Back to school tends to be a time filled with lots of emotions. It’s exciting to start a new grade and fun to look forward to all the year will bring. Many kids and families are excited and ready for children to go back as the first day rolls around. Whether you are planning for back to school for your own kids, or are a teacher, this Free First Day of School printable art wheel is a great way to start the new school year.

As a teacher, I’m always looking for great activities for the first day. I love activities that include some learning, such as writing, but I also look for activities that kids will be happy to create and look great when they are done.

This Back to School, All About Me art wheel is fun and simple for kids to make. It also gives kids a beautiful treasure to hold onto to mark their start of school.

The wheel is available for free for you to use at home to prepare for back to school, or educators can use it with their students during the first weeks of school.

If you’re looking for more fun and hands-on activities for back to school, check out a collection of 21 First Day of School STEM activities and 35 Best First Day of School Ideas. Pick and choose which activities would be the best fit for your group to make a memorable first few days!

Free First Day of School Printable

You only need a few materials for this project:

• Markers/Pencils/Pencil Crayons
• Printable wheel (2 pages)
• Brads (Paper fasteners)

You can download and print the All About Me wheel immediately from this page below. The product is included in black and white and color.

The color copies can be used if you don’t have a lot of time to complete the wheel, or if you only want children to focus on the writing.

The black and white copies are great to use if you want to give kids time to color and add some details to their project. I also found that it was a great project to have children work on throughout the first week when they were done other work.

Creating Your Wheel

You can either prepare each wheel for children ahead of time, or if your group is older you can have them make their own wheel.

Cut out two circles for each child. The front includes the “Back to School” page with the apple. Cut the slice out of this circle to reveal the wheel below.

The bottom page needs to be cut around the outside to form the circle. Line up the two circles and insert a brad through the circle in the middle. It will line up so that the top circle can be turned to see the slices below.

Depending on your group, you may choose to not put the wheels together to start. You can also give children the front, or bottom page to work on and complete and then put it together once both circles are done.

Creating Your Back to School Wheel

The wheel includes space for kids to fill out six different slices. Children can simply print a word to complete the heading, or add pictures. The six headings are:

• My Teacher (Add teachers name or draw a picture).
• My Age (Print the number or draw the amount).
• A Picture of Me (Draw a picture or describe yourself).
• One Goal I Have This Year (Print or draw a goal).
• What I am Most Excited About (Print or draw what you’re looking forward to).
• Today I feel (Draw a face and/or print words to tell how you’re feeling).

The wheel is created to include several simple parts for children to answer. However, it also includes other sections, such as their goals and how they feel, that can tell a bit more about their mindset as they start the new year.

Free First Day of School Printable

One of the things I love about this wheel, as a teacher, is that it tells me a lot about each child. It can tell me what their goals are and what they are striving for this year. It can also be a quick display of their art and printing.

The circles can be posted in the classroom to display student work and it makes for a great project to send home once it is finished.

I hope that your children enjoy creating this free first day of school printable wheel as much as mine did!

Free First Day of School Printable

Join Hands-On Teaching Ideas and download the All About Me wheel for free. Once you subscribe you will also join the mailing list and gain access to the Free Resource Library.

In the library you can download any of the free resources that interest you. There are over 100 PDFs that you have access to.