First Friday Giveaway!

April is National Humor Month and National Frog Month so it seems appropriate that April’s First Friday Giveaway should feature frogs and silliness!

If you’d like to enter for a chance to win the hilarious The Riot Brothers book series; a handful of Mailbox sticky notepads; a six-pack of scented washable markers; 14 colorful gel pens; and the bright orange drawstring backpack from The Mailbox that holds frog pencils, stickers, and erasers—simply leave your answer to the following question in the comments below. Just be sure to do this before Monday, April 16, 2018, or the joke’s on you. (In other words, the giveaway will be over!)

Here’s your question:

Do you plan to update any classroom bulletin boards before

the end of the school year?

Congratulations to Sarah W., this month’s winner!

Ribbet!

Diane


338 thoughts on “First Friday Giveaway!

  1. I usually wait to update my bulletin boards before the new year begins. Gives me time to think of something fresh and creative!

  2. Yes, I will be doing one more on summer hopes and dreams for the hallway and one using a sun craft with a diamante poem.

  3. Yes! I always update at least one of our bulletin boards before the end of the school year – I have a poem I always hang up (The Star Polisher by Leah Becks) along with giant sparkly stars with my students names on them …. such a great way to end the year!!!

  4. Yes, I will be hanging up the fraction people my kiddos are working on then motivational posters will go up right before testing begins.

  5. Yes, the students always enjoy the “surprise” of coming in to see a new display. Bulletin boards are a fun part of decorating the classroom!

  6. Yes. I plan to construct a board which lists summer activities offered by local community organizations, libraries and area businesses that will help to prevent the dreaded “brain drain” while also being engaging for children.

    • I do this every May, too! It is titled “Fishing for things to do this summer?”
      It is a cute turtle fishing, with a worm on a hook. I have some fish made with suggestions (ride your bike, go for walks, go on a picnic, READ, etc.) . Then I have the kids either draw their own fish or have them color fish and write their own suggestions on the cut-outs.

  7. I redo my
    Boards monthly. With spring arriving
    I hope there is so much you can do flowers birds frogs etc. I love doing bulletin boards with the kiddos.

  8. Yes, I am going to update my monthly bulletin board. My Social Studies unit is not yet finished, so I will not be putting up a new SS or Reading/Books bulletin board again this year.

  9. I change my boards monthly based on seasons, themes etc. I usually have a special board at the end of the year for moving up into the next grade or plans for the summer.

  10. Yes, absolutely! We have Open House on April 19. The students are finishing up their projects next week when we return from spring break.

  11. We are the “Tigers” in our school, and I will hang my students descriptive writing of what an “Oak Street Tiger” is! I found these cute tiger toppers! It will be ca-UTE!

  12. I don’t put a whole lot up because we have a home based classroom, but we are entering a large world geography unit, so we’ll use our world map for the rest of the term. We’ve studied ancient egypt, geology, and pirates lately, so I’ve done a lot of “drawing” pirate routes, explaining the relationship of different ancient cultures based on proximity, and pointing out the general shape of ‘pangea’ and how it relates back to similar peoples, etc. for our social justice theme this year.. it’s probably my most valuable resource! The whole bag would set us up for a great summer, we’re planning a garden!

  13. I update 2 bulletin boards in my room at least once a month to go with the themes we are working on that month.

  14. Absolutely!! We are about to start our rainforest unit!! We like to change our boards to what we are learning to showcase our students work!!

  15. Yes! My students would be disappointed if I didn’t! I teach a home education program out of my home and I definitely have to keep it fresh.

  16. I update my hallway bulletin boards monthly. We usually do a writing project or an art project to display. Right now its bunnies. Next week it will be clocks that the students made themselves with a picture of them dabbing as the hands and a digital time underneath the clock. It will be titled Time to Dab.

  17. At this point in the year I like to create a bulletin board that reflects student’s improvements such as signt words, MAP testing, spelling inventory scores, reading levels etc. I feel that when students see the gains that they have made since the beginning of the year it gives them motivation to finish the year strong!

  18. I updates bulletin boards all the time! They get updated with themes and when they start to get worn aka a new one is spotted in the store that i fall in love with!!

