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Burlap Chalkboard Classroom Decor

Chalkboard Classroom Decor

For the first time, I am working on a theme for my classroom. I decided against animals or a particular title, just because I know myself and I would be sick of it within a year (that can’t be cheap!). So, I originally planned on chalkboard and red.  However, after about a week of mulling that over, I changed my mind. Again. I am still sticking with chalkboard classroom decor (and adding burlap), and going for a home-y feel for my home away from home.

I love these table group supply tubs.  I bought them at Walmart my first year of teaching (in the laundry aisle!) and use them almost every day.  I assign one student at each table group the job of “Tub Person” and they are responsible for making sure it is stocked and organized, as well as retrieving the tub and putting it away when they need it.  I put glue, glue sticks, crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, stapler and tape dispenser in each tub. I also took a picture of an organized one and taped it to each tub so the kids knew what it should look like each time they put it back.  They are awesome. The only downside is that they are turquoise. A perfectly great color, but not black/burlap. So…spray paint time!

I brought them outside (we have had a BEAUTIFUL summer and it happened to not be raining, which doesn’t work well with spray paint).

A couple of coats of Krylon Fusion gloss black and voila…black!

And while I was at it, I decided to fix up my lil coffee table I already had in my room.  He served as a mailbox stand for the last 5 years, but now it is his time to SHINE as an actual coffee table.  Ladies and gentlemen, get a load of this makeover! Is he a whole new table or what?!

And if you didn’t already know, Chalkboard comes in SPRAY PAINT FORM. Halle-frickin-lujah for this or I wouldn’t have done it. I stuck with good ol Krylon and wasn’t disappointed. The top is chalkboard and the rest is just basic black spray paint we already had in the garage.

burlap chalkboard decor

So, my saint of a mom, always “knows a guy.” She’s the person people (not just me) call to ask for help with just about everything. So, instead of going to JoAnns and buying burlap, she hooked me up with some for FREE. I got a big ol bag of burlap bags from her friends’ son who works at a local coffee company here.

The goods:

 So, I laid the bags out and cut them to open them up, and cut off any colored parts while I was at it.

And here they are on my Word Wall bulletin board! I scrunched and stapled like a mad lady for what felt like hours (probably took me about 30 minutes total though).  The black background is actually fabric on top of corkboard…it doesn’t fade all year and you can reuse it over and over!

And here are the bulletin boards with stuff on them!

The Word Wall words are from my Chalkboard Sight Words pack (editable of course!).

Our daily schedule:

burlap chalkboard decor

 And here are the tubs all filled up and put back.

burlap chalkboard decor

 A view from the door. Check out the huge area rug I scored at a garage sale this weekend!

burlap chalkboard decor

I also purchased a few matching black pocket charts (yes, they do exist!) to go with my chalkboard theme. Click below to check them out.

 The chair was a gift from my host teacher.  It was red…until this weekend when I attacked it with flat black spray paint and added a burlap cover with my Mr.Tongass’ staple gun. The horseshoe table doubles as my desk and small group area. If you haven’t already thought of getting rid of your desk, I highly recommend it! I got rid of mine a couple of years ago and love it!

burlap chalkboard decor

I also spray painted my mailbox and this old globe. I plan on writing inspirational quotes with my white chalkboard marker (if I can find it…did you take it?!).

burlap chalkboard decor

And a close up with the binder-clip labels.

burlap chalkboard decor 

Supply table.

And with my line-up spots (also found in my Chalkboard Classroom Decor pack)

burlap chalkboard decor

I’m trying to go for a home-y feel, which is why my library has a couch, chaise, coffee and end tables! Doesn’t the chalkboard coffee table look great there? I love it.  Wouldn’t you want to read a book in this little library area?

burlap chalkboard decor

And I just updated the book tubs to include these Chalkboard Reading Level labels.

Do you have a reading program? Does it take up as much space as ours? Check out how I organize my weekly sight words, vocab words and sound spelling cards. They all have velcro so it’s a quick switch each week!

And the outside of my room is a sneak peek of what’s to come!

And I even made my own personal sign for the hallway–cute, right?

burlap chalkboard decor

And even my Calendar Math area got a chalkboard facelift!

And we added important days and holidays cards to add the the dates and count up to:

I laminated a few of the pieces to make them dry-erase friendly (the pieces that aren’t in a pocket chart have sticky magnet strips on the back so all of the pieces are easily moveable).

If you’re looking for a fun little matching chalkboard photo prop to do with your students (I made this to use with my own kiddo), you can grab this FREE editable first day of school poster in my Free Resource Library here.

 

first day of school sign

And now that my room is put together, you better believe I’ll be printing and cutting for the next few days! If you’re thinking about a Chalkboard and Burlap (or really any other color), you can check these resources out by clicking below. 

