WOULD YOU LIKE ACCESS TO ALL THE FREEBIES FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS? ➔

The free classroom decor guide which shares tips for elementary teachers to set up their classroom on a budget.

Create a Beautiful Classroom with the Help of this Freebie

Colorful Classroom Decor Ideas for Elementary Teachers in 2024

Not only does colorful classroom decor look beautiful in an elementary classroom, it can have tremendous implications for student learning. It’s true! Each color has characteristics that can impact students in different ways. Some colors increase productivity, while others promote creativity. In addition, colors in our environment can greatly impact our mood and ability to focus, which directly impact our ability to take in information and learn. As a result, having colorful classroom decor helps us create a pretty space and one that is optimized for student learning.

This blog post will answer the following questions:

  • What are the benefits of a colorful classroom?
  • Does color affect learning?
  • What colors promote learning?
  • What colors help students focus?
  • Which color improves memory?
  • What is the most calming color for a classroom?
  • How can I make my classroom more colorful?
colorful paint chips and buckets of paint

10 Benefits of a Colorful Classroom

Color impacts students both mentally and physically. As a result, it’s important to carefully select your color choices as you set up your classroom. Before selecting your colors for your colorful classroom theme, read about the tons of benefits of having a colorful classroom theme below:

1. Creates an aesthetically pleasing space

Using colorful decorations helps create a beautiful learning environment that you and your students will look forward to entering each morning.

2. Improves you and your students’ mood

Our classroom’s physical environment directly impacts students’ moods and feelings. When a student is in a good mood and good place mentally, they are more likely to be able to take in and remember information being presented to them. Each color has a specific effect on students’ moods, so it’s important to carefully select appropriate colors.

3. Brighter, happier place

Having a colorful classroom creates a bright, happy space for students to learn in. When you just have the bare bones that a school district typically provides, it does not provide the same type of learning environment for students.

4. Improves you and your students’ ability to focus

There are specific colors that promote concentration and attention that you can use to support your students. For example, blue is a great color for increasing students’ ability to focus.

girl smiling and boy resting his head on his desk

5. Improves students’ memory

There are specific colors that help students remember information better. For example, bright colors like orange are great for boosting memory.

6. Increases students’ creativity

There are specific colors that boost students’ creativity. For example, cheerful colors like yellow are great for promoting creativity in the classroom.

7. Improves organization

A great part of having a colorful classroom is that it lends itself to lots of color coding opportunities. Some ideas of things you can color code are your Guided Math Workshop groups, student tables, and subject folders.

8. Increases motivation

Colors have the power to increase students’ motivation, which is very helpful when students are working on tasks that are not of high interest to them or are challenging for them.

9. Improves behavior

Selecting colors based on your students’ needs is a great way to manage behavior and support your students. For example, some school years you will find you have a very active group of kids who benefit from a quiet, soothing environment. You may want to incorporate blues, greens, and purples in your classroom.

10. Positively Impacts academic performance

Color can directly impact your students’ learning, which is why it is incredibly important to select colors for your classroom theme carefully and purposefully.

Does color affect learning?

Yes! Color impacts student learning. For example, colors in the classroom environment can maximize information retention, boost participation, and increase concentration. Read about how each color can impact student learning in the section below (to help you choose which colorful classroom decor theme is best for your room)!

boy throwing a paper airplane and students laughing

What colors promote learning?

The following colors promote learning:

Red

The color red can energize students by increasing levels of excitement and encouraging creativity. When students are excited about learning, they are more engaged. A great way to use this color is when students are working on repetitive or difficult tasks. It helps students persevere and work through challenging learning experiences.

red classroom decororange classroom decor

Orange

The color orange can improve students’ mood, critical thinking capacity, and memory. This bright color also grabs students’ attention. A great way to use this color is to put math facts on orange flashcards to strengthen math fact fluency during math centers.

Yellow

The color yellow can generate positive energy in your classroom and promote creativity. It is a happy color! Similar to orange, this bright color grabs students’ attention. A great way to use this color is as an accent around your classroom, as well as for door decor and welcome bulletin board decorations. This will instill a positive feeling when your students enter the classroom. Another good way to use this color is to put a border around your main display area. This will help students maintain their focus on one of the most important instructional areas in your room.

yellow classroom decorgreen classroom decor

Green

The color green can promote a sense of peace, calm, and relaxation. These feelings lead to higher levels of concentration. As a result, you can use this color all over your room in large amounts to create a calm learning environment.

Blue

The color blue is similar to green in that it promotes a sense of peace and calm. It is also great for maximizing productivity. This is another great color that can be used all over your classroom in large amounts.

blue classroom decorpurple classroom decor

Purple

The color purple is another calm and peaceful color that creates a comfortable learning environment for students. A great way you can use this color is for individual student privacy dividers when students are working on an assessment.

What colors help students focus?

There are several colors that help improve students’ focus. The most popular color that helps students focus is yellow, but green and blue are also good for increasing attention levels.

What color improves memory?

There are several colors that help improve students’ memory. The most popular color that helps students retain information is orange.

What is the most calming color for a classroom?

There are several colors that help create a calm learning environment. The most calming color is green, but blue and purple are also calming colors.

lines of bright colors

How can I make my classroom more colorful?

You can make your classroom more colorful by doing the following:

  • Add colorful decorations as accents like pom poms, decorative fans, paper lanterns, bulletin board trim, and tassels. You can find all of these items on Amazon or at your local party store.
  • Select school supplies that follow your colorful classroom decor theme like file folders, hanging folders, paper clips, and binder clips. You can find all of these items on Amazon, Target, Walmart, Staples, or at a nearby local office supplies store.

Grab the Free Classroom Decor Guide!

We hope these colorful classroom decor ideas and information are helpful. Next, we would love for you to download our free elementary classroom decor guide. It offers some helpful tips and ideas as you begin setting up your elementary classroom for the new school year.

Did you know you can get unlimited access to ALL our decor bundles?

Share it:

Email
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

Get Your Classroom Decor FREEBIE!

classroom decor guide
This classroom decor guide includes helpful tips and ideas for decorating your classroom.