{In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day coming up on September 19th, we found some super fun pirate themed bulletin boards that would work great in any early childhood or upper elementary classroom! ...Not to mention, they'd be perfect if you're planning to create an entire pirate classroom theme this year!}

We're always super impressed with decorating genius of first grade teacher, Jennifer White, over at First Grade Blue Skies and her pirate designs from this past school year did not disappoint! We just love the bright and festive colors, the awesome handmade accents, and how she personalized her hallway board with pictures of her new little 'scalawags'!

These Argh Great Kids!

From the hand made pirate to the colorful eclectic lettering and whimsical polka dots, this pirate themed door display is just the design to welcome your new kiddos to the 'ship'! It just screams, FUN! Knowing Jennifer, she probably freehanded the pirate, but if that seems like a daunting task, we suggest finding a clip art image online to enlarge, trace, and paint using your classroom projector system. The rest is easy peasy!

Argh You Ready For First Grade?!

Here's another simple design, but we're in love with the details - the photos of each student dressed like a pirate, the ship banner proclaiming entrance on the "S.S. White", and the handmade pirate ship!

• Background: Cover the top two-thirds of the board with red bulletin board paper. Add royal blue background paper to the rest of the board, using scissors to scallop the top edge to make it look like 'waves'.
• Title: "Argh You Ready For First Grade?!"
• Border: Colorful polka dot trimmer.
• Decoration: Draw the ship freehand or find the clip art image of a pirate ship online to enlarge and trace onto brown and white bulletin board paper using your classroom projector system, using markers to add detailing to the accent. Along with the pirate ship, Jennifer also added fun hand drawn pirate and treasure map accents. We suggest finding and printing clip art onto white card stock, or again, using your classroom projector system to enlarge, trace, and create the elements. At "Meet the Teacher" night or on the first day of school, have a photo shoot with your kiddos, providing pirate hats, eye patches and vests for your new students to dress up in. Finish off the board by printing out the photos, cutting them out, and placing them along the rail of the pirate ship!