25 Cute Elementary Classroom Themes (12 from my own school!)

If you teach little ones, you probably feel the pressure to have an exciting new classroom theme every year, even if it’s just coordinating the colors in your space. These are some cute elementary classroom themes if you’re due for a change! 

Why is it important to have a cute elementary classroom theme?

Classroom themes can give students a sense of shared identity. In the first weeks of a new school year, elementary school kids will talk about their classrooms on the playground. 

It’s also helpful when you’re trying to decorate your classroom to have a predictable color scheme or thematic elements. Otherwise, every decision as you set up can feel like a big deal. Choosing a focus at the beginning can actually reduce decision fatigue as you set up your classroom.

However, having a cohesive theme certainly is not necessary. Don’t let the social pressure in elementary schools to have a classroom theme overwhelm you. The important thing is to build a learning environment that feels safe, welcoming, and focused on growth. 

Your top priorities should be classroom organization to keep you sane, having clear pathways for kids to travel, and you should think about your classroom management style as you set up your classroom space.

For example, where will kids line up to leave the room? Where will they sit as they eat breakfast? Will they be checking out books from your classroom library? If you think through some of these elements, decorating should become more clear.  

Classroom Themes to Try

Without further adieu, here are some of the fun themes I saw as I walked around classrooms at the start of the year.

Camping Classroom Themes

This teacher chose camping and did a fabulous job integrating the theme throughout her room. Because she keeps a very tidy, minimal classroom, updating her theme each year is easy. A few simple swaps can change the entire appearance of the classroom. 

Her space also has a calming effect on kids because there aren’t too many visual distractions. 

The “Write Stuff” Pencil Classroom Theme

This teacher had fun with a pencil and paper theme this year. She loves bright colors, but adding in this rocking and reading chair facelift was a fun addition to her space.

If you go with this theme, you can decorate your door with “We’ve got the write stuff” or “We are a sharp bunch.” You can easily find a bulletin board kit to match this theme on TPT.

Happiness Blooms Classroom Theme

This second grade teacher made a colorful door, but kept the interior of her room very calming with neutral colors. Still, a select few of those oversized flowers added a pop of color in the corners of her room and gave it a cohesive look. 

Encanto

Our campus is dual language, and 35% of our students are enrolled in dual language classes. For that reason, we all went a little nuts over both Encanto and Coco in recent years. I love the butterflies and beautiful flowers in this class. Using popular yet wholesome movies and t.v. characters is a great way to get the kids’ attention and engagement. 

Feelin’ Groovy

This teacher matches her classroom to her personal style. It’s not unusual for her to wear thrifted clothes from the 1960s and 1970s, and she pulls it off well!

Her room theme matches, and it’s so fun! Check out these borders that you can add.

Farmhouse and Buffalo Check

This teacher prefers a more subdued look, and since we’re in west Texas, the country farmhouse vibe absolutely works. One simple way to pull off this look is with lots of dark graphite paint. The space feels very quiet and comfortable. 

Rainbow Brights

This is a kindergarten rainbow classroom. Many of our kids are in school for the first time. Everything feels happy, happy, happy because of the vibrant colors and matching bulletin boards!

She has carried this theme through the smallest details. But remember – if it’s not fun for you, don’t do it! 

Notice below how this teacher took the edge off her fluorescent lights by adding a fabric with clouds on it. If you look closely, you can even see homemade clouds hanging from her ceiling.

Grow Your Own Way

These mushrooms and flowers also have a groovy appeal.

Secret Garden

I love this teacher’s take on a secret garden. She has fabulous windows all around her door, but she keeps them covered for safety reasons. By creating a hedge and flowers around her door, it feels much less scary and instead gives off a sweetly mysterious vibe. This fun theme would be so easy to carry throughout the whole classroom. You can even purchase artificial turf to use as a classroom carpet or in select spots around your room. It’s such an easy way to carry a theme! 

Mountains Growth Mindset Theme

Mountains remind us of reaching upward and growing. This teacher used some simple washi tape to create visual interest in the corner of her room.

Coco

This is a dual language classroom where almost every student is Hispanic. I love the way this teacher leaned into her students’ culture, and everyone loves Coco!

