Purchase a set of cubby-style shelves for your child's room, so she can store school-related items in them. Select shelving in the color she likes best, and label the sections with words like "pencils," "notebooks," and "folders" to help your little girl stay organized throughout the school year. Or, purchase a mini-closet in the shape of lockers for your tween or teen to help him decorate his bedroom with a back-to-school theme. Buy stickers and mini-mirrors to place inside the locker so it can look like a locker at school.
Use paint and wallpaper borders to excite your little boy about returning to school this year. For instance, paint the accent wall of his room a bright school-bus yellow, or paint a small side wall in the room a grayish shade of green to resemble a chalkboard. Give him sponge strips dipped in white paint for him to write his name on the wall, so that it looks like chalk. Young children need to be reminded of basic educational concepts like letters, numbers, shapes and colors as they're preparing to start the school year. Choose a wallpaper border that features the alphabet, showcases simple shapes in various colors, or displays the numbers one through 20, 50 or 100 for your kindergartener or first-grader's bedroom. Attach the border around the perimeter in the bedroom, and position it in the center of the walls so it's easy for your child to see. Wallpaper strips on your child's toy chest or dresser adds back-to-school decor to the room as well.
If you're returning to school as a student or educator, spruce up your home office to get into back-to-school mode. Repaint the office a medium or light shade of green, the color of focus and harmony. Green is easy to view for long periods of time, and signifies growth, which speaks to your intellectual development throughout the school year. Add a crystal or bronze paperweight in the shape of an apple or textbook to your desk, along with other sophisticated interpretations of traditional school items, like a set of quality writing pens, a crystal ruler, and notebooks with suede or leather covers.
Let your children create the back-to-school decor for your home by helping them put together an "art gallery" a few days before the first day of school. Present your kids with poster boards, canvases, and easels with large sheets of paper. Tell them to draw or paint the outfit they want to wear on the first day of school, and to create interpretations of what they'd like to learn this year. Encourage them to practice writing their names and ages on the artwork, and frame the creations in quality oak or cherry wood to display in the family room. You can also make this a family tradition each year near the end of summer to get your children excited about starting school again.