Let’s be honest: school can feel boring as hell sometimes…for kids and for us. Pinterest would love for you to believe that “fun classroom ideas” require a trip to Hobby Lobby and a full-time laminating intern. But guess what? They really don’t.

The truth? Tiny, thoughtful tweaks can do way more for classroom joy than any giant makeover. These are the small, low-lift ideas I use in my own room to bring back curiosity, energy, and just a little bit of magic. Even on the weeks when everyone is tired and running on vibes.

Fun Classroom Ideas for Make School Feel Better

Incorporate their interests into your lessons

Find small ways to include their interests into your lessons. For example, if your students are really into Pokemon and you’re going over Greek Mythology, add a quick line about how a lot of Pokemon creatures have mythological origins. Teach math? Give an example from their world, like “If Suzie had 10 Takis left, and gave Ashley half, how many Takis did she have left?”

You can use the responses from your beginning of the year surveys, take note of what you see and hear students do in their free time, or introduce a “wonder form.” My wonder form is a simple Google form where students write the “things they’ve always wondered about” or questions that they have about anything and everything. It ends up being a treasure trove of student interests that I can always pull from.

Make it a vibe

What do you do when you need a task to feel better? Maybe you put on your favorite show, play some music, or call up a friend. Your students will also benefit from similar things. For example, play a YouTube lo-fi video during work time. Let students choose a new work spot that allows them to get more comfortable and sit near friends (requires a STRONG grasp and understanding of your expectations). Dim your classroom lights or use warmer lamps (I’m very much an anti-big light person). Removing classroom sterility makes it a much more pleasant experience for everyone.

Add whimsy to routines

School is full of mundane routines that get old for your students fast. The good news is there are plenty of fun classroom ideas for adding a bit of whimsy. One of my favorite things in school was my math teacher taking us to the school skybridge and letting us do math on the windows. Obviously, every school doesn’t have a skybridge (or ample window space), but there’s ways to incorporate this in any room. 

As an ELA teacher, I love letting my students come up to the whiteboard, choose a marker, and “fix” the sentence on the board. We also take turns using my Apple Pencil, which is super fun to them. 

Think about the other routines you have during lesson time, like calling on students. How can you add a bit more whimsy? I love using Classroom Screen’s random picker because it adds just the right amount of drama that makes students almost hope their name is picked.

Incentivize challenges

Let’s be clear. I don’t give prizes for students doing the things they are supposed to do, but I LOVE incentivizing hard work and effort. I’m a high expectation teacher who loves to push my students, so when they rise to the occasion, they get some sort of treat.

Right now, students who meet or exceed our writing score goals get to choose a new pencil charm. Over time, they build a collection that they can be proud of, and I take pride in the fact that the collection exists because of increased writing ability. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Use real-world examples

One of the quickest ways school becomes dull is when students don’t feel like there’s any real-world application. Making lessons meaningful through a real-life lens is one of those fun classroom ideas that brings students back in. For example, if you’re going over Shakespeare, and your students are bored to tears, try reading a section in today’s mainstream language, present it as a text message thread, or take a minute to show kids just how many common words from today we can thank Shakespeare for.

If you want to take this a step further, introduce a real-world project for your students to complete. While my class discusses the importance of education, they will be conducting school campaigns to improve something about school (topic of their choosing) and creating all the marketing materials needed to really bring in the rest of the student body. That way, they can see that the stuff they learn in class can translate to something outside of the classroom.

Let yourself be human

When your students feel like they are learning from a robot, they lose interest. Humanize yourself to your students to really start building the relationships that give growth and rigor a strong foundation. I love telling short stories about my life and past (school appropriate, of course!). Or being honest about my shortcomings. For example, once I got honest with my students about how I HATED standardized tests and gave them my ADHD-friendly test taking tips, I was so surprised at the growth I saw in scores. 

Even telling your students when you’re having a bad day and letting them see you bounce back will do wonders. You are a full person; it’s okay for your students to know it. 

To Sum Up the Fun Classroom Ideas…

Adding fun to your classroom is never the real challenge. Most teachers are creative by default. The real challenge is having enough calm and space in your day to actually use those ideas. Fun cannot survive in a room where you are repeating expectations, redirecting every five seconds, or answering questions students already know the answer to.

Joy needs structure. Creativity needs clarity. Your students need routines that support them instead of relying on your voice every minute.

That is exactly why I created Teach More Talk Less. It is a free workshop that walks you through the four system swaps that changed my teaching life. These are the routines that kept my voice from turning into background noise, helped my students become more independent, and gave me enough breathing room to bring back the whimsy and the warmth.

If you want lessons to feel lighter, if you want your classroom to feel calmer, and if you want fun to feel possible again, this is where you start. The workshop is practical, realistic, and tested in my own Title I classroom as a teacher with ADHD who needed systems that actually work.

You deserve a classroom where learning feels good for you and your kids. You can watch Teach More Talk Less for free here.