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31 Comments

  1. August 19, 2013 / 8:49 am

    Wow! You were busy in your room (and at home!). Everything looks great!! Your mom must know teachers are always spending their own money…how fun that she had a burlap connection!

    These are the girls from What the Teacher Wants, Natalie and Rachelle.

    tokyoshoes at hotmail dot com

    PS I am really debating about buying a mini-me…and I don't even blog, but think it would be really fun to have!!

    • August 19, 2013 / 2:44 pm

      I plan on using mine on my parent info packet cover, business and thank you cards, and my weekly newsletter ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. August 19, 2013 / 11:07 am

    There is no doubt, they are What the Teacher Wants teachers:
    #6- Natalie (with glasses)
    #7 – Rachelle

    Your room looks wonderful!!!

    [email protected]

  3. August 19, 2013 / 11:45 am

    Your room is… AMAZING!!! Oh my gosh! And I knew they were Natalie and Rachelle right away. HA! Loved the glasses! I don't know where to start with what I love most. OK- yes I do… Cheeks. Duh. After that- everything- chalkboard paint is brilliant. LOVE the Happy New Year hats. What a great idea! I want to read in your reading area! And I love that your mom "knows a guy"- that cracked me up. That burlap is amazing. And of course your sign is adorable. Thank you for sharing! ๐Ÿ™‚
    Carolyn
    Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together

    • August 19, 2013 / 2:42 pm

      Thank you! You seriously always have the nicest things to say. Will you come work with me? I'd love to have your kind of positivity around me in real life!

  4. August 19, 2013 / 2:15 pm

    Amazing room! Thanks for sharing two of my favorite people! I LOVE Rachelle and Natalie soooooo much!!!

  5. August 19, 2013 / 2:25 pm

    Ahhh!!! You are too sweet!!!! And… I totally have that skirt!

    • August 19, 2013 / 2:39 pm

      I found a pic online of you to draw you and you were wearing it, but then I couldn't find it again when it came time to add details! You would not believe the amount of time I spent googling last night to find that same photo haha!

      P.S. I'm glad you like!

  6. August 19, 2013 / 4:23 pm

    Love me some Rachelle and Natalie!!! Two sweet ladies!

  7. August 21, 2013 / 12:33 am

    Your room looks awesome. Looks like your ready to go!

    Jamie
    teachingtidbit.blogspot.com

  8. August 26, 2013 / 1:12 pm

    Love the Happy New Year hats, that's so clever!

  9. September 3, 2013 / 12:30 am

    Thank you so much for linking up with me. Your room is beautiful. I love the couch! We can't have that kind of furniture in our classrooms.
    Jessica

  10. July 25, 2015 / 1:33 pm

    Did the spray painted tubs last? Or did the paint come off?

  11. August 15, 2015 / 3:03 am

    I really like your room and I am doing this theme this year. I am a Dual Language teacher could I give you words that i could buy from you?

  12. August 15, 2015 / 3:03 am

    I really like your room and I am doing this theme this year. I am a Dual Language teacher could I give you words that i could buy from you?

  13. August 23, 2015 / 1:15 pm

    Love your PBIS matirx! Very simple, and the graphics reinforce the desired behaviors.

  14. January 13, 2016 / 11:02 am

    I really love reading and following your post as I find them extremely informative and interesting. This post is equally informative as well as interesting . Thank you for information you been putting on making your site such an interesting. Decoration

  15. Casey
    May 9, 2017 / 9:26 pm

    Love your classroom! Now that you had time to use the table bins that you spray painted black, how did the paint hold up? I also spray painted some plastic tubs and the taint kept wanting to scratch off. Wondering if you had the same issue or if my technique, number of coat or brand of paint is the reason. Thanks so much!

    • August 13, 2017 / 4:29 pm

      Hi Casey! They held up extremely well. I read several reviews before selecting that type of paint, so maybe that was it? I think I did maybe 2-3 coats of paint. I hope that helps! -Jen

  16. Anonymous
    August 5, 2017 / 7:22 pm

    Love your bulletin boards! Do you mind telling me where you got the fabric?

  17. Amy Neville
    August 29, 2018 / 8:02 am

    Your binder clips for your mailboxes…which Avery label number is that?

  18. Tanya Fredrick
    August 11, 2019 / 10:22 am

    Hi! I found your room on Pinterest. How wide did you cut your burlap for the bulletin board borders?

    • Jen
      Author
      August 11, 2019 / 12:16 pm

      Hi there! It was so long ago I honestly can’t remember, but if I had to guess I’d say they were 6 inches wide. I hope that helps!
      -Jen

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