How I Built My Classroom Stage...

Saturday, October 14, 2017 35 comments
Ever since I visited the Ron Clark Academy and saw the AMAZING teachers there use a stage to help transform their classrooms, I knew I just HAD TO HAVE ONE! As soon as I got back from RCA last October, I started transforming my classroom. A stage wasn't something I could build overnight, so I finished the school year with a makeshift stage. I lowered a rectangular table to the floor and BAM... a stage. It was amazing and my kiddos LOVED it, but... I knew I wanted a bigger and better one so I counted down until summer break when I my dad could hopefully make my dreams a reality. 

Since posting my stage on my Instagram account, I have gotten lots and lots of messages asking me just how I my dad made it, so I wanted to take some time to lay out all of the details in one place because YOU need a stage too, and you/your dad/husband can TOTALLY make one! 

How to build your own stage:

Step ONE: 
Convince your Dad/Husband/Boyfriend/Friend to build it for you! HAHA! Ok... if you haven't caught on yet, it was MY DAD that built the stage, not me. I am blessed with a rockstar Dad who does woodworking in his spare time and he was kind enough to help me out. I painted and assisted in the heavy lifting, but the brains behind the operation was definitely my dad. 


Ok - Have you grabbed someone to build it for you or at least assist you?! Haha! Although I have utmost faith that you can complete this project yourself, it would still be easier for you if you have a partner to help you do the heavy lifting! As you start gluing/nailing things together, your stage will get really heavy. If you've found your builder/assistant... you are ready for step two.

Step TWO:


Go to Lowes and grab your items!
What you'll need:
-three 3/4 inch pieces of plywood
-wood glue
-large nails
-three sets of door hinges (we put three hinges on each door)
-paint

Step THREE:
Alright gang... It's finally time to build! 
We built two different 4'x4' squares so that the stage would be easier to transport. The two squares together makes my large 8'x4' stage. The entire stage is 9 inches tall. 

First, grab two pieces of plywood and cut each of them in half. You now have your two tops and two bottoms. The remaining piece of plywood will become your sides and bracing inside the stage. 
Side/bracing lengths: 4' long/9"tall 


Once you have all of your pieces cut, glue your bottoms and sides together and reinforce them using nails! You will also need to glue/nail in your bracing inside. The bracing is SO important for safety and support, so don't leave those out!


Step THREE B:
If you want to get fancy, you can add trimming to the pieces that will go around the top and around them bottom. My dad also cut out hand holes in the sides of the stage to make for easier carrying. 

Step 4:
Paint everything! I chose to paint the outside of my stage yellow, the top black, and the inside white. 

Stage 5: 
Once you've gotten everything painted, you can then attach the top of your stage to the bottom using door hinges. We chose to put the hinges INSIDE the stage so that the metal pieces weren't showing on the outside. You can just put them on the outside if that is easiest for you. 

(Amazon Affilate links are provided in this post for your convenience.)
Step 6: 
Once everything is painted and attached, you are ready to haul your stage to school and
MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN! 

(Super fun lights under my board can be found on Amazon HERE.)

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to leave them in my comments and I'll ask my Dad if they are questions I don't know how to answer! I truly believe EVERY classroom should have a stage, so I hope you will get to building! You can do it!