Any Teachers or Crafty People Here?

This is the same idea as clotheslines- they make thin strips of cork, or metal rails that you attach to the wall. It might work if you could attach it above the chalkboard and have things hang down from it.

I had a couple of cork tiles, and they seemed to be thin and not very dense. Other small bulletin boards I've seen were made out of something denser(not real cork, reminded me more of particleboard), but staples would stick better in it.
Do you have room for an easel?

Use a clothes line.... and hang it from your walls.... across the room in rows.
And with clothes pins, hang stuff from it.
That is what my kids' Teachers do.
And it is really cute, too.

Or, you can buy a presentation board... it usually comes with 3 partitions that bend at each panel... you can just stand this up on the floor, and put things on it. It is made of cardboard. Or Google Search "presentation boards." It comes in many colors. I even seen it at my local CVS store.
Teachers use this too, I have seen it in my kids' classrooms.

Or, maybe your Husband can make a folding-screen for you. It would be made of plywood or something with cork glued over it, (so that you can pin things into it), and use 3 panels, and screw in piano hinges on the seams... so that you can fold it up as well, to store it. You can buy any size/height ply board.

In our school, we get scolded every time we put something new up on the wall because the fire marshall comes through and tells us it's not allowed. My MIL put bulletin boards up where they hadn't been and was forced to take them down. In my experience, the cork squares are too thin to really hold a thumb tack (but maybe I bought the wrong kind). Whatever you do, make sure you're not going to be told to take it down!

Hi! I'm a homeschooler. We put up green chalkboards on two walls in our living room. Ours make awesome bulletin boards because they are metal-backed. Go back to class with a magnet, if it sticks you're all set. Have fun!

Honestly, I know you want to get all crafty ( I was a teacher too and I got the shakes when back to school sales started! ;) but I think your best bet is to just cover it with bulletin board paper and use tape or tacky stuff all year. You may want to consider making those particular boards your "permanent" areas like calendar, word wall, assignment lists, daily schedule, etc. that way you won't have to continue changing it all the time, which would be a lot of work.

I like the clothesline idea as well. Cork tiles work, but not really for what you're talking about. They are more for home use and will deteriorate quickly with lots of staples going in and out.

Good luck though and congrats!

If it isn't magnetic liked mentioned below, use hot glue and glue bulletin paper to the board. I've done it before and it works very well.

I hang lots of things from the ceiling. I use yarn or string and hang the project on one end, and just stick a paperclip on the other end and clip it to the metal part that holds the ceiling tile in place. I also have my students paint the ceiling tiles (I teach high school).

Congrats on your new teaching job!

Hi L.-

I have a lot of kiddos...and when they were younger, I draped clothes line around our family room and used clothes pins for both 'drying' an displaying their works of art and creations.

With respect to the 'cork squares' - years ago, my parents used them behind a bar area in their family room to display old family photos. It was just 'stuck' to the painted wall...and seemed to stick to the wall, and the pictures stayed with thumb tacks...BUT it had a 'smell' that I cannot describe...but will never forget.

Maybe it 'smells' different now.

Best luck!
michele/cat

Cork tiles should do the trick. I think they're "industrial strength", check at home depot, they should know.

I'm hooked on Pinterest. I see so many genius ideas for the classroom, I almost wish I were a teacher! If you haven't signed up yet, I highly reccomend it. WHen it asks you your interests, choose crafts and kids and you will see thousands of great ideas.

I wonder if you could just put up metal sheeting and do magnet?