Looking for the perfect activities for the first week of school for kindergarten? With so much to do during those crucial first few days at the beginning of the year, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly which engaging, meaningful, and age-appropriate activities to use with your new students. The first week of kindergarten is often the very first school experience for many children. That means you will be setting the tone for the entire school year… for both students and caretakers!
In this blog post, I am sharing my go-to back to school kindergarten activities that help establish routines, build classroom community, and ease students into the school environment. Whether you are looking for first day of school crafts, fine motor practice, or fun read-aloud companions, you will find something here to make your first days of kindergarten less stressful and more joyful.
This variety of activities is included in our First Week Of Kindergarten resource, which you can find right here:
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Morning Playdough Mats: A Calm Start To A Busy Day
Think of all the things you have to juggle in the morning of the first day of school. First, you’ll likely have upset kindergarten students and nervous parents to console. Then, you will need to collect school supplies, manage backpacks, and help students who need to use the restroom.
That is why having a simple and calming morning activity is essential. I love to lay out these laminated playdough mats with a container of playdough at each seat. Students can build what’s on the mat and once they are finished, they are free to create whatever they want. I also include a fun coloring sheet that says “Happy First Day Of Kindergarten!” so that students can color when they are finished with the playdough activity.
Why it works:
- It builds fine motor skills.
- It keeps students busy in a low-pressure way.
- It helps ease those first-day jitters.
School Scavenger Hunt: Meet The Gingerbread Men
One of the most important things you can do on the first day of kindergarten is to show your new students around the school. A fun way to do this is with a school scavenger hunt! Your students will need to know important places in the school, like the nurses office, cafeteria, library, etc. Before you go on your scavenger hunt, place these gingerbread cards in the correct places around the school.
Read the book, The Gingerbread Man Is Loose At School. Then, tell your students it is time for your scavenger hunt to find all the gingerbread men! Walk around the school with your students to find the gingerbread men, read the riddles to find the next one. This is an activity that I did with my first grade students and they talked about it all throughout the school year, even during the last week of school!
Classroom Scavenger Hunt: Explore and Discover
Scavenger hunts are a great way to learn where things are in the school and classroom. I mentioned having a school scavenger hunt above, but you can also have a classroom scavenger hunt! Have your students roam around the room to find out about their classroom. After all, they are more likely to find out where everything is if you let them explore. In our kindergarten back to school pack, there are a few different options for you to use for your scavenger hunt. Students can walk around the room and look for the item on their paper. Once they find it, they can color it in.
The Kissing Hand Activities: Sharing Feelings and Creating Keepsakes
The book, The Kissing Hand, is of course a staple for the first day of kindergarten lesson plans. For this activity, you will of course read The Kissing Hand. Then, you can discuss their feelings on the first day of school. Are they happy? Sad? Nervous? Create a graph to show how they feel and let them place their raccoon in their feeling on the graph. After graphing together, complete the provided First Day Feelings graph together.
Then it is time for the The Kissing Hand crafts! For the first one, students color the hand and draw who is special to them inside the heart shape. They glue the heart in the middle of the hand. I like to hang these hands on bulletin boards in my classroom for students to look at through the first few weeks of school.
The other one is a special keepsake that caretakers will want to keep. You will paint the students hands and they will put their handprint on the poem paper. These are also a special keepsake to put inside student portfolios that you give out at the end of the school year to have a special place for the first day of school.
These different activities will help remind students that it is okay to miss our caretakers and the people that are special to us, but remind us that they are always with us in our hearts.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates Activities: Learning Friendly Behavior
These activities pair with the book, We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. After reading, discuss what friendly behavior looks like (for example: not eating our classmates!). Complete the whole class sort together, then have students complete the cut and paste version on their own. Then, students can create the lunchbox craft where they draw their friends, two things they like to do with their friends, and how they feel with their friends. Young students need a lot of practice with how to treat one another, what to do if someone does not treat them correctly, and learn how to make new friends.
Name Practice Activities: Crafts That Reinforce Letter Skills
Another thing kindergarteners need to practice and work on during the first week of school? Name writing practice! Check out these two activities for students to practice spelling their name and writing their name.
Backpack Name Craft
With this back to school craft, students get to practice spelling their name and counting how many letters are in their name. To prep, you will need to cut out the letters each student will need to spell their name. Students will glue their name on the backpack under “My Name Is” and then will write how many letters are in their name.
