A Dolly Parton Retro Classroom Theme

If you follow me on Instagram, it’s no surprise that I love Dolly Parton. Not only is she the queen of my region, but she also leads an impactful book mission which speaks to my English teacher’s heart. I’ve been seeing a lot of retro themed classrooms lately, so I thought it would be fun to put my own spin on it by doing a Retro Reading Dolly themed high school classroom. A Dolly Parton themed classroom may sound a little funny, but she is actually known as a great unifier, has lots of inspirational quotes, and is simply a joyful icon– all  things we could all use a little more of this school year!

This Dolly Retro themed classroom belongs to a deserving and dedicated high school teacher in East Tennessee. I try to do one classroom makeover a year to give back to my local community while inspiring those in my global community seeking joyful ideas for classroom décor. 

high school ELA classroom before VINTAGE DECORATIONS:

There was nothing wrong with her classroom as is. If yours looks similar, don’t feel inadequate. Great teachers can teach from anywhere! But as she put in her entry, the big cinderblock walls depressed her, and she wanted her classroom to feel more cohesive rather than have a hodgepodge of posters. She also loves Dolly Parton, vintage vibes, and retro colors, so it was a perfect fit!

I hesitate to call this a classroom makeover because my goal was to work with what she had and showcase a realistic classroom décor budget. Her school does not allow fresh paint or flexible seating, so I aimed to make it feel cheerful and cozy without a full-blown redesign. 

Here is the breakdown of what I spent infusing a little more joy into her high school ELA classroom:

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• Shower curtain turn classroom wall art: $20.99
• Disco ball: $19.98
• Sun catcher window clings: $13.85
• Burlap bulletin board paper: $17.99
• Green bulletin board border: $10.99
• Gold butterflies: $6.99
• Mirror butterflies: $3.98
• Table number holders: $11.99
• Figurative language posters $5
• Big Dolly posters same day print at Walgreens: $58 
• Thrifted records: $5
• Thrifted faux plants: $10
• Thrifted suitcases: $10
• Thrifted lamps: $20 
• Book butterflies: FREE
• Items from around my house: FREE
• Using items she already had: FREE

Total: $214.76

The most expensive line item was getting the Dolly posters printed, so if your school offers a poster printer, you could do this a lot more frugally. If not, several teachers in my IG community recommended ShrortRunPosters.com to print cheap posters for decorating classroom walls!

Certain classroom themes are more inexpensive to execute than others. A retro classroom theme can lend well to cheap classroom décor because items like records, boho baskets, and unique lamps are easily thrifted! 

Ok, let’s get into some before and after classroom décor pictures!

IDEAS TO DECORATE CLASSROOM WALLS

I’ll start with the cinderblock side that has my favorite idea for decorating classroom walls: shower curtain classroom wall art. I love using shower curtains when deciding what to put on classroom walls because:

• 💦 Shower curtains make cheap classroom decorations
• 💦 Shower curtains come in limitless designs and classroom theme pairings
• 💦 Shower curtains are easy to clean
• 💦 Shower curtains are easy to hang up on classroom walls
• 💦 Shower curtains make a big impact without the visual clutter of a lot of small posters
• 💦 Shower curtains make a great lead piece for a cohesive theme for classroom decoration

Here is my classroom decoration mood board. I started with my lead piece, the shower curtain, and added elements that would compliment the vintage vibe.

Though I ended up designing my own posters which I’ll share below, this Dolly print still has my heart. However, it only comes in an actual print, can’t be enlarged, and takes forever to ship. Here are the rest of the attributions for this retro mood board: Cup of ambition, Y’all means all (can no longer find the T-shirt image to link), rainbow books, retro shower curtain

vintage classroom decor Ideas

You can watch my reel on my Instagram to get a better idea of how we put this up, but in short, we dabbed hot glue on the back of these big surface hooks and then hung the shower curtain rivets on the hooks.

