Theme - Camping Theme

For math, you could use "Hiking Along the Math trail". Show a camper hiking among cutout rocks. On the rocks, put the different properties of numbers such as the identity property, associative property, etc. or put different math facts.

"Put Your Best Foot Forward" - Show hiking boots with classroom rules written on them

"Pack of Reading Words" (or math facts or anything else) - Use a hiker's backpack and show words (math facts, etc.) coming out of it.

What about..."S'more math facts" or "On the trail to success"? If I think of anymore, I'll post them. :-)

I like your idea about "warming up to a good book." I was going to do a similar thing in my room. How about having students put books they like on stars for the sky above the campfire. You could use snowflakes in winter and bugs in the spring. I like the idea of fireflies, too!


For math I thought I would put an eagle flying above all my math vocabulary posters, and put "A Bird's Eye View of Math."

I also thought I would have a Word Woods. On each of my windows I would put a tree trunk, and then have the students add leaves that fit the prefix or suffix we are studying- example words that use pre- . This would be part of my word study literacy station. I would use green leaves in August and September, switch to orange and brown for Oct. to Nov. Use snowflakes for winter, buds for spring. I could change the titles to things like- finding synonyms and antonyms, etc..

I teach 3rd grade and did the camping theme last year. I loved it. I suspended four green tarps shaped like tents from the ceiling over each of my groups. I had a 3D tree in my room with a tent for the reading area beside it. I had two tables with tree stump benches for my center locations. On my windows I painted the names of 4 reading groups, which were forest animals. My word wall had travel trailers each with a letter of the alphabet on it. My AR bullentin board were jeeps traveling up a mountain scene with bears and construction signs that were labeled wtih a certain amount of points on each. My students climbed the mountain by accumlating points until they reached the summit. I have an office attached to my room that I decorated like the outside of a log lodge office. We had lots of fun learning last year.

A teacher I work with did the camping theme last year. She used clip art of a tent and projected it on the wall to trace. She hot glued it to the wall and used it for her word wall. She did the same thing with clip art of campers and hikers and used them as accents around the room. "camping out in __ grade" was her title.:)

Here's a few of my ideas or ideas that I've found on the net:

Student Work BB:
S'More Good Work

BB to display student writing:
Campfire Tales

Accelerated REading BB:
Reading is a Picnic...I was going to have checkered fabric for a background, put the points on small paper plates and put the students' names on ants.

I haven't decided what to do for my helpers bb yet either. I guess you could always make it 'S'more good helpers' instead of using that for the student work bb. If you guys come up with an idea please let me know!

I did a camp theme last year, and I made a few pine trees, also, because I couldn't find any. I copied a clip art picture of some and traced them onto green and brown butcher paper from the overhead. It didn't take that long, because I only had to do the outline and then put the trees and trunks together. It probably took me about 30 minutes to make, cut out, and put together three trees. Just a thought! :)

Here are two ways I have made a tree:

1. Take three long pieces of brown bulletin board paper and crunch them up along the long side, separately. Then hold them together at one end on braid them together. Tie the top and bottom until you get it stapled or taped to the wall. Make the branches the same way. This works good to make a maple, oak, elm type tree.

2. Use a long carpet roll tube and put it over a 2x4, or 2x2, which is nailed to a base. Take lunch sacks and cut the bottoms off and slide over the tube and crunch down. Then use an old umbrella, remove the material and glue green leaves onto the ribs. Then put it in the top of the roll. This makes a good palm tree.

I've never attached photos here--givin' it a shot!

I found adorable battery operated lanterns (they look just like those green Coleman lanterns some of us take on camping trips), camp chairs, and other camping gear designed for children.
Other things that come to mind...

S'mores
lightening bugs
stars on the ceiling
a pretend fire ring in the library area
camp songs
backpacks to store themed booksHmmm...I was thinking of a western theme for next year. Now I'm thinking of going with camping! :)

I am having some trouble with the camping theme as well. Here is what I am doing so far:
Jobs--Nuts about helping (squirrel with acorns as the jobs)
Birthdays - Let's Celebrate S'More Birthdays (marshmallow will be the students names and the outside cookie will have the month
Homework - ?? not sure maybe -- Look who did their homework (binoculars)
Writing Board - Campfire Tales
Attendance - Whoooo's Here Today? (Owl around attendance chart)

Sign on door - Camping out in 4th grade