With the start of each school year comes fresh ideas and learning opportunities. Finding unique ideas always makes me look forward to go back to school. Below I have saved you some time by collecting 29 of the best back to school printables to help you prepare your first few weeks. The best part is that all of the printables featured below can be downloaded for free!

Each year I try to find new ideas that I know my students will enjoy. Whether it’s a craft to do on the first day or a time capsule to hang onto until the end of the year, I love finding creative, fresh activities.

Some of the activities below include templates for crafts and other resources are notes to accompany hands-on activities. If you’re looking for something to do at home with your children or something to do in your classroom, look through the ideas below for the perfect fit.

Back to School Printables – Art Projects

One of my favorite things to do on the first few days of school are art projects. Children tend to enjoy them and they can be successful with them. One of my favorite back to school art projects is a teambuilding friendship wheel. Each child get a section of a circle and they work with the other kids beside them to connect their drawings to create one piece.

These huge circles are perfect to display in a classroom at the beginning of the year. They are beautiful and each section tells a story about a child. You can also have children think about their section before they start drawing by using the free printable planning sheet.

Create a first day crown. I love making these with my students because kids love wearing them home at the end of the day. These crowns are also great to have children work on throughout the day after they finish other work.

A school bus is a popular back to school image. Create a school bus photo book with the free template and unfold the page for lots of faces!

Apple Art

Whether school starts back in the summer or fall, create a colorful apple to celebrate back to school.

Use a school bus template to create this name craft. Children can practice their letter recognition and creating their name with this activity.

Create a first day of school crayon that opens to reveal several facts about the child. Print the questions/template and create this simple craft for kids to take home.

Give kids something that they can work on throughout the day with lots of back to school images. Grab a copy of these free coloring pages for a simple activity.

How cute is this school bus? Color the pieces and put it together using the step by step instructions on the page.

Free Booklets and Printables

Encourage children to be aware of their surrounding and all that the school, and classroom have to offer by doing a back to school scavenger hunt. Find the common classroom items and check them off on the page.

From a maze, word search and cross word puzzle, this back to school printable activity pack includes lots to keep kids busy and begin academics with fun activities.

As children get to know each other, they learn about each others families. Grab this free printable “My Family” flipbook and have children fill out, and share all about the people that are important to them.

An All About Me wheel is a great way for children to share a little bit about themselves. With each slice of the wheel children share about themselves. This back to school printable is free and easy to have ready for the first day of school.

Back to School Printables – Time Capsule Ideas

The start of school is a great time to capture as a moment in time. Below are a collection of time capsule ideas and printables, perfect for the start of school.

Build a time capsule over the course of the year with this free monthly time capsule. Each month children fill out a page of the flipbook. It’s quick and easy to complete and at the end of the year children have a complete time capsule from each month. There are also different versions of the time capsule available depending what month school starts for you.

For slightly older children, this printable time capsule offers several pages for children to fill out and then seal in the envelope. Each page offers fun facts and information for the child to record. These are wonderful to open and read at the end of the year.

This classic, All About Me free printable page, gives you a sheet to get your time capsule started. The link also gives you lots of ideas of what else to add and how to create your capsule.

Back to School Activities with Printables

Some of my favorite back to school ideas are hands-on activities. Filling the first few days with magic is easier than you may think.

Grab some UV beads and have children create a necklace or bracelet. Once they have completed it, have them make a wish and head outside. The beads will change color if their wish has been heard. (The UV beads react with the sunshine and change color.) Grab the free printable tag to send home with kids and parents.

Go on an adventure around the school with this free scavenger hunt. Take children of all ages outside of your classroom and explore the school. Often children never see parts of the school so this scavenger hunt is a great way for children to become more familiar and aware of the special locations in their school. This also works great for indoor recess days.

If you are looking for hands-on activities for back to school for young children, you’ll love these free printable lacing cards. These cards are great for fine motor practice and use school images, perfect for the first few weeks of school.

Back to School Word Searches

Kids love word searches! Grab these free back to school themed word searches that are perfect to have available when children finish other work.

If you teach preschool or kindergarten and are looking for centers to set up in your classroom as children come back to school, grab this “Guess the Picture” cut and paste sheet.

Work on memory skills by matching different back to school images. Games like this are also a great way for kids to work with a peer and get to know them as they play.

Doing check-ins with your students and children is a great way to foster a positive classroom atmosphere. Grab these free printable social emotional learning pages for various activities. I loved using them to post around the classroom and have children sit under the emotion they were feeling. It’s a quick way to access any emotions when children first enter the classroom.

Back to School Printables

Getting back to academics and worksheets can be challenging for some children. Practice letters and phonics with this simplified animal alphabet workbook that is perfect for young children and to review the letters of the alphabet.

Practice the alphabet with lots of different worksheets and activities. These alphabet pages include various activities for each letter of the alphabet.

Fun First Day of School Activities

For some children, going back to school may create some stress and worry. Have children create a worry worm and complete the associated activities to help make returning to school easier.

Get kids excited to start reading right away by creating one of these free back to school printable bookmarks.

Print a picture of your child(ren) on the first day and create this adorable pencil craft.

Practice letter writing with a back to school letter. This printable is a great way for children to share some of their thoughts and feelings about back to school as they write to their teacher.

Use back to school images to challenge children with a bit of math and counting with this free printable find and count page. Children search, color and then record the amount on the page.

I hope that this collection has given you lots of ideas, and free resources as you head back to school. Make sure to print the resources or hang onto this page to come back to when you look for new and creative ideas for your classroom this year.

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