  19. I usually do it at the start of the year since we have to take down or cover most everything for testing which starts the day after we get back and up until two weeks before schools out.

  20. Right now they are anchor charts. I have to take them for state testing in May and will leave them down until the new year begins.

  21. Yes I’ll need to put up one more bulletin board for May. Then I’ll leave up something for the summer

  22. Yes. We update our board on the progress of their work with different types of samples they make and showing parents different ways they are independent before we send them off to K.

  23. Of course!
    DURING testing, the walls have to be bare, but we definitely will do the boards again with something fresh for the last few weeks of school

  24. YES! Just getting ready to hang one up about Spring. In MN it isn’t quite spring yet, so we will try to bring the Spring inside even though the snow keeps coming!

  25. Absolutely! I do every month. My kindergarteners look forward to making something for our board each month. Already have an idea for when we return from Spring Break.

  26. I will only be updating my bulletin boards with student work to show what they know! I have lots of artists in my classroom, so these supplies would help them show their work & art skills!

  27. I try to change my billeting boards at least 1-2 times a month. When Ireturn from break it
    Will be centered around spring and life cycles!

  28. Yes! I like to put up a Spring/ Summer board. Then when we return after the summer break, I will change for the new year.

  29. Yes! We always create fun and exciting boards to motivate students before SOL testing starts. Change your words, change your mindset.

  30. Yes!!!!
    Always love to do an end of year bulletin board to reflect on our year! I think this year I will include encouragement for all my fellow teachers in Kentucky!

  31. Yes, I try and update my classroom bulletin boards every month to every other month. This year with school starting 2 weeks before Halloween I’m thinking of mixing it up scary….

  32. Yes! As much as I want to say that it doesn’t matter so close to the end I realize that it matters very much to my third graders leaving me at the end of the year. So, I do a favorite part of the year board with their writing and drawings. They love it and it makes them know how special our time was together.

  33. I am currently working on a spring themed board and since I run a summer program I will be changing it over at the end of May!

  34. I have a few bulletin boards planned with our animal research books, poetry, and end of the year reflections.

  35. I always update one bulletin board with student’s work. I have another small bulletin board that I may change to a summer Pete the cat theme.

  36. Yes, I have two parents who update my hall board each month! Such a great help to have parents take care of this for me.

  37. I update bulletins boards seasonally. That way they’re always pretty fresh? But I don’t drive myself too crazy over them!

  38. Here at the library we do table displays. Right now we have one up for National Poetry month. We can add a frog on a log in the bog, if we want to celebrate everything at once!

  39. I have 3 bulletin boards. One is for our Reading Focus Wall – changed weekly
    One is for AR data – changed weekly
    One is for Social Studies and it stays pretty much the same all year. One section is current events and it changes every month or so.

  40. I definitely try to change my bulletin boards every month. Each month is themed. For example, April will be something with rainbows or flowers. I really like to do art projects with my 1st graders. So, the board will have some monthly craft to go along with the theme. It really brightens up the room and showcases the kid’s creativity.

  41. We will update our bulletin boards before our next parent night in May. We have a board for each subject so we will need student work for Math, Science, Reading, Writing and Social Studies! It must be rigorous, standards based work with feedback on every piece!

  42. Yes! Usually I do some type of testing motivation board or highlight exceptional work from throughout the year!

  43. Do I plan to? Absolutely. In fact, I had a plan to update it monthly!
    But we’re in our ninth month, and I’m on bulletin board four…so…yeah. We’ll see!

  44. I update every month plus a character ed board, love bulletin boards but I feel like they should display child’s artwork and not look like what you see on pintrest.

  45. Yes. I update mine every month. I love doing them. I havemy kids do the artwork for it. They love seeing their pictures and art on the bulletin board.

  46. I update seasonally and according to our theme at the time, but the boards don’t get changed over the summer. It always exciting to add new things for the start of a new year.

  47. Yes, I update mine every month. As a class we come up with a theme for our board and then the children work together to create the art for it. Sometimes, I will send home a “family project” and then when they come back we put them up on our board. The children really enjoying seeing their handiwork up.

