I'm working on using more recycled materials in the classroom. This includes using our huge roll of kraft brown paper as a backing on the boards to make them more organic looking. Plus it's the only huge paper we have. This is my first wall-it's our word wall. I'm slowly re-doing the whole room, but it's taking a looooong time. What kind of border should I use? I'm using a pallet of brown and shades of olive green all around in my labels/signs/etc. I was thinking strips of newspaper, or maybe a green border with something texturized glued to it. Or maybe strips of tin foil. I'm not sold on any of those ideas. What do you guys think?
I'm literally thinking of "green".. vines? green paper with one edge cut up to look like grass? Thats all I got this late... I'll keep thinking...
What about using fabric? You could use fabric as the backing for your bulletin boards as well. Then at the end of the year you wash them and re-hang them.
How about grocery plastic bags? You can twist them into a vine and if you use some colorful ones, they might be cute.
How about cutting it off straighter at the bottom so that you can just use paint and stamp a border around it?
Jem, The letters are cute but are they so big you won't have much room for the words? Ideas for borders include old adding machine tape the kids can decorate, what about using environmental print and cutting up cereal boxes, etc. into strips or squares, eucalyptus bark, twigs, ?, tinted coffee filters cut in half for a scalloped look? I am glad you started this thread because I don't want to use my teacher store type borders next year and I am trying to think of options. I want to see it when it is done. Oh, I mentioned to someone I wanted crystals to hang in the window for the light to shine through and someone said they had an old chandelier sitting in the garage for 10 years they HATED and they brought it to me today. It had over 30 beautiful large teardrop crystals. I almost hated taking it apart cause it was solid brass, very old but you gotta do what you gotta do....I also went to a local bike store and they are going to give me some bike wheels they can't repair so I can do the craft you mentioned.
Jem-I really admire you. You are such a go-getter, and full of energy. I have said it before, but with everything you are doing I really don't know how you do it. Anyway, I don't have any suggestions for your bulletin board, but I can't wait to see it when it is completed.
I don't like the way the newspaper looks, our school did "green" bulletin boards this month and many used newspaper as backing or borders and I didn't love it. The work seemed lost. There were others that were great...I like the plastic grocery bag idea.
Can you challenge your students to each bring in something "green" to help? Give them specific measurements (2 feet x 4 inches??) and see what they bring. If you don't like newspaper, eliminate that by saying no newspaper. I had some wonderful white foamy sheets that came in a box of wine glasses, it would be cool to cut into strips - but it isn't very colorful. A braid of plastic grocery bags would be cool - see how many different colors you can get to come by asking the kids/parents to send in some.
I had a paraprofessional that had a great idea that we used last year. We used large fold-up maps, cut them into strips, and used them for a bulletin board boarder. It looked great! (We did laminate them). We also have teachers that use fabric as a background and thick ribbon as a border. I've given kids strips of paper, adding tape, the back of old bulletin board border, sentence strips, etc. and let them decorate them for borders. Build a border with a year of pics of your kids engaged in word work, using their word wall words in their writing, etc. Check out your local thrift shops, building thrift stores, etc. You'll never know what you might come up with! Good luck!
Have the kids hole punch old borders or scrap paper; the background will show through. Strips of sheet music or old books. Comic strips. Greeting cards or postcards. Rulers (when they are on sale in August). Use your old BB letters and staple directly on, or glue onto old border backs. Burlap. Plastic needlepoint canvas.
I love the idea of postcards! That would work great with a bulletin board for geography/social studies
I have a really nice set of commemorative postcards put out by the post office. They are enlargements of all of the "Love" stamps issued over the years. I always used them in Feb. Another idea would be to have the kids weave borders out of some kind of textiles. Weaving is cool when you weave in some natural things like shells.
Receipts from the grocery store? Don't create from new materials-reuse old stuff that would be thrown away...
Again, great ideas! I'm going to keep mulling these ideas-I'll need lots of border once we start 'taking over' the entire upper floor this summer. I like the receipts idea, and the stamping on the long paper. I want it to look very neat and clean-we have TONS of children's work and art everywhere and it's becoming overwhelming-we need to contain and bring and order to it so parents and students can process what they are looking at. I'm off to the beach tomorrow-I'm going to experiment with drying kelp. I like the idea of weaving shells into a braid of some sort-I'm going to collect a bunch of those as well. I'll report back soon. For the life of me, I cannot find my camera charger, so I hope it turns up soon....
How about corregated cardboard cut in a scallop pattern? Or comic strips? Or have your students decorate strips and use those? The environmental print is also a fun idea...
I find newspaper messy. How about old playing cards or wood from a picket fence? I also like easter basket fluffy stuff
I think grocery bags ironed flat to make more of a border. I've seen them make purses out of plastic store bags. Check youtube.
