The backpack looked enormous last night. This morning, it is already on, and someone is checking the lunchbox one more time before heading out. At the classroom door, a new teacher bends down to say hello. The carefully practiced goodbye might take a little longer than expected, and that is all right.
First Day Of School coloring pages offer a quiet moment around a day full of unfamiliar faces. Before school, a picture can give nervous hands something to do while questions tumble out. Afterward, it can sit beside an afternoon snack as the story of that first day slowly emerges.
Free Printable First Day Of School Coloring Pages
Click any coloring page below to open the PDF, then print on US Letter or A4 paper.
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Coloring Ideas for First Day Of School Pages
Try one of these coloring ideas, or use them as a starting point for your own.
A First-Day Picture That Feels Like Their Own
A new backpack can feel surprisingly important before school starts. This one has a smiling face and a heart above its front pocket, surrounded by the belongings that will soon become part of an ordinary morning.
Bring the child’s actual bag, water bottle, and shoes to the table and let those familiar things guide the picture. They need not copy everything precisely; choosing which details to keep is part of making it theirs. The blank label on the illustrated notebook is a useful place for a name or grade.
Add the date on the back when the page is finished. Saved alongside a first-day photograph, it will remember something the camera might miss: the belongings they were so pleased to take with them.
Something to Grow Into This School Year
The smiling flower sits in a pot on an open book, giving “Learn and Grow” a wonderfully literal meaning. The watering can nearby makes learning look like something that needs tending over time.
Use this page to begin a conversation about one thing the child would like to learn. It might be reading a particular book, writing their name, or finding out how something works. Write their answer on the reverse in their own words, without turning it into a promise or a deadline.
Put the picture somewhere it can be revisited later in the term. The most interesting part may be discovering that their original wish has changed, or that something once difficult has quietly become familiar.
Off to School, One Small Step at a Time
The alarm clock, shoes, lunchbox, and backpack gather beneath a cheerful school bus. Everything looks ready to leave, although real mornings usually involve at least one missing shoe.
Let the child point out which pictured objects belong to their own morning. Then use the page to talk through the order of getting ready: shoes on, lunch packed, bag collected, and out the door. Someone who walks to school can still enjoy the bus without needing it to match their journey.
Once colored, hang the picture near the place where the school bag waits. A small handwritten reminder underneath, chosen together, can give it a useful job. Keep it to the thing most easily forgotten rather than adding a whole timetable.
The Blank Book in School Day Magic
Among the smiling school supplies, the open book has two empty pages. Those little spaces offer a chance to put something personal inside the picture.
After the first day, invite the child to draw one thing they remember on each page. Perhaps there was a story they enjoyed or something interesting in the classroom. A few simple marks are enough; an adult can write a short explanation on the back if the memory needs more room.
Leave the choice with the child, even if their highlight seems wonderfully ordinary. The lunch they ate or the place they hung their coat may be what made a new school feel real.
Two Backpacks and a First Hello
Two smiling backpacks sit beneath “Hello New Friends,” with a little apple between them. The pair gives this page a welcoming feeling before anyone has even chosen a color.
For a shared activity, let two children each take a backpack and decide together how to finish the rest. There is no need for their bags to match. Choosing different colors gives them something easy to talk about while their hands are busy.
At home, the same picture can help a child rehearse a first introduction. Practice saying their name and asking one simple question about something another child likes. Then let the conversation move on; the page can stay an enjoyable picture rather than becoming a lesson in making friends.
A Friendly Schoolhouse to Come Home To
Even the schoolhouse doors are smiling in this design. A clock and bell sit above them, while the large “Hello School” lettering gives the picture the feeling of a cheerful greeting.
Try coloring it before a school visit, then look at the real building together. Does it have a bell, a flag, or windows shaped like these? Noticing the differences can give a child something concrete to focus on when the place still feels unfamiliar.
Back home, add a small drawing of the real school on the reverse. It can be as simple as a doorway and a few windows. The two sides then hold both versions: the friendly imagined school and the one they are beginning to know.