Oh, the Places You'll Go (for a Cute Classroom)...

I am slightly overthetopobsessive detailed, shall we say, when it comes to my bulletin boards and classroom decor. I've said before that I may not be the best teacher but I will have cute boards, dagnabit! (And yes, my "salty" language is that of a 76-year-old backwoodsman.) Anyway, my very first classroom decor (many moons ago... you know, 2011) was Dr. Seuss and I loved it. I even had a Dr. Seuss party with my class at the end of the first month of school, complete with green eggs and ham, Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes, and Cat in the Hat cookies. (Clearly I was still in the honeymoon stage of teaching where I enjoyed baking for my class. :) I know not everyone is a fan of Dr. Seuss's wacky, made-up words and crazy characters, but I am. I think he had such a brilliantly creative mind and, as someone who dabbles in poetry occasionally, I find his ability to pull off rhyme-scheme perfection a little awe-inspiring. Fan or not, you have to admit the man was genius with words (even if he had to make some up.) 

Since I had already gone full-blown Dr. Seuss at the beginning of last year, I didn't really jump on the bandwagon in March, Dr. Seuss's birth month and the time most teachers choose to incorporate him into the classroom. So this year, out came my Dr. Seuss decor for the month of March. I've already taken some of it down, but it is just so fun that I'm a little sad I can't leave it up through the end of the year. (I mean, I can, but I'd probably hate it by then, so...) I love this theme because there are SO many characters and quotes to choose from, but a few of my favorite books to quote from are Oh, the Places You'll Go, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Lorax. 

Not to insult your intelligence, but since the picture isn't terribly clear I'll tell you that each little hat has a student's name. 

Again, pardon my fuzzy pics. I love this quote! 

"Things"- get it? =) If you wanted to incorporate something you're teaching, this is probably the simplest way to do it. Last year I was teaching capitalization rules, so I did "Things to Capitalize." Easy-peasy. And while you may think that Dr. Seuss only did "silly," if you Google his quotes you'll actually find quite a few nuggets of wisdom... some that don't even rhyme. (gasp!) =)

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My Horton board may be my favorite. My mom made Horton and my Who-trees, and while they are a little wrinkled due to storage, I still love them. My favorite parts are the "clover" and the "speck," details that you really can't even see from a distance but I love knowing they're there. =)

What better way to use up my 6-foot Cat in the Hat and other random Dr. Seuss items, as well as my Dr. Seuss letters, than with a little birthday greeting? =) A cake or cupcake would have been cute but I was lazy out of poster board by then.

I didn't add pictures but I also have several Dr. Seuss posters that I used last year (classroom rules, reading reminders, etc.) and those are always colorful and fun things that fill up wall space but still serve a purpose. I left up my welcome sign and posters all year with my third grade. Also, the Dr. Seuss letters are totally worth the price- there are lots of each character so you really get a good deal. And while most teaching stores do carry Dr. Seuss merchandise, Michael's has quite a bit too. Actually, this year I got lucky and ordered a Dr. Seuss variety pack from Oriental Trading... It was less than $12 (with a code for free shipping) and I used the pieces all over the room. And if you're an elementary teacher and want to go all-out with a party or something, Oriental Trading has tons of Seuss party stuff. Of course, Pinterest has lots of links to printables and more boards. These are just a few of mine!


Ash