Back to School Activity Roundup
The smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the sounds of little sneakers across the pavement, excitedly running to the building, the sounds of children’s laughter, the sights of backpacks and school buses. That’s right, it’s back to school time again! Below, we have curated 10 great activities and resources for you to get this school year started off spectacularly!
Fun Friday School Supply Curriculum
This Fun Friday Curriculum Back to School math and literacy bundle encourages hands-on learning and focuses on numbers, addition, measurements, reading skills, and more! This bundle includes four different packs from our curriculum and serves to make learning (and teaching) fun! This bundle is perfectly designed to fit your classroom needs, as it is effective with individuals, whole class learning, and small groups.
Mr. Greg from The Kindergarten Smorgasbord developed these amazing glue sponges that he uses in his classroom. This is an incredibly innovative and cost-effective strategy to encourage mess-free activities while also reducing unnecessary waste. Check out this step-by-step tutorial on how to crate this classroom tool. Be sure to stay and explore the rest of his blog, The Kindergarten Smorgasbord, for more creative back to school hacks!
Chrysanthemum Bundle and Read Aloud
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is a wonderful first-day-of school read! All about remembering who you are and accepting others for who they are, students and teachers alike will find something they love about themselves and this book! This bundle includes first day of school activities as well as further activities to dig a bit deeper!
Looking for a fun way to start of the new year? How about making a time capsule together! The time capsule can be displayed somewhere in the classroom and later revisited on the last day of school. Other unique activities such as self-portraits and scavenger hunts can also be found with this resource.
Scholastic's Penny Jar Sharing Activity 
Scholastic has this is a unique and fun activity that will certainly be something new. Fill up a jar with pennies and invite students to take as many as they’d like (within reason, of course!) here’s the catch – however many pennies you take, you share that many details about yourself. One penny = one thing about yourself.
Kindergarten may seem scary. New faces and a new place can be a lot for some students. To ease the burden of the unknown, why not go for a school tour but with a twist! Using the famous “Going on a Bear Hunt” rhyming song, replace the lyrics that apply to your school. Check out this activity here.
Focus walls can be invaluable tools for your classroom, as a visual guide to keep you, well, focused (!) throughout the week! Focus guides keep front and center, saving as a visual guide and reminder for students of all the exciting activities and topics they will be covering. This guide from Heidi Songs showcases the importance of having a focus wall, and many imaginative ways of creating one.
What a wonderful activity for classrooms to create together! From the exciting first day of school jitters, to the bittersweet final day, and all the fun in between, this scrapbook will hold it all! Check out Sharing Kindergarten’s ideas for scrapbook entries to capture all the memories of the school year. Every holiday, season, special events, all contained in this special scrapbook. This is not only an effective and imaginative activity for students to contribute to throughout the year, but a keepsake for them to treasure forever.
First and Last Day of School Student Interviews
A can’t-miss activity for back-to-school fun is student interviews! This is not only a great way for teachers to get to know their students, but also allows students to express themselves freely, and very likely to provide parents with endearing (and often, entertaining!) keepsakes. These templates from Somewhat Simple are to be used one the first and last days of school, answering the same questions. This is a wonderful way to show how students have grown over the course of the year, and something for them to look back on fondly.
Welcome Activities and Daily Routines for Kindergarteners
Learning with Mrs. Langley has some wonderfully creative ideas on how to make kids comfortable in a new environment and motivated to learn in this post on first day of kindergarten activities!! From practicing their names using fun construction paper art, a daily check-in with everyone on how and what they’re feeling, and read-alouds, these ideas are sure to inspire!
From all of us here, we wish you a safe, fun, and happy new school year! We hope this guide will give you a few ideas that will foster a sense excitement, comfort, and success in your classroom. Whether your students have been to school before or not, we hope that some of these resources will help aide the various transitions coming from unique and talented students and teachers alike! Bring in the new school year, 2021! Let us know what you have planned for the big day!