8 Things Every Catholic Classroom Must Have

Setting up my classroom is one of my favorite things to do each year. I love the fresh, clean looks of a new bulletin board and the beautiful organization of my classroom library! Over the years I have had a few staples that have made my Catholic classroom a more welcoming and religious place. I’ve selected 8 of my favorite things that I think every Catholic classroom needs! Check them out below.

1.) St. Mary’s Press Children’s Bible

I stumbled across this bible while visiting the gift shop of the Sinsinawa Sisters in Wisconsin. I was immediately drawn to it because of the illustrations and child friendly words. This is the perfect bible for any K-6 classroom.

2.) Bright, Positive Bulletin Boards

I LOVE decorating my bulletin boards and making them inspirational for my students. I have a few boards that stay up year round, but others that I change out for the season. If you are looking for Catholic bulletin boards for the entire year, check out my bundle here!

3.) Prayer Space

Every classroom should have a dedicated prayer space. I use an old end table my parents were getting rid of years ago and it has served as the perfect space for my bible and other religious books. I usually place it by one of my year round religious bulletin boards or place my religion posters above it. You can grab those for free here!

4.) Cross

While most Catholic classrooms will come with a cross, I didn’t want to leave this one off! Having a cross in the classroom is a good faith reminder for our students each day.

5.) Nativity Scene for Advent/Christmas

True story- I have THREE nativity scenes for my classroom (plus two more at home!). I usually set one up in my classroom and one in the hallway to share with the students/teachers in my unit. The hallway one is usually paired with an Advent wreath bulletin board full of actionable things we can do each day.

6.) Religion Book Bin

I love having a collection of picture books that are based around faith, or that I can connect to our faith. A few of my favorites include: Dear Pope Francis, The Tales of Three Trees, and The Night of Las Posadas.

7.) Prayer Pot

Including the special intentions of students is such an important part of classroom prayer. However, it can sometimes take up a lot of class time. One way to fulfill the need/want of praying for others, I use a prayer pot. Students write down a person they want to pray for and place it into our pot. Then, during morning prayer (if time does not allow for taking intentions out loud), we prayer all the intentions that are in our prayer pot.

8.) Common Prayers Flip Book

One thing I love doing with my 4th graders is teaching them new prayers while practicing ones they already know. I’ve created a flipbook that they can each keep on their desk with 22 different prayers. This allows them to quickly grab it when we are learning a new prayer. If you are interested in grabbing that resource for your class, check it out here!

And that’s a wrap on the 8 must haves for your Catholic classroom! Is there anything that you think needs to be in all classrooms? Share your idea in the comments below.

Are you looking for more engaging Catholic resources? Learn more about my Seton Scholars Teacher Membership for Catholic Educators here.

You can also join me on Facebook at the Community for Catholic Educators. This is a free group where Catholic school teachers come to share ideas and collaborate!