45 Best Back to School Activities for Preschoolers

Heading back to school can be an exciting time for preschoolers! Simple and fun activities can help them feel ready and eager to learn. These engaging back-to-school activities can spark their interest in fine motor skills, reading, writing, math, crafting, and more. In this blog, we’ll share some great back-to-school activities for preschoolers to make the transition smooth and enjoyable for kids. Let’s get started on making back-to-school a happy experience!

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5 Classroom Setting up Back-to-School Activities for Preschoolers

1. Desk Decorating

Let kids personalize their desks with name tags, stickers, and drawings. This fun and creative activity helps children feel a sense of ownership and excitement about their learning space. It’s one of the best back-to-school preschool activities to make them feel at home.

2. Bulletin Board Creation

Let children help create a bulletin board display with their artwork or photos. This teamwork activity fosters a sense of community and belonging in the classroom, and it’s a fantastic way to kick off the back-to-school preschool theme.

3. Classroom Labels

Have kids help label different classroom areas, like the reading corner or supply shelf. This organizational task helps children learn about their environment and take responsibility. It’s an effective welcome back-to-school activity to get them involved.

Related Reading: Best Classroom Decoration Ideas for Teachers

4. Welcome Banner

Create a large welcome banner to hang at the classroom entrance. This collaborative project excites and welcomes children as they start the school year. It’s a perfect addition to your list of back-to-school activities for preschoolers.

5. Classroom Garden

Start a small classroom garden where kids can plant and care for flowers or vegetables if space allows. This responsibility-building activity teaches children about nature and caring for living things.

Related Reading: Best Classroom Door Decoration Ideas

5 Back to School Routines and Procedures

1. Morning Routine Practice

Go through the steps of a typical school morning, including unpacking backpacks, putting away coats, and morning greetings. This helps children get familiar with daily routines, making the start of the day smoother. It’s an essential part of preschool back-to-school activities.

2. Lining Up Practice

Practice lining up and walking in line, which helps with transitions between activities. This routine instills discipline and orderliness in young children. 

3. Hand Washing Routine

Teach and practice proper handwashing techniques to promote hygiene. Ensuring kids know how to wash their hands correctly helps maintain a healthy classroom environment. This is an important aspect of preschool back-to-school activities.

4. Snack Time Procedures

Establish snack time routines, including handwashing, distributing snacks, and cleaning up. This teaches children responsibility and good hygiene habits. It’s a valuable component of back-to-school pre-k activities.

5. End of Day Routine

Practice end-of-day routines like packing, organizing take-home folders, and saying goodbye. This routine helps children transition smoothly from school to home.

Related Reading: Essential Back to School Tips for Parents and Kids

8 Back-to-School Art & Craft Projects for Preschoolers

1. Get to know Me

Your kids can make get-to-know-me style creative craft projects by writing their names and interests on a cartoon animal. They can fill in the blanks and have their new friends fill them out too. 

2. Kindness Clips

Your kids can tape and color-in clips and pins, with positive affirmations. They can hang them in different areas of the house to keep reminding them of the importance of kindness activities.

3. Exploration Project

These types of back-to-school activities for preschoolers include exploratory exercises around playgrounds, school buses, classrooms, etc. Your kids can explore their new surroundings through identifying and sorting. Even sorting games can help in the process. 

4. Wheels on the Bus

You can replicate a school bus with some bottle caps, cardboard, sticks, and tape. This is a great sing-along project that can encourage kids to get excited about starting the school year. 

5. Mini Notebooks

Your preschooler can make mini notebooks by clutching a bunch of mini paper sheets and tying them together with some thread. They can also write their goals on the first page as well.

6. Bookmarks for Kids

One of the easiest back-to-school activities for preschoolers is to make bookmarks. You can cut out bookmarks from cardboard paper and embellish them with unicorns, robots, and dinosaurs. 

7. Backpack Keyrings

Your young ones can make backpack keyring ornaments with some felt, velvet, ribbons, and a cutter design. They can stitch together something they truly love. 

8. Cute Pencil Holders

Preschoolers love stationery, and they can craft together an adorable pencil holder with a toilet roll, some ribbons, and some colors. They can tape the bottom of a toilet roll with some cardboard as well.

Related Reading:  Best Color Activities for Preschoolers to Boost Creativity

5 Back-to-School Lesson-Based Activities for Preschoolers

1. Setting Expectations

With some sticky notes and a giant board, you can write your kids’ expectations for the school year and post them on the board. This activity encourages long-term thinking and helps children set goals.

2. Emotion Check-In

Create a feelings checklist to help kids express how they are feeling. This activity is great for teaching mental health awareness and boosting self-esteem. It’s perfect for back-to-school pre-k activities.

3. Kindness Project

Teach the joy of giving by having kids donate toys, food, and blankets to those in need. This lesson fosters a sense of community and empathy among preschoolers.

Related Reading: Best Empathy Activities for Kids to Foster Kindness

4. Classroom Garden

Start a classroom garden where kids can plant and care for flowers or vegetables. This ongoing project teaches responsibility, care, and the basics of plant growth. It’s a wonderful addition to preschool back-to-school activities.

