Many daycares, preschools, churches, and elementary school teachers keep bulletin boards up. These are usually decorated depending on the season or holiday and are a fun way to show what the class is doing and display some of their projects and work.
But the costs for materials to decorate bulletin boards can really add up. Many times, this comes out of a teacher’s own pocket.
If you want a fun Halloween bulletin board but don’t want to spend a lot of money on it, the following are some great inexpensive Halloween bulletin board ideas:
Paper plate pumpkin patch
You can turn your bulletin board into a pumpkin patch without spending much money with this fun bulletin board idea. All you need are paper plates, orange paint, black and brown construction paper, and green construction paper or tissue paper.
Cut out “stems” for the pumpkins out of brown construction paper. Have students paint their paper plates orange to look like pumpkins, then cut out shapes for faces out of black construction paper and glue them on the faces of their pumpkins once the paint dries. (You can also get precut shapes, but this starts to get expensive for a class full of students.)
Turn your bulletin board into a pumpkin patch by making “vines” out of tissue paper or construction paper, and attaching the pumpkins to them.
Spiders bulletin board
This bulletin board only requires a few materials and is a good way to set the mood for Halloween. Use colored butcher paper as a background, then purchase inexpensive spider web Halloween decorations and black pipe cleaners, as well as black construction paper and craft eyes, if you want. If you don’t want to use pipe cleaners, you can cut out strips of black construction paper and fold them like accordions, and use those for legs instead. Have students make their own spiders, then display them on the bulletin board.
“Just Borders” bulletin board
You can make a bulletin board that is easy and inexpensive by purchasing an inexpensive Halloween themed border and orange or black background paper. From there, simply display your students’ artwork, pictures, or assignments or projects they have worked on.
Scarecrows bulletin board
This bulletin board is inexpensive because all it takes is scrap paper, raffia, and some construction paper. Have students make a pumpkin head using orange construction paper, then use scraps of paper from magazines or leftover assignments to create “patches” for the scarecrow’s clothing. Put a little raffia around his hands and neck, and display them on the bulletin board. You can also add a green background to look like a garden.
Skeletons bulletin board
This is an inexpensive Halloween bulletin board and is a great way to correspond with a unit on the body. Purchase black construction paper and assorted pasta. If you can find a bag that contains spiral, penne, elbow macaroni, and bowtie pasta, that’s pretty much all you will need. Using black construction paper as a background, use the pasta to make skeletons. An idea is spiral pasta for spine, penne for arms and legs, elbow pasta for ribs, and bowtie pasta for the hip bone.
Bulletin boards are a great way to add a little spice to your classroom, especially during seasons and holidays like Halloween. And, they need not be expensive. There are many inexpensive Halloween bulletin board ideas that won’t cost you much in materials; in many cases you can use things you already have lying around.
