Elementary school-aged children like bright colors. Red, yellow, orange and violet naturally complement the active nature of children. Painting part of the walls with a bright accent color can attract a child's attention. According to the School of Planning and Management, children between the ages of five and eight didn't respond as well in a classroom filled with black, gray or dark brown in comparison to a room decorated with a warm and bright color scheme.
Warm, soft shades of white and light creams have a soothing effect on young children and work well as an anchor color. Consider painting a hallway or a wall in the classroom a light cream color and then accenting it with a brighter color. This wall could be used as a backdrop for students' artwork. The white or cream color won't compete with the colors used in the artwork, but instead, will complement and show off the display.
Too many bright colors in one area can be distracting to a student. While you want a child to focus on you while teaching, you don't want her to become overly stimulated with too many colors. In the front of the classroom near the chalk or white board, paint the wall behind you a different shade than the other walls around you. For example, if the side walls are a cream color, paint the teaching wall a brighter shade like yellow or orange. This will help attract students' attention to the front of the classroom during instruction periods.
Bulletin boards are used to display classroom work, artwork completed by students or special announcements. In some cases, you may be able to paint the actual bulletin board since it covers a portion of the wall. Consider painting the cork of the bulletin board the same color as the wall it is mounted on. Paint the bulletin board's border a bright accent color like red, orange, yellow or blue. This will create an eye-catching display without competing with what's already on display.