ROOM DECORATIONS
by Gloria Mitchell

You can recognize an effective teacher’s classroom the moment you enter. Their walls speak to you.
Great teachers make it easy.- Behind every well-decorated classroom are hours of careful planning and research for ideas. Even the veteran teacher must spend time researching and planning to make their room attractive and an effective teaching atmosphere.

YOUR ROOM TALKS
What does your room say the moment you walk into it? Does it say, “Welcome, come on in!” What your room says to the child at a glance is how he will react in the classroom. If you want good behavior, you must create a good behavior atmosphere. When the room is “blah,” it is telling the child that the teacher has no interest in him. It says, “I don’t care. Go ahead, and act anyway you want to.”

CAPTIONS
Word captions play an important part in room decorations. Your walls must say something. These walls are not for decoration only….they must tell that child a message.
Job 6:25 – How forcible are the right words.
Proverbs 25:11 – A word fitly spoken is like apples of
gold in a picture of silver.
Choose a few important words to convey a good, clear thought at a glance. LETTERING
The lettering should he large enough to be read from a distance. Avoid placing words too close together. Space them where they can be easily identified. The best style to use for the younger classes is the block or script.

There are many styles and sizes that can be purchased through any school supply store. The letters can also be made by using a stencil. Letters may be used over and over again. A good idea: would be to preserve them by covering them with contact paper. If contact paper is not used, then you can lengthen the life of the letter by backing it with masking tape. Start with a file of ten of each vowel, and five of each consonant in several different colors. Various types of materials can be used for the letters. Some ideas are:
1. Construction paper
2. Oil cloth
3. Gift wrapping paper
4. Brightly colored magazine covers
5. Newspaper
6. Blotter paper
7. Felt
…….the resources are unlimited!

BACKGROUND
When a bulletin board is full of pinholes, it makes a nicer looking board if it is covered with something. Having a good background is important. What can be used?
1. White paper
2. Construction paper
3. Burlap
4. Garbage bags (black inside)
5. Shelf paper
6. Flannel
7. Any type of solid color material
PICTURES
Choose pictures according to the size of your bulletin board or wall. Small pictures can be enlarged on an overhead projector or a projector-scope.
Follow these steps:
1. Enlarge the character (black and white; simple pictures are best) Projector-scope….pictures must be small to fit under machine. Overhead…..pictures must be transferred to transparency, then enlarged.
2, Trace with a pencil.
3. Paint with tempera paint.
4. Outline with black felt marker.

DECORATING CENTERS
There are four basic centers that can be used for the upper grades: nature, books, travel (missions), and communication. For the lower grades, you will want to add: housekeeping and blocks.
After choosing the center, you must then decide what you will use for decoration (teaching.) Examples as follows:

NATURE
You have chosen horses for your theme. You then start searching for the horses to enlarge to decorate your walls. Your center displays would be of things that pertain to horses. For example:
1. Saddles
2. Spurs
3. Throw blankets
4. Bridles or reins.
These pictures will be painted with tempera paint to give life to the room. Always have a caption. Example: “Don’t horse around with God.”
Other nature ideas:
1. Animals of all kinds
2. Trees
3. Flowers
4. Lakes
5. Mountains
6. Food
7. Anything that is nature.

COMMUNICATION
For this center you will choose a media of communication. Enlarge the picture and color with tempera paint. For example, you have chosen the U.S. Mail. You might:
1. Enlarge a picture of a Post Office
2. Mail Man
3. Mail Truck
4. Fix a a rural mail box of cardboard. (Or, use an old
one.)
5. Letters.
Any or all of these can also be used for the center table displays and walls.
Other communication ideas:
1. Mouth
2. S.O.S.
3. Radar
4. Pony Express
5. Billboards
6. Newspaper
7. Communication at Sea; flags, whistles, Morse code.
8. Telephone
9. Computer
10. Satellite

TRAVEL
First, you would choose the country (or missionary) you desire to use. Decorate the walls and fix center displays with things that pertain to that country. Also, the mode of travel in which you would go to the country, and the mode of travel used in the country. You can fix card board replicas of the houses they live in. (For instance, for Africa you could fix huts.) Go to the library and get information on the country, and collect as many things as you can that would represent that land. The food they eat and the clothing they wear is great to use for displays. An enlarged map of the country is great for Juniors and Jr. High. Remember that color is important after enlarging the pictures, paint them with tempera paint. All of this make the learning situation true to life
BOOKS
Use any theme for this center to decorate your walls with. You have your book case for your center display. But, keep in mind you must go to the library and get new books to keep a fresh look at all times. Also, use books that go along with the lesson being taught. Example: Have
a picture of a boy or girl flying a kite. To make it more real, put a real kite up on the wall, and string down to the child’s hands. Word captions are important, remember. For this one, you might use: FLY HIGH!

READ BOOKS!
FOR A SMALL ROOM
If you feel your room is too small for centers, you can choose a theme for the entire room. By doing this, you will be operating one center at a time. For example: You choose missions:
1. You have chosen to be missionaries to the Indians
(Choose tribe.)
2. Fix the room up with things about Indians. Such as :
A. Teepee
B. Moccasins
c. Arrows
D. Drums
E. Indian Jewelry
F. Indian Language (sign)
G. Indian clothing (Made of sack cloth)
To make the emblems, trace figures onto thin paper, then, make a cardboard pattern. Cut out felt to the pattern. Fasten safety pin on back with surgical tape, leaving one side free to open for fastening. The emblem will be worn each week to designate the tribe they Belong to.
The war bonnet ) was worn by brave warriors who had done exploits in battle. They were made of eagle feathers.

The arrowhead was used in bow and arrow hunting and fighting, and was made of rock, bone, antler tips, flint, and sometimes, even copper.

The Dakota Tribe named the teepee the dwelling place of the Plains Indians. The word is “tipi,” which means “the place where one lives.”

The buffalo was the most important animal to the Indians, providing him with food, clothing, shelter, weapons, and warmth. Millions of buffaloes ranged the Plains west of the Mississippi in our early history. The Indians used every part of the buffalo in some way.

Information about the Tribe you have chosen can be obtained at the library.

A good source for practical stories is, “Straight Arrows for God,” by Doris Louise Seger.

Learning is fun when you make it fun.

Let the children dress up every Sunday. They will wear their badges every Sunday. Fix your games centered around Indians to reinforce your lesson. The environment contributes to their learning.

WORSHIP CAPTIONS

CAPTION USE

We All Love Sunday School Boys and girls all over  the world.

God Made People Different, Same as above.
But, He Loves Them ALL!

True Happiness is Knowing Jesus Large flowers

Are You Growing? Same as above.
In flower center:
1. In Prayer
2. In Faith
3. In Love

The Light of the World is Jesus Candle and picture of Jesus with dark Background.

Your Life is Like a Puzzle…..Let Jesus Put It Together for You Enlarged puzzle pieces  with picture of Jesus

Whooooooo will worship? Owl on limb

A Wheelbarrow must be pushed into serving……must you? Boy pushing a wheelbarrow

Dial-A-Prayer Large telephone with captions on receiver off the hook

Fill up at God’s House Have gas stations pumps and car with Bible and Church.