  48. I have monthly requirements to change out my displays. I tend to not do “cutesy” boards. I display exemplary work with non-distracting backgrounds that are grouped thematically. I love to display their art more than anything. I also like to include photographs that capture the more hands-on stuff we do in class. It has to be done!

  49. Yes, I update my classroom bulletin boards monthly! Before I leave for summer, I will be making sure everything is ready for the start of school since I will be on maternity leave! Fabric doesn’t fade so it’s a huge lifesaver!

  50. I change them often. They are more of a place to display anchor charts. Student work is displayed in other areas, which will change at least a couple times before the end of the year.

  51. I probably won’t do anymore changing. We had to box up everything in our room before Spring Break and will have to unpack everything after (new carpet is getting installed). With all of that to do, I probably won’t get around to changing bulletin boards. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

  52. Nope. We have standardized testing coming up, so anything I have on my bulletin boards will have to come down soon. They will be used for announcements and shout outs until the end of the year.

  53. Yes, I’m May we have graduation for my transitional kindergarten kids. My classroom bulletin board is a big quote in the middle “we came as strangers but we leave as friends.” We put all the kids handprints all around it in different colors. It’s always hard to take it down at the end of the month. Lol our classroom door has Pete the cat rocking out in a guitar. We take pictures of the kids and we give them two oversized Pete the cat shoes to color and cut. It says “we’re rocking our way to kindergarten!”

  54. One bulletin board is for reading, so it gets changed weekly with the vocabulary and reading strategies for that week. The other bulletin board I have is for math where I put up the standards and any math vocabulary for the module.

  55. I do plan to put some type of summer fun/summer plans exercise up on our class bulletin board. Something fun and bright and cheery for the end of the year!

  56. No. Typically I do but this year our new principal (coming from the junior high) said she wanted all our doors to be a bit more uniform so she wanted all doors to have a quote.

  57. I will not be updating any bulletin boards but my team has talked about some spring projects to put up in the hallway.

  58. Hope so! My hallway bulletin board is the school WIGS (Wildly Important Goals). Student growth is still hapening, update it frequently! We learn to the end!!

  59. Yes- I will make a graduation bulletin board. I print a bunch of pictures for each kiddo and the parents get to take them with them at the end of graduation.

  60. I do not have a bulletin board in my classroom! My “wall” that I decorate currently has a large alphabet that we are adding pictures to. So we are changing it daily, but not changing the actual wall.

  61. Yes, our room displays change monthly or with what the season has in store. I have one that changes order with new pictures of things my students experience.

  62. Yes, I always make a “Once a Bear, Always a Bear” bulletin board with my 5th graders’ bear art. This will stay up for graduation.

  63. I do a board at the beginning of the year as well. I change out artwork, lesson plans, newsletters, and special notes for the parents monthly.

  64. Yes. I am going to create a board up, up, and away. Have the students create summer reading goals using balloons and have a picture of them holding them up if they were actually outside.

  65. Yes! April bulletin board = Thank You for Libraries; May theme = Children’s Book Week leading into Summer Reading Program “Reading Rocks!”

  66. Yes! I’ll be doing a bulletin board with a Nautical theme for Right to Read week. This will then be our theme for the following school year, so I’ll just need to tweak it to fit my new class.

  67. Yes, we just made kites and flowers for April. Then in May we make the last one using chalk. 3rd grade here we come. Each kid gets to sign their name in cursive.

  68. Possibly. I have a kindness, Kid President themed board up now. I may do a spring or end of the year themed board. It just depends on time.

  69. Yes, my first graders will write letters to incoming first graders for next school year. The second graders now always love to come back and read them.

  70. As much as I would love to, I think it will be the beginning of the year before I get it finished. I am currently adding to the current theme right now.

  71. I update all of my bulletin boards at the start of the year. After that, I rotate one bulletin board each grading period. One bulletin board is constantly changing because it is filled with student-created artwork and drawings.

  72. The goals of the month bulletin board is updated each month. Kids write what they would like to accomplish that month.

  73. YES!! I will be putting up motivational boards for testing!! The students always like to see something new during this time!

  74. Yes I change them monthly. Spring is always a fun one to make. It is cheerful and colorful, and it helps get rid of the winter blues!

