DIY word wall

My newly built classroom did not come with any bulletin boards!  I mean seriously, who designs these rooms!  I took matters into my own hands and made my own bulletin board for both my calendar area AND my word wall.  I used foam core sheets I got at Dollar Tree, wrapping paper from Walmart, and glue dots from a craft store.  I also got some cool ribbon from Michael's when they put it on sale to use as dividers.

First I decided on how many sheets of foam core board to use.  I chose 8 because you can easily divide it into 3 parts each for 24 parts.  I double-up W/X and Y/Z.  Then I wrapped the boards in wrapping paper like I would a package.  Then I added glue dots--3 on the short side of the board and 6 on the long side.  I lined up the boards with the seam on my walls and pressed them into place.  Next I took the ribbon I had found and covered up the seams, top, bottom, and sides of the boards.  Last I took a smaller ribbon and divided the boards into thirds then added letters I had found on a blog.  And voila--instant, very cute, wordwall!!!

I stapled words onto it as we added them.  Since I had made the word wall myself, I was able to hang it at a level where the children could truly interact with it.  It has stood up the whole year despite several temper tantrums involving desks, chairs, and little bodies being tossed against it.  The only thing I've had to redo was to restaple the ribbon a few times when that occurred.