This colorful spring/summer bulletin board, with its vibrant hues and reminder of lazy summer days spent outdoors, is the perfect end of the school year display. Not only will it get your students excited about the coming summer months, it is a great way to remind them that they are a superb bunch of kids who have an exciting future ahead - in other words, you still think they're a "great catch"!

Dragonfly Crafts

The original craft makes use of dragonfly coloring pages/cutouts and markers. With just their bodies attached, the dragonfly wings are left to 'flutter' in the breeze, giving them a fun 3D effect. Consider using this 3D dragonfly craft template from CraftScope.com.

Fish Crafts

While a fish cutout/coloring page and markers will certainly do the trick, consider inviting your students to explore different materials when crafting.

• Try making a paper bowl fish. Cut lips, fins, and a tail from colored construction paper, attaching the lips and tail on opposite sides of the bowl and one fin on each of the other sides. Use craft paint, beads, glitter, and other craft embellishments to decorate the bowl, adding a large wiggle eye {on the side with the fish's lips} when dry to complete the craft.
• Try crafting a textured collage fish. Cover card stock fish cutouts with colorful cereal {fruit loops, rainbow rice krispies, etc.}, crafting beads, buttons, rice, cotton balls, or even salt/sand.
• Try making fingerprint fish. Armed with card stock fish cutouts and ink pads in assorted colors, invite your students to cover the shape with colorful fingerprints. You might also consider completing the same exercise with watercolor paper {instead of card stock} and, when finished, lightly spray the fish with water and see what happens.

"Great Catch" Bulletin Board

• Background: Light blue bulletin board paper.
• Title: "What A Great Catch!", "Our Students Are A Great Catch!", or " ___________ [Mrs. Nelson's Class, Room 103, etc.] is A Great Catch!".
• Border: Complimentary solid color trimmer, colorfully patterned bulletin board border, or spring/summer themed border.
• Decoration: 1) The 'Pond'. You'll need to draw or trace one log shape onto a long piece of brown bulletin board paper, several lilypads onto green construction paper, and several bunches of cattails onto brown and green construction paper. Attach the log in the center of the board, offset to one side, arranging the lilypads and bunches of cattails haphazardly throughout the 'pond'. [NOTE: While the original board did not do this, you might consider using the cattails to create more of a boundary between the pond and the sky by placing them side by side, starting at the log cutout and creating a line of cattails in the open space all the way to the opposite side of the bulletin board.] 2) The Frog. Draw or trace a frog shape onto a large piece of green construction paper or a scrap of green background paper. Create a 'fishing pole' from a small twig, tying a piece of yarn to one end. Attach a small worm cutout to the free end of the yarn. 3) The Fish & Dragonflies. Use your students' creations!

Do you have an "end of the year" decorating theme? We'd love to hear your ideas so be sure to leave us a comment below!