20+ Back to School Themes for Preschoolers and Kindergarten

It’s that time again! Are you ready for back to school activities and planning? Don’t worry; I’ve got lots of great back to school theme ideas, plus back-to-school theme activities and printables to help you get the school year started.

Discover The Best back to school theme ideas and fun back to school activities for preschool and kindergarten.

Back to School Theme Ideas & Activities

I’m excited to share a few favorite back-to-school theme ideas for preschool and kindergarten. Plus, some of our favorite books to read aloud at the start of the school year. You won’t want to miss all the fun back-to-school theme activities!

Keep reading to get the scoop on great ideas and learning fun for the start of your school year. You’ll get healthy snack ideas, organization tips, no-prep printables, and more!

affiliate links can be found on this blog at no cost to you.

Getting Ready for Back to School Season

Are you ready for the start of a new school year? The back-to-school season is exciting, but it can be a bit overwhelming too. Don’t worry; I’ve got tips to help you start the year with lots of fun, learning, and much less stress.

Organization

Beginning the school year with an organized classroom is a great first step towards a smooth and efficient school year. If you and your students have easy access to learning materials, you can focus on learning instead of spending the day dealing with messy and disorganized spaces.

Get all the best tips for classroom organization, whether you’re a homeschooler or a school teacher, in my Back to School Homeschool Room Tours.

Healthy Snacks

When you’re hungry, it’s hard to focus and think clearly. Providing healthy snacks for your kids during the back-to-school season is an excellent way to help them stay focused on all the cool things they’re learning this year.

Get my favorite recipes and Healthy Back to School Snack ideas your kids will love. Then, focus on learning with happy, healthy kiddos.

Positive Mindset

Another critical component of a healthy school year is to help your students build a positive mindset. Discover 5 ways I help my kids Get a Positive Mindset for Back to School. It’s a great way to help kids practice using a growth mindset and positive thinking from the very start of your school year.

Back to School Theme Ideas

Organizing your classroom or learning space is an important first step to preparing for a new school year. You can use a fun theme to help positively manage your learning environment. Check out some of the best back-to-school theme ideas, including preschool themes and kindergarten themes for your learning spaces.

Preschool Themes

Preschool is exciting because it’s a child’s first time in a learning environment like a classroom or homeschool space. There are lots of ways you can make this transition exciting for everyone.

Check out some favorite back-to-school preschool themes below.

Handprint Art helps create a fun keepsake for children, parents, and grandparents to remember that first day of school forever. Plus, it’s easy to match handprint art to whatever back-to-school theme you’re focusing on this school year.

Check out this Handprint Fish Craft for a fun Under the Sea preschool theme.

A crayon theme has endless back-to-school theme idea possibilities! My current favorite is a “create kindness” crayon preschool theme idea. It encourages kids to get creative and focus on spreading kindness. Check out these incredible Kindness Projects for Kids to get more ideas.

Kindness Crafts to start your year

Kindergarten Themes

Kindergarten themes make the first year of formal schooling lots and lots of fun! Check out some of my favorite back-to-school kindergarten themes below to get started learning and having fun with your kids this year.

Adventure awaits in kindergarten this year! Since kindergarten is the beginning of your children’s formal schooling adventure, it’s a great time to capitalize on the adventure with a fun theme. Go on an adventure in nature with all kinds of fun activities and crafts!

Check out these Outdoor Adventure Scavenger Hunts to begin your journey into the great unknown with your kindergartners this school year.

Ready for more kindergarten back-to-school theme ideas?

Build a Great Year with a LEGO brick or block theme for your kindergarten classroom or homeschool learning space. Check out my LEGO Transportation Theme Sensory Bin for a fun, multisensory learning experience. Then, read about using LEGO Storage Blocks for an extra organization item in the classroom.

Transportation Theme

All About Me Theme

An All About Me theme is a popular and fun way to introduce preschool and kindergarten students to their new classroom and classmates. This theme focuses on each child’s unique qualities, interests, and experiences.

