Cozy Shades
If you’re looking for ways to make your classroom more fun without too visually stimulating, Cozy Shades are the perfect fit! Simply cover your classroom fluorescent lights with these Cozy Shades to give an instant boost to otherwise dull and bright lighting. Measuring 54” x 24” (137cm x 61cm), they fit easily over standard ceiling fixtures with sturdy, sewn-in magnets, taking only seconds to put on. They are of flame-retardant polyester for safety, come in multiple fun colors and are the perfect addition to any classroom.
While you may be able to decorate and control how every inch of your classroom looks, lighting is the one thing that is the hardest to work with. Fluorescent lighting can be harsh, and replacing all your bulbs to softer ones can start to get expensive. Cozy Shades help cut out some of those harsh fluorescent rays and, in addition, Cozy Shades help with special needs students by toning down bright lighting and allowing for a more calming environment.
More Tips to Spice Up Your Classroom or Playroom
While Cozy Shades are a fairly inexpensive way to spice up your classroom, there are many other things you can do to make your classroom a better learning environment. Everyone knows that hanging student work, important information and things to look forward to are important to incorporate in a classroom, but the special touches can get overlooked.
These special touches can include things such as picking a theme for your classroom, creating designated areas for different activities and featuring inspiration. There are also things you should avoid as well, such as keeping clutter and having too much going on in your classroom.
Pick a Theme
One of the newest trends in classroom decorating is choosing a theme and running with it. This can include anything from under the sea, Disney, a winter wonderland or outer space. This includes not only decorating your walls but giving different areas of your classroom names that have to do with the theme. If you have an outer space theme, name each area after a planet and have your desk be the sun. Fun things like this also give your children more of an immersive experience, will let their imaginations run wild and they will look forward to coming into your class every day.
Create Designated Areas
Students love routine and having special areas. Even if it’s just a small table or corner of the room, they thrive on knowing what to expect and how to do something. Create a space in your classroom for reading, turning in assignments and drawing. It can be as simple as dividing an area up with tape on the floor, putting up a play tent or using a bookshelf as a makeshift divider.
You can also split up areas of the room fairly inexpensively by changing the flooring. That doesn’t mean ripping up your carpet – it can be as simple as adding mats or blankets. Moving to a new area of the classroom throughout the day can help break up the monotony and give them something to look forward to, and gives them comfort knowing that they won’t be stuck in their seats for hours on end.
Feature Inspiration
Frame-off an area of the classroom for inspiriting role models, quotes or places. This can include people they are currently being taught about or other inspiring people in the news such as athletes or activists. You can also work in motivational quotes, switching them out weekly or monthly, giving your students a certain “mantra” to strive for throughout the time period. Inspiring places work as well, such as having beach imagery, imagery of another country they might be learning about even or Christmas imagery when winter rolls in.
Avoid Clutter
A cluttered environment makes for a cluttered mind, so make sure your classroom is kept as clutter-free as possible. This ties back with having a designated area for everything, so this way your children will know where everything goes when it is time to clean up after an activity. Do your best to keep your desk clean, as well. It’s not always easy to keep a teacher’s desk clean, but your students will learn from example if you are able to keep yours consistent.
Don’t Make It Sensory Overload
As mentioned, having way too much on the walls can cause a distraction. If there are a lot of things on the walls for them to look at and read, their attention span will start to plummet. This is also true when you change up everything all at once. If you need to redecorate your classroom, do it in phases and sections instead of all at one time. It will help keep distractions to a minimum and allow them to keep paying attention to you, instead of the walls.
Let Us Know!
What are some ways that you spice up your classroom? Do you find the lighting in your classroom to be too bright and harsh sometimes? Let us know how your classroom is coming along in the comments below, or reach out to us on social media!