I also cut out book page butterflies from an old dictionary to add a little ELA whimsy. If you want another book page get-to-know-you idea, check out this post: First Day of School Activities for High School and Middle School English

The vintage suitcases and retro baskets on top of the bookshelves not only add fun vintage vibes, but they also serve a purpose. First, one of our most popular strategies in Keeping the Wonder: An Educator’s Guide to Magical, Engaging, and Joyful Learning is to play “What’s in the suitcase?” when starting a new unit. These empty suitcases will be handy to add a little wonder and engagement to lesson plans throughout the year.

Secondly, she has to pack her classroom up each summer, so these suitcases will serve double duty as vintage classroom décor and summer storage!

However, not all the retro classroom décor is functional; some items are just for fun! This vintage rolodex I snagged at Goodwill is one of my favorite details in this retro themed classroom. Instead of business cards, it holds teenager affirmations that students can scroll through when they need a boost. 🙂

RETRO CLASSROOM DECOR

Now, moving on to the opposite wall of windows. I never had windows in my classroom, so when I walked in and saw this set with the gorgeous mountain views, I knew I wanted to accentuate them without distracting!

To capture playful light and sunshine rainbows, I added a disco ball and sticker sun catchers to this classroom window. I had originally planned to do a record focal wall, but I placed the records here just to see what they looked like and loved the unexpected interest it added! As I said at the top of this post, it’s cheap and easy to thrift for a retro themed classroom! Most of these records were scratched or unpopular music, but that didn’t matter since they were only for looks!

It was impossible to capture how cool the disco ball and sun catchers look in real life, but I love how a little magic is the first thing students see when they walk into this retro chic classroom!

DOLLY PARTON THEMED CLASSROOM

Ok, I’ve saved my favorite classroom wall for last! Doing a Dolly classroom theme was SO FUN and therapeutic for me. My grandmother passed away right before I was scheduled to start this classroom makeover. Of course the teacher would have understood if I had to cancel on her, but I’m so glad I didn’t. My grandmother LOVED Dolly Parton and wore her hair big and blonde for as long as she could get to her beauty appointments. She loved Dolly’s sass and personality too which I always thought fit her own, ha! My grandmother was so very proud of me for becoming a teacher, and I know she would have gotten a kick out of this Dolly classroom theme.

Having the opportunity to this Dolly Retro theme classroom was a gift to me, so I would like to pay it forward by giving all my fellow Dolly fans a gift too. You can download these Dolly inspired posters for FREE here: Dolly posters for the classroom

The only posters not included in the free classroom décor bundle are my Boho Books figurative language posters. These are cute and functional posters for ELA classrooms, and you can download them here: Boho Books Figurative Language Posters

The teacher already had string lights around her board, but there was a lot left over on the roll, so we took it up another level to frame out the Dolly posters! The posters over the board are 16×20, and I added a few butterflies to fill it out even more and tie into the “Grow Your Mind” wall.

I could tell by the posters she had in her room before that it’s important for her to create a safe place for all students to thrive. I designed these free retro classroom posters to symbolize all are welcome and valued in this classroom.

Those who use my ELA resources know that I’m big on using stations in the secondary classroom (check out my first day of school station ideas here!). I thrifted some smaller records (10 cents each!) and added leftover mailbox number stickers on them. This quirky retro touch can serve as table numbers for the first day of school and as station numbers after that! I bought these place card holders to keep them upright, but just know that they do wobble a little!

One of the retro bulletin boards has my Figurative Language Book Posters and the other is left open for future student work. I read somewhere that burlap is the poor man’s cane (a common retro décor element), so I went with burlap “Better than Paper,” and I can attest that it is indeed better than paper! Ha! It feels almost like plastic instead of paper, and I was able to reposition the posters several times using only painter’s tape on the back.

Thrift store shopping is one of my favorite hobbies, so I had so much fun hunting for retro items for this vintage classroom! Thrifting for classroom décor can save money and the environment. Plus, you’ll find unique pieces that will make your classroom a more interesting place to be!

Lastly, I’ll leave you with this affirmation mirror. Here’s to a bright new school year. I hope this post put a smile on your face and inspired you to create a joyful space from which to learn and teach.