  75. We don’t have bulletin boards in our school. The walls outside each classroom has those hold-up strips. I update the student work about once a month and choose something a little bit fun and decorative. I used to really look forward to doing a bulletin board because I’d seen so many cute ideas, but now I guess it’s easier to just use the hold-up strips that the school has. I can add a little creativity by taping things to the block wall around them though.

  76. Not really planning any big changes. I have 2 boards I’m responsible for. One is smaller and easier to change, so I will refresh that one. There are only about 5 weeks of school left for my pre-k students! Yikes!

  77. Changing it next week. We’re working with the children to decide what goes up. Working on planets and space now and doing lifecycles next month. Would love to win this great prize for my class.

  78. My classroom doesn’t have bulletin boards-we have crystal boards. So sadly, I won’t be updating any boards.

  79. Absolutely! My bulletin board gets changed monthly to reflect the current work by students worked so hard to produce. They love seeing the new work go up and I enjoy hearing them compliment each other on a job well done.

  80. I won’t be changing any bulletin boards. We have state testing coming up soon and have to cover most things in our room up so that it can’t aid/distract students…I will be putting up some spring artwork in the hallway though! Brighten things up a little!

  81. I do! I’m making a spring theme with a little bit of pond integrated. Possibly an ocean board too. Then finally i’m making a “i’m Graduating pre-k Wall!”!

  82. Yes. We’ll start a summer bucket list to share. With it being so cold so long this year, it will be nice to plan for the summer.

  83. Yes! I have 2 more bulletin boards to display. First is for our Student shwoxase, I will be doing a bulletin board on everything we learn about Japan, origami lanterns, colored flags, painted cherry blossoms, and koi fish. Our last bulletin board is our kindergarten graduation board which has what they want to be when they grow up and a picture of themselves colored wearing their “graduation” gown.

  84. I work in a Christian preschool so we have our bulletin board up all summer with something religious. Around July, I go in and change it to something fun that goes along with our upcoming theme. I love putting up bulletin boards, we usually change it 2 times a month. We have another bulletin board that we use for circle time. The children love to see our bulletin boards bright and colorful!

  85. I try and change them monthly to go along with the item that we are focusing on that month. It gives the room and fresh and colorful look. Plus I love frogs ????.

  86. I am the librarian, and don’t have bulletin boards inside my room. I have 9 in the hall I am responsible for and I leave those the same all year long. I did decorate my door for the book fair last month, And changed it just this week to have a countdown for the end of the school year!

  87. Probably not…I’m on the home stretch before the end of the year and will be in survival mode for much of that!

  88. I change my bulletin boards every month. However, my assistant just quit and there hasn’t been a replacement yet. It will probably stay the same until the end of the year. I do not have time to change it.

  89. We would discuss life Lessons. I would post on poster paper all the life lessons the students learned from me at the bottom of the bulletinboard. . I would also display all the pictures I took during the year. The title was The Year in Pictures with a large pic of a camera.

  90. Yes. On top of having bulletin boards o aslo have command hooks with a string attached to them with clothes pins. It is a very easy wy to display art. Extremely easy take down and put up for art without marking up the walls with tape!

  91. I use my door as a bulletin board as we have to keep our real bulletin boards for calendar math and PBiS. Yes I wilI change my door, I do so every month to include the theme or season.

  92. I just changed mine this week for April. I usually do it monthly, but I made it spring themed so it will mostly likely stay up for the rest of the year!

  93. New student work will be posted around the room & in the hallway, but we won’t be changing any bulletin boards.

  94. I have a super long bulletin board that I’ve used as a timeline of our year. Each month highlights what we’ve learned or done with lots of pictures. I will add posters for the summer months and have students draw what they what to do.

  95. I update certain ones each quarter to match what we will be learning. Some are a constant like our rights and responsibilities from the first quarter.

  96. Yes! My bulletin boards in my classroom are data walls. They are updated monthly to show progress. So my students add and move icon to show their growth.

  97. Yes!!! My students are working hard to create a blank book about state history. Each student has chosen a state and has spent weeks collecting research. The. They start typing and drawing to put their book together. We are on the road to completion and want the school to see them. I’m addition to this they have created a PowerPoint to go with their book, highlighting the most important information. They will be posted on our US themed bulletin board!

