Back to school activities hold an important role for teachers to catch their students’ attention. Most students do not feel like going to school on their first back-to-school day because they are still in their holiday syndrome. Therefore, it is teachers’ responsibility to create an interesting and fun activity.

Crafting can be exciting and fun for students as they will learn to create new useable things. Here are ideas for teachers to have crafting activities for kindergarten and elementary-school students:

Back To School Activities – Kindergarten Students

Teachers love to give their students a lot of coloring-pictures back to school activities, and kids can get bored easily when they have to color pictures on their first back-to-school day. They need to find activities, which are both educative and fun. Making a puzzle out of pop sickle sticks is a great idea to start kids’ first back-to-school day.

Things needed:
• Pop sickle sticks
• Crayons
• Pencil
• Rubber
• Scotch tape

Instructions:
• Give each student 10 pop sickle sticks
• Ask students to align the pop sickle sticks in a row so they look like a picket fence.
• Secure the pop sickle sticks with the scotch tape, both 1” from the top and from the bottom of the ‘fence’. The taped pop sickle sticks will be the back side of the puzzle.
• Ask students to turn the ‘fence’ up. Invite them to create a picture on their ‘fence’. They can come up with any ideas. Ask them to make a sketch with a pencil if needed.
• Once each student has their picture idea, ask them to draw the picture on the ‘fence’ using the crayons. Assist and help students when necessary.
• When each student has finished their decorated ‘fence’, ask students to flip over the ‘fence’ and remove the scotch tape.
• Ask students to shuffle their pop sickle stick puzzle, so they are all mixed up.
• Take a puzzle from one student and give it to another. Do the same with the rest of the students. Make sure each student does not get his or her own puzzle.
• Ask students to solve the puzzle they have received. Once they have solved the puzzles, find the owners and return the puzzles.

Back To School Activities – Elementary school students

When dealing with elementary school students, teachers need to think of useful back to school activities, which have a ‘message’ and teach them at the same time. In this activity, teachers are going to teach students about recycling things and keeping the environment—their desks—clean. This Monster Garbage Bag will be a pretty decoration on students’ desks as well as a functional garbage bag.

Things needed:
· Empty clean milk cartons
· Construction paper in various colors
· Glue
· Scissors or cutter
· Markers

Instructions:
· Distribute a milk carton for each student or each group.
· Ask students to cut the top of the carton. When they are done, there will be a big hole on the carton. This will be the monster’s mouth.
· Ask students to wrap around the carton with construction paper. Leave 1” at the top and stick it inside the carton. This will be the monster’s body.
· Ask students to draw arms and feet on a piece of construction paper, and then cut those arms, feet and a tail out. Glue the arms onto the monster’s body, the feet at the bottom, and the tail at the back of the body.
· Ask students to draw two circles on a piece of construction paper, then cut them out. These circles will be the monster’s eyes. With a black marker, draw a small circle on each eye and blacken the inside. Glue the eyes on the top of the monster’s body.
· Ask students to draw some triangles on white construction paper. Cut them out and stick in the inside top front side of the carton. They will be the monster’s teeth.
· Ask students to make other details of the monster, such as the horns and hair, using the construction paper. Draw more details on the monster’s body using a marker. Students can also write ‘FEED ME’ at the front side of the body.
· Place the monsters on the desks and ‘feed’ them with paper scraps.

Teachers need to think creatively when they want to make back to school activities. These activities need to be those which draw students’ attention back to all the fun stuff at school so that they gain even more spirit to go through the entire school year.

Check out this short YouTube video that gives some great ideas for back to school activities.