Display pictures and fragile decorative elements on the higher wall shelves in the classroom. Framed photographs of students or beloved children's literature characters, potted plants, cut flowers or items that pertain to a unit of study that you want children to see, but not necessarily touch, are ideal items to display on wall shelves that children can't access.
Place items that you want children to be able to access on lower wall shelves. Items to consider placing on these shelves include stuffed animals, toys, books and craft materials. Shelves that are set lower on the wall serve as an ideal storage space for items that you want your students to use. Place items on the shelves that correlate to the areas in which they are located. For example, craft materials should go on shelves that are near the art center and books should go on shelves that are near the classroom library.
Update the items that are displayed on wall shelves for a fresh look in the classroom. For example, change the items every month, or rotate items to correspond to focus themes. During a dinosaur-theme, display images of dinosaurs on higher shelves and place dinosaur books, toys and plush animals on lower shelves. When the dinosaur unit is complete, remove these items and replace them with elements that relate to the next focus theme; farm animals or fairytales, for example. You can also update those items that don't relate to a theme; change the photographs of students and characters, and display new flowers or potted plants.