First Day of School Crowns
Who doesn’t love a crown? Towards the end of the day, give your students this “Hooray! I Had A Great First Day!” crown. On one of the strips, students write their name and on the other, they get to color in how they felt that day. This activity is a fun way to end such a busy first day of school!
Class Rule Activities: Playing “Your Teacher Says”
Another important activity during back to school time is to learn the school and classroom rules. One way to do this is with a game called “Your Teacher Says”, which is very similar to Simon Says. You will put the cards in a bowl. There are behaviors that are welcome at school and behaviors that are unwelcome at school. Explain to students that if you say an appropriate behavior, they should act it out.
If you say an inappropriate behavior, they should not act it out. When you are all finished, there are headers that say “Yes! Do This At School!” and “Nope! Please Do Not Do This At School!” so that you can chart as a class appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.
After doing this activity, there is a booklet, “I Can Make Good Choices In Kindergarten”, to review appropriate behaviors in key school areas. Different places include the classroom, at recess, in the lunchroom, in the restroom, and at centers. Students color in the appropriate behaviors and cross out the inappropriate behaviors.
Shine Bright Banner: Set Goals For A Great Year
With your students, brainstorm on an anchor chart paper different ways they will “shine bright” this school year. What will they do to make sure they are learning? What do they want to learn? Students draw one goal they have for themselves fo the school year. This could be something they want to learn, something they want to be able to do, etc. This banner is a great addition to your classroom decor that students will love to look at all year long!
Musical Chairs Icebreaker: Learn About Your New Students With A Fun Game
Including fun games into your lessons plans is always a smart option to get your students engaged and moving. Make sure to add this Musical Chairs Icebreaker where you set up chairs in a circle, just like in musical chairs. You will want one less chair than how many students you have, but do not worry! No one gets “out” in this game!
We do not want tears during the first week of school! Play music, and once the music stops, students must sit in a chair. The student who does not have a chair will pull a card from the bowl. You will read the card and ask the student the question. This is a great opportunity for students to build community and get to know one another.
Dismissal Bands: Stay Organized and Send Everyone Home Safely
What is the most important thing on your first day of school to-do list? Making sure you get your students home correctly! Included in this back to school kindergarten pack are dismissal bands so that every child gets home the correct way. Whether they are a bus rider, walker, or car rider, these wristbands help you and your staff stay organized. At the end of the day, make sure you give each student a dismissal band so that you get your students home correctly!
Back To School No Prep Printables: Multiple Skills with Big Impact
No prep printables are also included in this resource. With these worksheets, students can practice important skills that they need for kindergarten, like number formation, letter identification, and how to use glue bottles and gluesticks.
Prep Tips for Back to School Kindergarten
Here’s how to prepare for your first week using this resource:
- Print and prep over the summer or in small chunks before school starts.
- Organize materials by activity type (literacy, social-emotional, crafts, etc.).
- Laminate reusable items like playdough mats, scavenger hunts, and behavior cards. By laminating, you will be able to use them year after year which means even less prep the following school year!
- Store extras in folders or bins for early finishers and substitute plans.
Why This Back to School Kindergarten Resource Works
This resource was designed with real kindergarten classrooms in mind. It allows you to:
- Greet parents without rushing.
- Put away school supplies.
- Meet students individually.
- Keep students engaged with meaningful, low-prep activities.
Best of all? These back to school activities build student confidence by using familiar skills and playful learning opportunities. Students start kindergarten feeling successful—and you start the year feeling organized.
Plan Less, Enjoy More
The back to school season can be busy and stressful, but it does not have to be! With this done-for-you back to school kindergarten resource, you will spend less time planning and more time building connections with your new class.
From name crafts and first-day crowns to rule booklets and scavenger hunts, you’ll have everything you need to make the first week successful, memorable, and fun. Whether it’s your first year teaching kindergarten or your tenth, these activities will help you start the school year with confidence and excitement.
Grab the Back to School Kindergarten Resource Today and take the stress out of planning your first week of school! All these engaging activities are included in the same pack. Click below to see the links!
Click here to purchase on TPT.
Click here to purchase on Missing Tooth Grins.
Interested in other grade levels? Don’t worry- we have back to school resources similar to this one for both first grade and second grade!
First Week of 1st Grade – Missing Tooth Grins
First Week of 2nd Grade – Missing Tooth Grins
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