Dots

If you want to make your space look super fun, add dots! See that dotty space behind her SmartBoard? Believe it or not, that was an old fashioned green chalkboard that was NOT gelling with the rest of her classroom. This dotty paper is available at Target.

The No Classroom Theme Balloon Room

Well, here’s my old classroom. I never really had a theme, but most of our organization revolved around those fun balloons. Kids were grouped from the start of the year not by table numbers (since I didn’t have tables), but instead by their balloon.

I would say things like, “Clovers, please line up first. Unicorns, can you please quickly pick up trash? Rainbows, you’re in charge of sanitizing desks.” It worked great! No matter where kids sat in the classroom, their group remained the same.

I wanted to show you my old room because I think it’s a good example of a thoughtfully designed classroom without a theme.

If you’re looking for more inspiration from around the internet, check out these fun ideas! Any of these can be turned into something that kids will enjoy.

The question is – will you be sick of it by December? Be thoughtful about how long you’ll enjoy the theme. Some teachers genuinely love setting up a new classroom theme each August. But if that’s not your jam, try to choose something that will stand the test of time. 

More Cute Elementary Classroom Themes to Try

The themes below are pretty common, so you can find lots of inspiration around the internet. Check these out!

• Jungle Theme Classroom
• Nautical Classroom Theme
• Farm Classroom Theme
• Patriotic Classroom Theme
• Travel Classroom Theme
• Pirate Classroom Theme
• Circus Classroom Theme
• Western Classroom Theme
• Safari Classroom Theme
• Fairy Tales Classroom Theme
• Superhero Classroom Theme
• Owl Classroom Theme

How do I choose a theme for my classroom?

I think the most important factors to consider when you’re choosing a classroom theme are budget, longevity, uniqueness, campus culture, and how stimulating it will be for you and your students. 

Budget

If you’ve got a really cool idea for a classroom theme that you’ve seen on Pinterest, but it’s going to require your family to make meaningful sacrifices, that’s not a great idea. If your classroom theme is going to require you to toss everything you own and start over, consider smaller changes over time.

Longevity

The last thing you need is to be changing out every single border, background, and all the signage in your room every single year. When you choose a new theme, consider how long you’ll want to keep it, and how much you’ll have to change in year 1.

Ideally, you’d choose a classroom theme that you can enjoy for several years. You can keep adding and making smaller changes each year without feeling the pressure of a complete overhaul each July and August.

Stimulation

For a while, every classroom in elementary schools was bright and bold colors everywhere you turned. While that’s still popular, it’s now more common to have a palette of neutral colors that are a bit more calming. It’s really up to you!

Most of the examples below are pretty stimulating, but if you’re looking for something calmer, check out the following zen classroom themes.

• Eucalyptus and Lavender Theme
• Coastal Vibes Theme
• Beach Classroom Theme
• Nature Theme

Uniqueness

It can be fun to show off to your teammates and fellow teachers a truly unique classroom, but it shouldn’t be the driving force behind your decision. Just decide for yourself whether or not that’s important.

If you’d like to choose something totally different from your peers, cruise around your campus building and see what ideas are already being used. Plus, it’s fun to gather inspiration from friends.

Campus Culture

At our own school, we have a ton of classrooms themes featuring plants, flowers, and other things that GROW. 

That’s because we are so proud as a campus to have recently grown from a D-rated school to a B rated school. Our rating wasn’t because our kids had spectacular achievement relative to their peers in wealthier neighborhoods; we still have a lot of room to improve. Rather, our B rating was due to how much we GREW. 

Campus growth, growth mindset, and setting goals are so important to our culture, so teachers naturally reflected that attitude in their classroom decor this year. 

Also, many campuses do have school-wide themes that change each year. For example, one area school here had a Rock and Roll theme, and every teacher had to incorporate that in some way. So if you’re signing on with a new school, try not to get too carried away in your classroom theme planning until you know whether or not your campuses will share a theme. 

School Mascot

If you’re wanting something you can use for many years in a row, consider a school mascot theme! It’s so easy. You already know your school’s colors and the mascot, so there’s not much thinking involved. The best part is that you can search for your school’s mascot in TPT and find tons of resources.