5 Fun Favorite Activites for the First Week of School

As we plan our back to school activities for the first week of school, every teacher asks themselves, “What can I do to make my new class comfortable?” “How can I help them all get to know each other?”. But the biggest question is, how can I make our first week fun? These are my favorite activities to do the first week of school to make sure my students have a full first week that is both educational and fun!

Welcome your class with a read aloud

Lots of back to school activities for kids with the best first week of school book ever, You're Finally Here! We started with this hilarious anchor chart and did lots of activities all week!

Welcome your new class with the MOST perfect first day of school book ever, You’re Finally Here! by Melanie Watt. Set the premise that just like the book character, you’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for them to arrive!

We made these adorable character writing crafts to go with the best back to school book for kids ever, You're Finally Here!

I use this book and these this matching back to school unit every year and they never disappoint! See how I use it the entire first week in my classroom HERE.

Getting to Know You With Math

Send home a math autobiography the first day of school so parents can help their student gather math related information about themselves.

Math About Me math autobiography page for students to use to describe themselves using math! Available in a Math About Me set on TPT

Students then use it to describe themselves using math!

$Math About Me -A getting to know you activitiy where students define themselves using math! Ideal for family math night too!$

This math about me craft also makes a fun activity for Family Math Night and a great way to get parents involved.

$All About Me Math Craft- Getting to know you through math! Are you looking for something a little different for back to school or your family math night? This all about me math craft is a fun way for kids to describe themselves using math. Includes a parent letter and math autobiography page that is ideal for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students. #allaboutme #backtoschool #mathaboutme #mathcraft$

Set Goals for the New School Year

Another of my favorite first week activities are these goal setting guys and gals. We make these goal setting self-portraits and display them all year. These brighten up our classroom during the year then we revisit our goals at the end.

$Math About Me and Goal Setting Fun- A fun goal setting craft for kids to make during back to school, in January for a new year, or any time. Students make a boy or girl that looks like them, then write their goal for the new school year inside. We make these the first week of school, display them all year, and revisit our goals at the end of the year. A perfect first week of school activity for 1st , 2nd, or 3rd grade!$

During an Olympics year I have students add gold medals, but in the off years we make them without.

Favorite first week of school activities for kids. Have your students set back to school goals inside this Olympics themed craft!

We make these goal setting crafts the first week of school and display them all year. Such a fun back to school activity for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade!

This one looks EXACTLY like the child who made it. And I love her goal for the year!

This one is my all-time favorite!

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“My goal is to skip 2 grades so I can be a fourth grader.”

Set Up A First Day Photo Booth

As you plan your first week of school activities capture memories on the first day of school with a photo booth. These pictures are always treasures for parents.

Youre Finally Here back to school first day photo

I used our bulletin board as a backdrop to get first day of school pics then made simple cards with a special note to send home at the end of the week.

Fun first day (or last day) photo booth with a Superhero theme! The set also includes an editable card. My parents will treasure these!

If Superheroes are your style, check out this fun Superhero themed photo booth set with signs to use on the first AND/OR last day!

Use the editable card template included to send home a first day picture and message that your parents will treasure!

Make All About Me Pop Up Cards

These all About Me pop-up cards are so easy for kids to make and they are literally no prep. All you need is a single sheet of paper. I have students draw simple pictures and write sentences to introduce themselves to their classmates. After students finish their cards we use these to play “Find Someone Who”. So simple, yet so fun!

If you’re not sure how to make a pop-up card I’ve posted a simple tutorial so be sure to check it out.

Play A Get To Know Your Teacher Game

Help your new class get to know you by posting answers about yourself all around the room. The questions are on the students’ answer sheet! I’ve done this really fun All About My Teacher roam the room from Angie Neal at Fall Into First for a several years now and my class always loves it!

Editable all About My Teacher first week of school roam the room from Angie Neal on TPT

The file is completely editable so you can make up your own questions on the student page and make answer cards to post around the room.

Get your students up and moving as they roam the room trying to find and match the questions to the answers on their page!

You can have a lot of fun with this! (I’ve been 29 for several years now ha! ha!)

I hope you’ve found ideas you can use to plan a full first week of fun for your students, but hey girl.

Don’t forget your teacher friends! Make them smile after a long first week of school. Get them a good pen and download these free gift tags!

Be sure to pin this post for later and share it with your teacher friends!

Need help planning your Meet the Teacher Night? Check out these 10 tips for managing meet the teacher night and learn how to organize, communicate, and manage your open house like a pro!