Back to School Pencil Craft for Kids [Free PDF Template]
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Starting a new school year brings lots of excitement and a few nerves, so use this back to school pencil craft as a fun way to help children celebrate the occasion. It’ll have preschoolers through first graders create a sheet of notebook paper featuring a giant pencil that has written “first day of school!”
Set aside about 15 to 20 minutes for children to practice cutting, gluing, and following directions while making their first day of school craft.
Capture the excitement of a new beginning with our collection of back to school crafts. These creative projects help children ease into new routines while having fun making keepsakes.
Good To Know
- Theme: Back to school
- Activity: Assemble a pencil and glue it onto a notebook paper background
- Template: Includes a free printable template
- Ages: Preschool through first grade
- Time: 15–20 minutes
- Skills: Cutting, gluing, shape placement, following directions, and fine motor practice
Fun 1st Day of School Keepsake
For a fun first day of school activity, have kids create a big pencil writing on notebook paper. The finished project makes a wonderful school keepsake and gives kids an opportunity to use their creativity to mark an important milestone.
The step by step instructions below will make this back to school activity easy for students to complete. Assembling the pieces will help strengthen hand muscles, improve hand-eye coordination, and build fine motor skills. Working on the project will also encourage kids to focus and gain confidence.
Our free template helps make this pencil craft for kids even easier to prepare, so you’ll just need to hit print, grab paper, scissors, and glue to get to the fun.
Supplies
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Back to School Pencil Template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)
Directions
Start by printing the template, then gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this back to school pencil to life!
Glue the pencil tip piece to the bottom of the pencil body.
Look for the eye pieces and glue them onto the pencil’s face. This is a fun little step for kids because it starts bringing their pencil character to life.
Glue the metal band piece to the top of the pencil. Press it down gently so it sits straight across the top edge.
Place the eraser piece above the metal band and glue it in place.
Finally, glue the completed pencil craft onto the first day of school notebook paper.
Your back to school pencil craft is ready to display on a bulletin board, send home to parents, or use as a fun first day of school activity!
Be sure to browse the activities below for even more back to school crafts and educational printables. They make it easy to plan themed lessons, centers, and creative learning throughout the season.
Back To School Books for Children
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates – This silly book is about a dinosaur named Penelope who is starting school and just can’t resist eating her classmates! Kids will love the fun drawings and crazy antics of Penelope, while also learning that being mistreated is never fun.
Chairs On Strike – The chairs have had enough of all the crazy things the kids do to them so they go on strike! This story helps kids learn to take care of their property and has lots of fun and silly humor.
Daniel Goes To School – If you have a little one who’s starting preschool or kindergarten and is reluctant to be away from you, this book is perfect for them! Daniel Tiger learns “grown-ups come back” at the end of every school day. We love this cute book!
First Day of School Crafts
Crayon Book Craft – Document the first day of school with this colorful crayon book. Kids can fill its pages with memories, favorite things, and special details about themselves, their class, and teacher. It’s a great way to practice handwriting and early literacy.
Pencil Paper Bag Puppet – Kids can transform a simple paper bag into a cute pencil character using our free template and a few basic supplies. Once they’re finished, little ones can sharpen their storytelling skills through imaginative puppet play and act out classroom adventures.
Back To School Apple Craft – Use the first days of school to get kids creative and engaged! Kids will create a colorful stack of books topped with a smiling apple to bring together two classic classroom favorites. While little hands are cutting and gluing, they’re practicing skills and celebrating reading, creativity, and all the excitement a new school year brings.
Paper Bag Backpack Craft – Pack some creativity into the first day of school with this fun backpack puppet! Kids can turn a brown paper bag into a colorful book bag character with our free template and a few basic supplies. After they’re done, children can bring their backpack puppet to life through imaginative play and celebrating a brand new school year.
Back To School Printables
Learning is fun with these back to school preschool printables! Children will trace letters and words on handwriting pages, follow letter mazes, complete school supply patterns, and practice line tracing.
They’ll also color by number, solve paper strip puzzles, count with a playdough mat, play matching and memory games, and create a mini booklet. These activities strengthen fine motor skills, letter recognition, visual discrimination, problem solving, and more.
Back to school tracing worksheets are a wonderful addition to classroom centers, homeschool lessons, and first-week activities. Children will trace school themed pictures and lines to build the foundational skills needed for handwriting success.
These pages help strengthen fine motor control, pencil grip, hand-eye coordination, and concentration. Teachers and parents can use them as practice to help students ease into school routines and gain confidence with pre-writing skills.
Add some extra fun to the school day with these back to school dot to dots! Kids will connect the dots to reveal school themed pictures, then bring them to life with their favorite colors. This engaging activity helps children practice number recognition, counting, concentration, and fine motor skills. They’re great to use at home or in the classroom.
These back to school mazes give kids a fun way to build important learning skills and celebrate the start of a new school year. Children will guide their pencils through the paths to practice problem solving, critical thinking, visual tracking, and concentration. Parents and teachers can use them for morning work, centers, early finishers, or quiet time activities. They’re an engaging screen free option that helps kids strengthen focus and perseverance while having fun.
Share With Us
Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!
For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!
Free Back to School Pencil Template
Back to School Pencil Craft
Video
Materials
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Back to School Pencil Template
Instructions
- Print the template and gather the materials for this fun activity.
- Begin by positioning the pencil with the eyebrows at the top, then glue the pencil tip piece to the bottom of the pencil body.
- Glue the eye pieces onto the pencil’s face, just below the eyebrows.
- Glue the metal band piece to the top of the pencil.
- Place the eraser piece on the top and back of the metal band and glue it in place.
- Finally, glue the completed pencil craft onto the notebook paper.
Did you make this?
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Meet Sam
Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump, and more.