To start the theme, you can create a class “All About Me” book. Each child can contribute a page with their photo, name, and fun facts about themselves. This book can be read aloud during circle time or kept in the classroom library for students to look at throughout the year.

Another activity to incorporate into this theme is a “Me Bag” show-and-tell. Each student can bring in a bag with items that represent themselves, such as a favorite toy, book, or photo. They can share with the class why each item is important to them and what it says about who they are.

For more hands-on activities, you can set up a “Me Collage” station. Kids can bring in photos, magazine cutouts, and other materials to create a collage that represents themselves. This activity encourages creativity and self-expression while also promoting fine motor skills.

In addition to these activities, you can also incorporate “All About Me” songs and books into their daily routines. This theme helps to build a sense of community and belonging within the classroom as students learn more about each other and their shared experiences.

An All About Me theme is a great way to kick off the school year and help children feel comfortable and excited in their new school year.

Apple Theme

An apple theme is a fun and educational topic for preschool and kindergarten students. Apples are a familiar and accessible fruit that children can easily relate to.

Here are some ideas for incorporating an apple theme into your lessons and activities:

Apple Sorting: Provide a variety of apples in different colors and sizes. Have the children sort the apples by color or size. This activity can also be extended to include counting and graphing.
Apple Taste Test: Cut up different types of apples and have the children taste them. Talk about the different flavors and textures of each apple.
Apple Art: Use apple halves as stamps to create apple prints. Or, have the children create apple collages using red and green construction paper.
Apple Science: Cut open an apple and explore the different parts of the fruit. Talk about the seeds, core, and skin. You can also experiment to see how apples float or sink in water.
Apple Books: Read books about apples, like How to Make an Apple Pie and See The World by Marjorie Priceman or Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss. These books can also inspire apple-themed writing activities.
Apple Cooking: Make applesauce or baked apples with the children. This is a great way to incorporate math skills like measuring and counting.

An apple theme can be a fun and engaging way to teach young children about colors, shapes, math, science, and literacy. Plus, it’s a great way to introduce healthy eating habits!

Back to School Activities

Once your learning spaces are organized and ready to go, you’ll be ready to focus on back-to-school activities you can do with your students. The first activities and lessons you do in your classroom should be light-hearted and engaging, introducing new concepts with a whole lot of fun! I like to begin by focusing on establishing my expectations and learning names.

If you’re homeschooling, you can focus on helping your children learn to spell and write their own names rather than learning new names as you would in a classroom setting.

Keep reading to discover some of the best ways to establish school rules & learn names.

Establishing Classroom Rules

An essential part of managing your classroom is having a clear set of rules and routines for kids to follow daily. Establishing rules helps kids to know what’s expected of them and makes it easy to stay on track.

I like to involve my kids in helping establish the routine. It’s a great way to give them some autonomy in the classroom while learning about what’s important to them. Plus, I’m often glad that the rules they come up with are similar to the ones I would have chosen.

Name Game & Name Writing Activities

One of my favorite name games to play is a really simple one that’s great for introducing the concept of syllables to children too. Here’s how you play:

Begin by going around the circle, clapping each child’s name with each syllable. For example, Let’s clap for London! Lon-don! Lon-don! Now, let’s clap for Timothy! Ti-mo-thy! Ti-mo-thy!

You can use fun name-writing activities to help your kids learn how to spell and write their own names too. Check out my Rainbow Salt Tray for a sensory writing activity your preschoolers and kindergartners will love!

Best Back to School Themed Books

Reading aloud to children is one of the very best ways to encourage a love of reading and build literacy skills year-round. During the back-to-school season, you can use books to help children manage expectations and prepare for the classroom. Check out some of my favorites:

A Letter from Your Teacher by Shannon Olsen

Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen

The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi

Time for School, Mouse by Laura Numeroff

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

So are you ready for the back-to-school season yet? I hope you’re filled with fun back-to-school theme ideas and activities now!

Do you have a great idea I didn’t mention? Tell me all about it in the comments. I can’t wait to read them!