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18 September Bulletin Boards To Start the Year Off Right

Apples and school buses and scarecrows … Oh, my!

Examples of September bulletin boards including a 3-D backpack with supplies and 3-D owls in a tree
By Kristy Zamagni-Twomey
Aug 15, 2022

Whether you’re a new teacher decorating your first classroom or a veteran teacher looking for fresh ideas, it can be difficult to come up with creative bulletin boards. September is a beautiful month full of inspiring imagery like apples, scarecrows, and colorful foliage. School-themed images like school buses, backpacks, crayons, and more can also inspire amazing bulletin boards. You could also consider a bulletin board honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. We’ve found some of the best September bulletin board ideas to grab your new students’ attention. Check out this list of 18 of our favorites.

1. 3D Autumn Owls

A classroom door is covered in blue paper with a brown construction paper tree. Fifteen or so owls are on the tree and are made of brown paper bags with big google eyes. Fall foliage is also shown.

Brown paper bags is owl you’ll need to spruce up your classroom door this fall! Students will undoubtedly love creating these little owls themselves and sticking them to the door.

Source: Splendid Little Stars Blog

2. Kickin’ It With School and Soccer

A green background has white lettering that says "Kickin' it in 2nd grade!" There are a pile of different colored soccer balls underneath with names on them.

Fall means soccer season for a lot of kids. Kick up your decor a notch with this fun board, and don’t forget to include your students’ names on the soccer balls!

Source: 4th Grade Flair

3. Welcome Worms

An example of September bulletin board ideas is shown with a red background and a welcome banner. Four different colored caterpillars are crawling across the bottom. A table is also shown with a picture frame that says "A is for Apple."

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Apples are the perfect inspiration for September bulletin board ideas since they are classic images for both fall and school. Add a table and some props like Leigh from The Applicious Teacher did.

Source: The Applicious Teacher

4. Raise Your Hands for Hispanic Heritage Month

A bulletin board reads Hispanic Heritage Month in black letters on a white background. Ten hands are created from a number of different flags. There are several photos of famous people of Hispanic descent.

Since Hispanic Heritage Month starts in September, why not create a bulletin board that utilizes flags from Spanish-speaking countries like the hands in this one from Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Connecticut?

Source: Bulkeley High School

5. School Is Unbe-LEAF-able

An example of September bulletin board ideas features a large tree with many orange, red, and yellow leaves. "Kindergarten is unbeleafable!" is shown across the tree in green, yellow, brown, and orange writing.

Easy to re-create, all you need to build this cute bulletin board is some construction paper and a Sharpie. This cute play on words will certainly delight your little learners.

Source: Mrs. Ayala’s Kinder Fun

6. Scarecrows Stuffed With Fun

An example of September bulletin board ideas says "Kindergarten is STUFFED with fun." It shows 6 scarecrows made of construction paper with actual photos for faces of the teachers.

Students will probably be nervous on the first day of school, so why not greet them with a friendly face or two? Since this board is geared toward younger audiences, it would be perfect in a preschool or elementary school hallway.

Source: The Ordinary Mom

7. Squirrel Writing Prompts

A bulletin board is shown with a neon green background. Little brown squirrels with 3-D bushy tails are shown holding acorns that have the writing prompt, "in the fall." Each squirrel and acorn is labeled with a student's name.

Have students fill in the fall writing prompt on these cute acorns before displaying them on your bulletin board. Kids will have fun creating a bushy tail for their squirrel out of brown tissue paper.

Source: Kindergarten Korner by Casey

8. A Window Into Your Classroom

A bulletin board shows the front of a yellow school bus with the words "Rollin in 2 Room 10" The window of the school bus has photos of all of the students in the class.

This has to be the cutest classroom door idea we have ever seen! Use photos of your students to personalize this door so everyone knows who is rollin’ in your classroom.

