7 Tips for Creating a Tropical Classroom Theme

Welcome to another episode of Extreme Makeover Classroom Edition: Design Tips for a Tropical Classroom Theme.  All of the décor in this post is brought to you by the amazingly talented Melanie @schoolgirlstyle and Carson Dellosa Education.  I am super excited to partner with them again and share my latest classroom transformation with you.  Ladies and gentleman, I’d like to present all that is…

Simply Stylish Tropical!

This post contains affiliate links.  If you love the products you see as much as I do, head to Carson Dellosa’s Website and use promo code CASEY2022 to save 15% on your ENTIRE ORDER!

Why I Chose The Simply Stylish Tropical Classroom Theme

Schoolgirl Style’s classroom collections are every teacher’s dream, and that can make it hard to choose just one.  Carson Dellosa’s description of this collection had me sold.  It reads,  “Make every day feel like summer. Create a tropical paradise with the bright pops of color found in the Simply Stylish Tropical Collection.”  Summer year round and bright pops of color – yes, please!  Sign me up!

As a kindergarten teacher, I am passionate about creating a bright environment for my young learners.  I immediately fell in love with the color palette in this new collection.   It also has everything on my kindergarten teacher must-have checklist, which includes a print-style alphabet, a birthday board and a calendar set.  I couldn’t wait to get my hands on these beautiful products.

Here are my seven tips for creating your own tropical classroom oasis…

1.  Begin with Beautiful Borders

If you have been following my blog, you may know that I like to begin my classroom makeovers by picking the perfect border combos.  Here are a couple of combinations I used to create the most stunning frames for my tropical bulletin boards.  I love adding a double or triple border by mixing solids with fun patterns.  Another teacher tip is to layer the borders to give it a 3-D effect.  For example, the black and white scalloped border below is taped to a silver bulletin board edge.  It sits a bit higher than the pink scalloped border.  This gives it more dimension and looks so awesome in person!

I love these Black and White Awning Borders!

2.  Set the Stage for Your Tropical Classroom Theme

Work with the design of your room, and decide which areas you want to stand out.  For example, my Smart Board sits front and center in my classroom.  It’s a main focal point that I want the children to look at during interactive lessons.  I wanted to try something new by creating a frame around the edges of the board using the Black and White Simply Stylish Scalloped borders.  If you cut the edges of the corners just right, you can make it look like a picture frame.  Take a look.

I added some of the festive pineapple, flamingo, and flowered accents from this collection to the base of my stage.   The green colorful bins tied in well with the color scheme and are perfect for storing my read-aloud books for the week.  I also ordered some fun pom-poms to coordinate with the new classroom theme.  If you don’t have a smart board or stage, you can  frame your whiteboard with borders and hang the accents on the wall below.

3.  Create Your Calendar Board

A calendar set is a must-have for every primary teacher.  Meaningful math magic happens here!  In a five to ten minute period, students are exposed to a plethora of mathematical concepts all centered around the calendar.  For this reason, I make sure that my calendar display is always a featured board visible from my carpet.  I love everything about the Simply Stylish Tropical calendar set.

I displayed the months of the year on one of my mini-boards.

Next, I used the remaining components of the set on the board that sits to the right of the months.

Last, I created a Days of School Place Value Set (as shown to the right of the calendar and sold in my TPT Store).  I framed this with the tropical borders by School Girl Style to make it coordinate with the rest of the calendar elements.

Here’s how the two boards look side by side.

4.  Display Your Classroom Jobs

Jobs are always one of my kids’ favorite things about kindergarten.  The Classroom Jobs Bulletin Board Set from this collection does not disappoint.  The package includes a variety of  jobs along with blank pockets for you to write additional jobs.  I love the pineapple sticks for either writing students’ names or numbers on them.  Personally, I like to write student numbers so that I don’t have to change them year after year.  I simply rotate the jobs each week by moving the sticks left to right and top to bottom.

5.  Set Up Your Birthday Board

The Birthday Board is another essential for primary classrooms.  How beautiful is the Simply Stylish Tropical Birthday Set?!  Rather than writing on the cakes, I prefer to use mini-clothespins on the tops of the cakes.  Use a fine-tip marker to write the names and dates for your students’ birthdays.

6.  Scatter Coordinating Posters Around the Room

The coordinating posters and bulletin board sets from this collection are a great way to beautify your room on a budget.  Take a look at how I used some of these posters all around my room to create a clean, colorful, and cohesive look.

7.  Adding the Finishing Touches

Flamingos, palm trees, and pineapples- oh, my!  The accents that go with this collection are everything!  I scattered these decorative pieces throughout my classroom to complete the look.

Take a look at how everything came together…

The before and after speaks for itself…

Are you thinking about creating your own tropical paradise in your classroom or work from home space?  Head to Carson Dellosa Education to shop the Simply Stylish Tropical Collection today.

Use PROMO CODE CASEY2022 to save 15% on your entire order!

Head to my Instagram feed to see videos of this transformation in my story highlights!