Related Reading: How to Make Gardening With Children Fun and Educational

5. Self-Portraits

Have kids create self-portraits, adding new outfits, accessories, and backpacks to their drawings. This activity encourages self-expression and confidence as they start the new school year.

5 Back-to-School Math Activities for Preschoolers

1. Join the Sequence

You can have your kids draw a line through a bunch of number puzzles, asking them to connect the sequence of numbers in games. They would need to join the dots to connect 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.

2. Shape-Finder Activity

You can cut out a bunch of shapes, such as ovals, rectangles, circles, etc. and place them on a sheet of paper. You can have your kids point out the right shape based on a checklist of different questions.

Related Reading: Best Shape Activities For Preschoolers

3. Counting to 10

Finger counting is a great way to get ready for the school year. Your preschooler can learn the counting song and improve their counting skills through foundational memory. They can also sing along with back-to-school songs.

Related Reading: Best Counting Activities for Preschoolers

4. Number Lines

You can make a straight-lined number line on a sheet of paper and have your kids place stickers in the appropriate place. You can number the stickers 1, 2, and 3, and ask your kids to add them where they belong.

5. Join the Apple Slices

You can cut out the shape of an apple on a sheet of paper and separate the drawing into multiple pieces. You can add additional puzzles on either piece while asking your kids to join them together in the perfect manner.

Related Reading: Best Back to School Math Activities to Boost Math Skills

4 Science and Exploration Back-to-School Activities for Preschoolers

1. Folding Shapes

Help kids understand geometric shapes by creating them with cardboard and paper. They can fold and construct cones, spheres, tubes, and other shapes, learning about their properties in a hands-on way.

2. The Sink and Float Exercise

Introduce buoyancy by gathering various items and predicting whether they will sink or float in water. Kids can test their hypotheses and observe the outcomes, learning basic principles of physics and chemistry.

3. Making Giant Bubbles

Create a soap solution and use a hula hoop to make giant bubbles. This outdoor activity combines fun with a basic lesson in surface tension and chemistry.

4. Water Rising

Mix hot water with food coloring and observe how it rises when combined with cold water. This simple experiment visually demonstrates concepts of temperature and density in physics.

4 Collaborative Back-to-School Activities for Preschoolers

1. Find the Right Color

Provide a range of white objects and various colored paints. Kids can work together to paint the objects the correct color based on prompts, enhancing their visual processing and teamwork skills.

2. Get to Know Me

Pair children up and have them describe three unique things about themselves to each other. They then share what they learned with the group, fostering social skills and helping build new friendships.

3. Fix the Number Line

Provide a set of numbers and a blank number line. Kids work together to place the numbers in the correct order, reinforcing their understanding of sequences and numeracy.

4. School Sight Words

Create a list of common school-related sight words. Kids take turns picking a word, reading it aloud, and using it in a sentence or finding it in a picture. This helps with reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Related Reading: Best Sight Word Activities for Kids

4 Movement-Based Back-to-School Activities for Preschoolers

1. Single-Spot Exercises

Spot workouts for kids, such as jumping jacks, knee raises, and crunches, can help your preschooler become more agile. They can also improve their blood flow and bring in a sense of calmness afterwards.

2. Stretching Exercises

Your kids can also learn how to properly stretch their arms, legs, and torso, with the right exercises. They can improve their flexibility and circulation with the right poses, while improving their overall strength.

3. Walking a Sensory Path

You can design a sensory path for your kids that can include different textures, characteristics, and patterns. This will help them experience different sensations while walking along the path.

4. Mindfulness and Meditation

One of the most important aspects of movement is the slowing down of it. Your kids can practice deep breathing, mindfulness, and meditation, to become more prepared for the school year ahead.

Related Reading: Best Movement Activities for Preschoolers

5 Back-to-School Reading Activities for Preschoolers

1. Story Time Circle

Start each day with a story time circle where kids can listen to a new book being read aloud. This activity helps them settle into the school routine and fosters a love for reading.

Related Reading: Amazing Short Stories for Kids That Teach Moral Values

2. Name Recognition Books

Create personalized books with each child’s name and photo. Children can read their own books and learn to recognize their names and those of their classmates.

3. Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Hide letters around the classroom and have children find them. Once they find a letter, they can match it to an alphabet chart. This helps with letter recognition and gets them familiar with the classroom environment.

4. Reading Nook Setup

Allow children to help set up a cozy reading nook in the classroom. They can choose books, arrange cushions, and decorate the space, making it a welcoming area for independent reading.

5. Interactive Storytelling

Use puppets or props to tell a story, encouraging children to participate by acting out parts or repeating phrases. This makes storytelling time more engaging and interactive, helping them develop listening and comprehension skills.

Related Reading: Best Reading Activities That Turn Kids into Book Lovers

Conclusion

Engage your preschooler with the right back-to-school activities to help them adjust to the new curriculum and explore their abilities. These activities enhance cognitive processing, manage change, and boost fine motor skills through crafts, arts, and creative projects.

Related Reading: Grade-Wise Back to School Activities for Kids

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