Refresh Your Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Spring Organisation and Creative Crafts

Spring is here, the sun’s out, and the energy in the classroom is buzzing. September is Heritage Month in South Africa, but it’s also the start of the last stretch of the school year. That means it’s the perfect time to breathe some new life into your space. A quick tidy-up will make things easier for you, and a few colourful craft projects will keep your learners engaged and excited for the months ahead.

With PNA’s shelves full of stationery, storage, and craft goodies, you’ve got everything you need to hit reset. Here are three classroom projects that will turn your space into something fresh, bright, and fun this spring.

The Giant Spring Garden Wall

There’s nothing like walking into a classroom and seeing the walls alive with colour. A giant spring garden wall is the perfect way to get every learner involved in one big creative project. Instead of you doing all the work on the bulletin board, the kids build it with you, piece by piece. Flowers, butterflies, bees—the whole lot. And the best part? It keeps growing as the term goes on.

What you’ll need from PNA: kraft paper for the backdrop, stacks of coloured card and tissue paper, glue sticks, scissors, markers, and sticky tack.

How to do it:

1. Cover a big section of wall or a bulletin board with kraft paper. That’s your “garden bed.”
2. Give each learner a task: one makes a flower, another makes a bee, another makes a leaf. Keep it open so everyone’s creation is different.
3. Let them decorate their cut-outs with markers or pastels—dots, stripes, swirls, whatever they fancy.
4. Stick everything up as you go, building the garden together.
5. Keep adding new creations through the term so the display never looks stale.

By the end, you’ll have a wall that’s bursting with colour and personality. It’s a craft, a group project, and a classroom display all rolled into one.

Recycled Bottle Planters with Ndebele Patterns

This one’s a winner because it combines art, recycling, and a nod to heritage design. All you need are some old plastic bottles and a bit of paint, and suddenly you’ve got planters that look amazing lined up on the windowsill. Learners love the process because they get to cut, paint, and personalise their own “pot.” You’ll love it because the finished row of bright, patterned planters makes the whole room feel alive.

What you’ll need from PNA: acrylic paints in bold colours, black and white for outlines, brushes of all sizes, masking tape, and (if you want to go the extra step) a bit of soil and some seedlings.

How to do it:

1. Cut bottles in half and use the base as your pot. Tape or sand the edges if they’re sharp.
2. Wrap masking tape around the outside in zigzags and triangles to block out shapes.
3. Paint the shapes in bright colours, leaving some spaces white.
4. Once dry, outline everything in black so the patterns pop.
5. Bonus round: plant a little flower or herb inside.

Now you’ve got a classroom garden that’s part art project, part science lesson, and 100% eye-catching.

Story Stones

This one’s a real gem (literally). Story stones are stones or pebbles painted with simple pictures—a sun, a bird, a rainbow, a house. Once you’ve made a full set with your learners, you can use them again and again for storytelling games, creative writing prompts, or even drama warm-ups. Kids love them because they get to design their own, and you’ll love them because they’re endlessly reusable.

What you’ll need from PNA: smooth stones (collected or bought), acrylic paint, paint pens or permanent markers for details, and a little box or bag to keep them in.

How to do it:

1. Wash and dry your stones so the paint sticks.
2. Give each learner one or two stones to paint. Keep the designs simple: a star, a tree, a book, an animal.
3. Let them add details with paint pens or markers.
4. Seal them with varnish or Mod Podge so they last.
5. Pop them in a box. Next time you need a creative spark, pull out a few and build a story around them.

The kids will come up with the most unexpected ideas, and you’ll end up with a resource you can use for years.

A Spring Classroom That Inspires

Spring is all about new beginnings, and your classroom deserves one too. Whether it’s a wall that blooms into a giant garden, a row of bright Ndebele planters, or a set of story stones that spark imagination, these crafts bring colour and energy into your day-to-day teaching. They’re simple, affordable, and most importantly, they’re fun.

Everything you need—from glue sticks and paints to card, brushes, and markers — is waiting at PNA. This September, celebrate spring by filling your classroom with creativity and giving your learners something they’ll be excited to see every morning.