Some bulletin-board material for Thanksgiving

Remember how your classrooms looked when you were in elementary school and middle school? Your teachers were, of course, super-talented and super-creative people, but sometimes they needed a little help with all of those monthly and seasonal decorations.

Enter Hayes School Publishing Co., which has been producing materials to assist educators since 1940, according to its website.¹

Among the company's many offerings over the decades have been books filled with suggestions on how teachers can decorate their classrooms in fun and educational ways. At a used-book sale last summer, I picked up some of their old paperback books, including 1967's "Hayes Bulletin Boards That Teach with Wit and Humor"² and 1970's "Ideal Middle, Upper and High Bulletin Boards."³

Here are some of Hayes' suggestions for Thanksgiving-themed bulletin boards. The first two are from the 1967 book, and the final one is from the 1970 book.

Notes on November

Description from the book: "The special days of November are brought to the attention of students through this design. The border and lettering might be of blue construction paper, while the background could be white. The students could make small cut-paper pictures denoting the special events of November, while large 'tacks' may be cut from black construction paper and pasted to the background to 'hold' the pictures."

Now It's November

Description from the book: "Chalk, tempera paint or cut paper would be suitable media for this design on Thanksgiving. Try to include some three dimensional materials such as yarn for the border vine and perhaps real feathers for the turkey tail. A light blue background would contrast well with the bright autumn colors of the vegetables, leaves, and feathers. Students could illustrate the Thanksgiving story through small crayon pictures."

Tom Turkey's Invitation to Share

Description from the book: "The inscriptions on this scroll signify some of our thoughts during the Thanksgiving season. Red construction paper can be used for the background and a large sheet of white paper for the scroll. The scroll can be rolled and applied to the background in a 3-D manner. Yellow, orange, and black construction paper can be used for lettering. Fruit and turkey can be painted in tempera paint on white wrapping paper."

Footnotes
1. Hayes Publishing Co. is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These two books featured today indicate that Hayes Publishing was once located in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, a borough in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh.
2. "Hayes Bulletin Boards That Teach with Wit and Humor" was compiled and written by Edith Ray and illustrated by Al Harris.
3. "Ideal Middle, Upper and High Bulletin Boards" was written by Lou Ann Dickerson, who dedicated it to her younger sisters -- Margaret, Andra and Porter Kim. Dickerson also writes: "Our latest musical show, 'Porter's Rocket,' by my family, has been presented at nursing homes, hospitals, orphanages, and institutions in the Wilmington, Delaware area."