  98. Yes, I have a bulletin board that I update every 6 weeks or so to coordinate with our reading theme. We just started a nonfiction US government/treasures theme so I will be updating it this week.

  99. Definitely! I will be starting in new classroom (new job) and some things, such as the bulletin board, have been neglected. Fresh start for me, fresh bulletin board for my class!

  100. No. We will be moving to a brand new building next year so I will actually start taking some things down soon in order to start packing.

  101. Oh, yes! April and May’s bulletin boards have to be awesome because it is my way of incentivizing students behavior, which we all know is crucial as we round the corner into summer vacation. I determine a theme and post an incentive chart for each child based on the theme. For example, if I do a space theme, each child’s incentive chart will be a spaceship or rocket. All of my students interact with this bulletin board daily, some several times daily. 😉 I use this bulletin board as a tool for positive reinforcement of desirable behaviors with my students. If a student is “caught being good”, he or she will receive a sticker to place on their incentive chart. We do a daily sticker count at the end of the day, and the student with the most gets a small daily prize. This keeps the students competitive and accountable daily for their behavior. The student with the most at the end of a predetermined period (ex: two weeks, one month) receives a “big” prize, which is usually two items from Dollar Tree. I have been using this method for years and it hasn’t let me down yet.

  102. Yes! I just took down the snowmen (then of course it snowed)! Not sure yet what will go up! Trying to get through state testing this week and next!

  103. Wow! I love all the comments! I’m usually one of the first to respond so it was neat to come back and read what others are doing! I will update my inside boards at least 2 x. My outside board showcases the fun we have at Saturday school with pics from that day each month.

  104. Yes, I will update once more before the end of the year. Right now my space is empty. I was going to put up something about April showers, but since it’s still snowing (and a blizzard today!) in Minnesota, it just didn’t feel right!!

  105. I love FROGS, so yes I will be adding a bulletin with them. So a look how much you have grown a tadpole into a leaping frog, leaping into a new year and kindergarten.

  106. Yes, I will be changing the board over to represent all of our yearly fun. I have a large classroom with two classes in it. Each of us as a bulletin board on our side that will hold photos to represent our year as a part of our end of year celebration decorations. In fact, I’m starting on choosing my photos today!

  107. I actually just redid mine on Friday but I am not sure if I will redo it again before school is out or not. I probably will since I teach Kindergarten and we will be having Kindergarten Graduation at the end of May and I’ll want to do something more springy.

  108. Yes, my team and I just finished updating our grade level bulletin board and we are planning to update it again for the last week of school.

  109. Yes! My boards are so dismal and blank after standardized testing. We need an update to bring some cheer to the class.

  110. I just put up my last bulletin board in my room, however I will still put other projects we work on our in the hallway.

  111. I will change them 2 more times! Frogs for spring and what I want to be when I grow up for kindergarten graduation!

  112. I do mine every 6 weeks – we will be putting up bio poems this week- we always do a writing bulletin board – required by school but it keeps it fresh and new.

  113. Yes. I like to keep them up to date because after a while everyone gets used to it and doesn’t really look at it so updating always keeps student’s interest and attention.

  114. Update the boards with summer reading goals, book suggestions and letters to upcoming students. Others can walk buy and leave notes of encouragement and more book suggestions!

  115. I typically keep my yearly theme the same but update the information on the board. I work in a preschool so my parents come eveyday. I have a curriculum board and need to know information board for them. I also have one for my kiddos that includes our calendar, job chart, daily picture schedule, menu, etc.

  116. Yes, I really need to get something up. I will be doing a frog unit in a couple of weeks. Maybe something from that unit.

  117. I update our bulletin board with pictures from the year. Parents and students alike love looking back over the memories we’ve made this year.

  118. Yes! My students often brush up against the bulletin boards on my closet doors so they look terrible by the end of the school year. I replace the border every year. I wish borders came laminated!

  119. I try to update bulletin boards every few months to match the holidays, seasons, upcoming events, etc… By doing so, it welcomes students and staff to the media center and celebrates what is going on at school, in the world, and how books and other materials ties us all together.

