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Home » activities » First Day of School Countdown Activity

First Day of School Countdown Activity

Are your children ready for the first day of school? Are you ready? 🙂 Whether you have a child entering school for the first time, are getting ready to start your homeschool year, or have an older child that is eager to get back to their friends, this is a fun activity to count down the rest of Summer vacation and get ready for the first day of school.

My oldest son has mixed feelings about heading back. He will be in second grade this year, but we have been using countdown chains like this one since he was 4 years old. It is a helpful visual for children who do not understand how long is a week or a month. We have counted down the days that my husband was working remotely or deployed, we have counted down the days until we get to leave for vacation. There was even one Christmas where we used two different colors of paper strips so we could countdown the arrival of a few different family members who were going to be visiting us.

With the anticipation of the new school year, this countdown chain to mark the first day of school is really easy to make whether you have artistic talents or need to use the included free printable I put together for you. (I am looking out for you!)

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Back to school season first day of school countdown chain activity for kids



 

First, gather your supplies:

(All linked supplies are affiliate links.)

construction paper

scissors

a small box or plate

marker

stapler

yarn or a twist tie

laminator (optional, but this is the one I use)

Next, make it:

Countdown to the first day of school with a back to school countdown activity!I had to bathe the twins, so I asked my two older kids to cut some paper strips. I folded the construction paper pieces in an accordion style and then asked them to use the fold lines as a guide for where to cut.

The yellow box in the pictures is where they were to place the paper strips so we could collect them in an organized way. A shoe box or even a plate can work for this purpose so you don’t have a mess of paper all over the table. This is great cutting practice.

You need enough paper strips for the total days left before school starts.

Countdown to the first day of school with a back to school countdown activity!

The next day (projects are often spread across a couple of days in our busy house) I started making the paper chain. You have probably done this before, but for those that have not, all you do is make a ring with a strip of paper making sure the ends overlap about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Then staple the ends together. Take another paper strip and place it through the first ring. Overlap its ends and then staple it so the two rings are linked together. Then repeat with ALL BUT ONE of your paper strips. Save one paper strip to loop through your bus.

Time to get artistic…or not:

You have your chain almost completed-save that last strip of paper! Now you need a bus to hang your chain on to make the first day of school countdown complete. There are two options-

1) Draw a bus on a piece of paper.

OR

2) Print out this free printable bus pattern.

Free printable bus template for creating a back to school countdown to the first day of the new school year for kids.

 

Color it, add details, and cut out a rectangle near the bottom. (This is the point where you can laminate it if you want to do that.)

Insert the last paper strip through the rectangular cutout, loop it through your chain, and then overlap the ends of the paper strip so you can staple it closed. You do not staple any links to the bus-that way you can reuse this every year during back to school season.

Countdown to the first day of school with a back to school countdown activity!

You can see in the picture, there is a rectangle cut out of the bottom of the bus I drew, and to finish it all I punched a hole in the top so I could loop some yarn through. This will allow you to hang the countdown chain up. We hung our back to school countdown chain on the door that leads into the house from our garage. I used a wreath hanger that hooks onto the door and just hung the bus  on it.

Countdown to the first day of school with a back to school countdown activity!

Now we are all ready to count down to the first day of school! Each morning one of the kids tears off one paper ring. We then count the remaining rings to figure how many days are left before the first day of school (good counting practice for the preschooler).

What grade are your children going into this year? 




For more Preschool Activity resources check out:

40+ Activities for Preschool at Home
Simple to prep activities for kids of all ages
Turn banging into learning

Need more back to school organization tips?

Fridge Snack Organization Station
Kids Art Storage Solutions
Teach Kids to Keep the Bookshelf Organized

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August 18, 2015 by Jaimi Erickson 13 Comments Filed Under: activities

Comments

  1. Laura says

    August 4, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    Hello!
    I love this and wanted to let you know that I included it in my 25 Ways to Make Back to School a Little More Exciting post. This is perfect to get kids excited for the new school year! – Laura

    Reply
    • Jaimi Erickson says

      August 5, 2017 at 10:31 pm

      Thanks, Laura! What a fun time of year.

      Reply
  2. Melissa says

    August 22, 2015 at 12:08 am

    This is such a great idea! I will have to save it for next year. We’ve already been in school for a week and a half.

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      August 22, 2015 at 4:46 am

      Thanks, Melissa! You guys start early! 😉 Definitely try this next year. We reuse our’s every year.

      Reply
  3. tanya says

    August 20, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    That’s a neat idea! I like it. But in Russia a backpak is more important like a symbol of the first school day. Thank you for the idea 🙂

    Reply
    • Jaimi says

      August 20, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      Interesting, Tanya! I may have to make another free printable of a backpack. 🙂 I appreciate you stopping by.

      Reply
      • tanya says

        August 24, 2015 at 7:14 am

        I have adapted your idea in my russian blog and use a packback image, and, of course, gave a reference on your blog 🙂

        Reply
        • Jaimi says

          August 24, 2015 at 8:46 pm

          Thanks so much! I am glad that you liked the idea and shared. 🙂

          Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Things to Do Before Kindergarten Starts - Life With My Littles says:
    August 13, 2018 at 3:00 am

    […] some scissors, a stapler or tape, and some construction paper, and you can make a fun paper chain! This school bus countdown is adorable, and I love this pencil one, too. They’re so […]

    Reply
  2. Christmas Kids Activities & Homemade Gift Ideas - The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide says:
    November 26, 2016 at 11:29 am

    […] a countdown chain out of strips of paper to count down to your respective holiday. Rip off one link each day to count the remaining days […]

    Reply
  3. first day of school traditions | ListPlanIt says:
    August 23, 2016 at 6:01 am

    […] First Day Of School Countdown: Build anticipation around that last week of summer by creating this cute paper-link countdown calendar, inching them closer and closer to the school bus and their friends. […]

    Reply
  4. 13 Fun New Traditions for the First Day of School « Betty Vasquez says:
    August 22, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    […] Back-to-School Countdown – If you have kids that cannot wait for school to start, use this classic idea from The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide. […]

    Reply
  5. Back To School Traditions To Get Your Kids Excited - Shakadoo says:
    August 9, 2016 at 7:27 am

    […] -First Day Of School Countdown by The Stay at Home Mom Survival Guide.  […]

    Reply

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