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Seasonal activities · school starts around August 25, 2027

Back to School Activities for Kids

Get ready for a new school year with coloring pages, a bookmark to fold, school jokes for the lunchbox and gentle warm-ups for reading, writing and math.

The first weeks of school go more smoothly when children feel ready. These free activities ease the change from summer: color a school bus and a backpack, fold a bookmark for the first library book, and tuck a school joke into a lunchbox. Tracing worksheets, mazes and word searches wake up pencil skills gently, and the How Things Work topics explain the everyday tools in every pencil case.

For grown-ups, the kindergarten readiness checklist and the guides to reading and screen time are good companions in August and September. Every grade also has its own worksheet and game pages, so you can match practice to your child's new grade.

Back to school coloring pages

All seasonal coloring pages

Draw it step by step

  • A round red apple with a short stem, a green leaf and a curved shine line.

    Apple

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 5 min Ages 3–6
  • A brown owl with two feather tufts, big yellow eyes, an orange beak, darker wings and rows of belly feathers, sitting on a branch.

    Owl

    Easy (level 2 of 5) 12 min Ages 5–9
  • A yellow house with a red pointy roof, a brown door with a round top, two blue windows and a chimney.

    Simple House

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 8 min Ages 3–7

Paper crafts to make

  • A purple folded corner bookmark with a smiling face, shaped like a square with a pocket at the bottom.

    Corner Bookmark

    Easy (level 2 of 5) 8 min Ages 6–10 Origami Square of origami paper No scissors No glue
  • A blue folded greeting card with a red, a yellow and a green paper balloon glued on the front, with drawn strings tied in a bow.

    Folded Greeting Card

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 15 min Ages 4–9 Paper craft Card stock or construction paper Scissors Glue Adult help suggested
  • An open square paper box in orange-red, seen from above at an angle, with four walls and a flat bottom.

    Open Square Box

    Growing (level 3 of 5) 15 min Ages 7–12 Origami Square of origami paper No scissors No glue
  • A blue folded paper envelope with side flaps and a pointed top flap tucked under the bottom flap.

    Envelope

    Growing (level 3 of 5) 10 min Ages 6–11 Origami Square of origami paper No scissors No glue

Jokes and riddles

  • Why did the math book need a break?

    Show the punchline

    It had too many problems.

    More jokes like this

  • Why did the pencil raise its hand?

    Show the punchline

    It had a point to make.

    More jokes like this

  • What did the teacher say to the sharpened pencil?

    Show the punchline

    You're looking sharp!

    More jokes like this

  • Why were the two glue sticks best friends?

    Show the punchline

    They always stuck together.

    More jokes like this

  • What is an eraser's favorite magic trick?

    Show the punchline

    Making mistakes disappear.

    More jokes like this

  • I have a face and hands, but no arms or legs. I tell you the time. What am I?

    Hints and answer

  • I show towns, roads, and rivers, but no real people or flowing water are inside me. What am I?

    Hints and answer

  • My keys have letters, and pressing them can put words on a screen. What am I?

    Hints and answer

Back to school science: how things work

More for back to school

Garden maze: drive the bus to the school Geography · Kindergarten · Logic · 1 page Hard Free Answer key School grounds map: warm-up Geography · K–1 · Map · 1 page Easy Free Answer key Great-Grandma Ada's school History, Civics & Social Studies · Kindergarten · Reading · 2 pages Medium Free Answer key

Other seasons