  120. In our classrooms we have accent walls, mine is lavender. I want to update all my boards to match next year. I love blues and purples, so I want to redo a lot next year.

  121. Yes, updating and changing bulletin boards continues to be something I do multiple times throughout the school year.

  122. Yes, I like my boards to be interactive boards. My larger boards host my current spelling words, high frequency words (once the week is over these words move to the word wall), Guided Reading levels for selecting that just right book, center time writing prompt and picture cards for weekly writing, and the calendar. My students know to look to this wall for references. My theme in the room is Mickey Mouse that I have created with my Cricut. Every year I add something new to my board to keep the room fresh and alive.

  123. I wish that I had bulletin board to update! I have one large bulletin board in my classroom where I’ve hung the calendar, hundred’s chart, and our vocabulary chart. It doesn’t change much throughout her year. I do have a smaller board that I change each month. I use it to post QR codes for my monthly listening centers! If I could, I would have one that I could change seasonally. 🙂

  124. I have no bulletin boards except my word wall, so don’t plan to update. At another school I had one in hallway and every holiday or season I love to change it.

  125. Yes, I’m planning to do summer themed bulletin board that will track how many books we have read until the end of the year.

  126. Yes, our state testing is coming up soon. I plan to put up the WWII poster “We Can Do It” as well as pictures of my students posing the same as Rosie the Riveter. At the top of my student pictures I plan to have them write, “I Can Do it”

  127. Yes. Time to make things more spring-like and inspiring for students. We still have 2 and a half months left of the school year.

  128. Yes, I change the one outside my room monthly. In May, I usually do something flowery for spring with poetry. In June, it has a sunshine theme with writing about summer plans and fun. The ones inside my room contain reference info. for the students and change as new learning does. But I change the borders and accents seasonally.

  129. I’m planning on redoing the ones in the back of my room- they are a hodgepodge right now and I’d like to make them dedicated to math, science, etc.

  130. I try and change my bulletin board out for each unit.
    I just changed it for testing and will be changing it
    for end of year unit.

  131. I will change the social studies board for our last unit, update the calendar board for May and change the language arts boards after state testing to a summer reading theme for the end of the year.

  132. Yes. I have had the same bulletin board up all year. ???? I just posted their latest project – . They chose a proverb and wrote advise to young kids. I hung up their writing along with a picture of them that I changed using an aging app. My last bulletin board for the year will display the writing my kids are currently working on. They are researching whether or not humans should eat insects. I will hang their essay along with pictures of them actually eating an insect. ????

  133. I just did a spring break board. I live in very snowy Minnesota, and people travel a lot. So, I guess my answer is, YES! Haha!

  134. Yes… I update my bulletin board often. For the end of the year, I want to update my bulletin board with a summer vacation theme. The students will have to write about their dream summer vacation and those will also go on the bulletin board.

  135. Yes! I love to update the layout of my room and makerspace area! Refill with new recyclables along with changing out wall decor.

  136. Yes. I try to update every month. We just finished an International Fair, so it is time to take down that board and put up something Springy!

  137. I have a bulletin board that changes every month with projects from home students bring in but that’s my only really decorative board. I do want to change the artwork in the hallway though… .I intend to do that this week if the snow ever stops. 🙂

  138. I just updated mine last week. You get caterpillars in so I do a caterpillar bulletin board from the children’s handprints. The title is waiting for wings and of course reread the Lois Ehlert book, Waiting for Wings.

  139. One of my bulletin board has our Classroom Pledge and self portraits so that stays all year. The others have student work which changes with what we are up too. We will be creating our desert mural for our end of the year play soon!

  140. Oh, yes. There will be something else that I will want to put up!
    It keeps everyone on their toes to see something new.
    Besides, here in Minnesota we are ready to see something fresh and exciting for spring and the end of the school year!

  141. I plan on updating our board a few more times before we get done in June. The kids love to see their work out their. I also have a 4th grader who lets us know often we need an update. He likes to see what we will put up.

  142. I plan to update with a spring theme! I also will be updating our Birthday Board for the school and our All-Star students! So yes, lots of changes to make in the month of May!

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