Back to School Coloring Pages

The first week of school is mostly nerves, and a coloring page is a low-stakes way to talk about it. These 14 back to school coloring pages put the whole day on paper in order, the bus, the building, the classroom, the teacher, the walk home, which makes them useful for a child who has not seen any of it yet. Every design downloads as a free printable PDF sized for US Letter paper.

Yellow School Bus With Happy Kids Inside and Colorful Backpack Loaded With School Supplies are the two most-printed. Classroom With Desks, Chalkboard and Students and School Building With Students Arriving Outside have the most to fill. Pencils, Rulers and School Supplies Arranged is the quickest and the best for a very young child.

Teachers use these differently from parents. Printed at the start of term, the supplies sheet works as a labeling exercise, the classroom scene works as a "where will you sit" conversation, and the bus doubles as a route and safety discussion. All are free to print in class sets, which is usually the deciding factor in September.

The detailed half of the set moves past the first day into the rest of the building. Science Lab With Beakers and Experiments, School Library With Students Reading Books and Art Supplies, Paintbrushes, Crayons and a Palette each cover one specific room or subject, which helps with a child who is anxious about a single part of the day rather than all of it. School Locker Decorated With Magnets and Photos is the best sheet for a child to make their own, since the decoration is left deliberately open. First Day of School Scene With an Excited Child, Kids Walking Happily to School With Backpacks and Playground Full of Kids Enjoying Recess complete the day.

Related sets: Reading, Transportation, Birthdays and Basketball.

For classroom printables that teach rather than settle nerves, the number coloring pages give you a large outlined numeral per sheet for counting and handwriting practice.