Source: Sharing Kindergarten

9. A Colorful Statement Piece

The left side of a bulletin board has a large outline of a face with a unibrow and lips as the only features. The headpiece is created from multi-color, 3-d tissue paper flowers. Various photos of Frida Kahlo are included.

Honor a famous Latina like artist Frida Kahlo for Hispanic Heritage Month while also adding a fun splash of color to your classroom! Students will surely take inspiration from learning about Kahlo’s struggles as well as her talent.

Source: The Citizen

10. Bushel Full of Apples

A September themed bulletin board shows a tree on the left hand side. A basket reads "A Bushel of Collective Nouns." There are apples in the large basket as well as smaller ones and apples in the tree. The apples have students' drawings and writings on them.

Take a bite out of this apple-themed bulletin board that also teaches an ELA lesson. Students will enjoy seeing their work proudly on display.

Source: Around the Kampfire

11. Shades of Fall Vocabulary

Shades of fall are in orange, red, and yellow lettering across the top of the September bulletin board. Bats and owls hold drawings and writing papers that have been completed by students.

Use this “Shades of Fall” bulletin board idea to teach about synonyms and the shades of meaning that similar words have.

Source: Around the Kampfire

12. We Are the Brightest Crayons

A purple background has the words "we are the brightest crayons in the box" with a crayon box and several different colored crayons around it.

A positive message can go a long way to creating an uplifting classroom environment, especially during the first few weeks of school. Since everyone loves a fresh box of crayons, what better theme to go with for a bulletin board?

Source: Firstieland

13. Backpack-Themed Welcome

A September bulletin board has the words "welcome to room 109" across the top. About 20 brightly colored backpacks are shown on the board and they have flaps in them with actual papers sticking out.

Students will feel particularly welcome in their new classroom once they locate their backpack on this fun back-to-school bulletin board. What’s more fun than these interactive flaps with actual papers coming out of them?

Source: Hannah Rebecca/Pinterest

14. Bus Safety Incentive

A woman stands beside a bulletin board of a yellow school bus with black words on it that say learn, safe, and helpful. There are bubbles with headlines like be respectful and bulleted items underneath.

Since buses can sometimes be a hotbed of less-than-great behavior, a board like this one in the school hallways will remind students about bus etiquette. Take a cue from Indian Lake Schools in Ohio and reward students accordingly for good behavior.

Source: Indian Lake Schools

15. Apple Art Display

A black September bulletin board has 13 construction paper apple cores hanging from clothespins. Names are under each core in brightly colored letters.

A cute, fall-themed bulletin board that also doubles as an art display? Yes, please. Use clothespins and string to hold the art until it is time to change it out next month.

Source: First and Kinder Blue Skies

16. Hispanic Heritage Writing Prompts

A wall has a hand drawn sign that says Celebrate Hispanic Heritage. There are roughly 50 writing assignments hanging up that are on a number of different famous people of Hispanic descent.A close-up is shown of writing prompts on famous Hispanic people.

Have your students help create a large display in order to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.  Create or find a template for students to create biographies of various famous people of Hispanic descent to hang up during the month.

Source: North Park Elementary School

17. Falling Back to School

A bulletin board shows a tree with brightly colored fall leaves. A sun and school bus are also present. The words Falling back to school are on the board.

This is a fairly simple bulletin board with a cute play on words. Have a Cricut machine? You can try your hand at making a cute sun and school bus like the ones shown here.

Source: 123 Learn Online

18. Magical Mystery 3D Backpack

A September bulletin board has a black background with white writing that says "welcome to a magical year." A real, clear backpack has actual school supplies appearing to spill out of it across the board including a pencil case and folders.

This idea will stop students (and maybe even other teachers) in their tracks. Attach real school supplies like this clear backpack to your board. Use hot glue to make it look like pencils and crayons are magically staying put inside their pencil box. Finally, don’t forget to add some magical touches like a wand.

Source: Teacher Blog Spot

What are your favorite September bulletin board ideas? Share them in our WeAreTeachers Facebook group!

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18 September Bulletin Boards To Start the Year Off Right