20 Back To School Craft | Easy & Creative Projects 🎨📚
The start of a new school year is the perfect time to bring creativity into the classroom with fun and easy back to school crafts. Whether you’re looking for projects for kids, preschoolers, teachers, or families, these ideas turn everyday craft supplies into colorful school-themed creations.
From pencils and apples to personalized bookmarks and classroom decorations, these projects are simple enough for beginners while offering plenty of opportunities for creativity.
1. Paper Plate School Bus
Turn a paper plate into a bright yellow school bus with paint, construction paper, and glue. Add black circles for wheels and small rectangles for windows.
Kids can draw tiny passengers inside the windows or decorate the bus with their names.
Materials: Paper plate, yellow paint, black paper, glue, crayons.
Fun idea: Add a road underneath the bus using black construction paper.
2. DIY Pencil Holder
Give an empty can or recycled container a new purpose by turning it into a colorful pencil holder. Cover it with construction paper and decorate it with stickers, patterned paper, or school-themed drawings.
Materials: Clean container, paper, glue, stickers, markers.
Tip: Adults should make sure the container has no sharp edges before children use it.
3. Apple Stamping Craft
Apples are a classic back-to-school symbol. Cut an apple in half and use the cut surface as a stamp.
Dip it into washable paint and press it onto paper to create apple shapes. Add stems and leaves with markers once the paint dries.
Materials: Apple, washable paint, paper, markers.
4. Personalized Bookmarks
Create colorful bookmarks from cardstock. Kids can decorate them with their names, favorite colors, stickers, stars, pencils, or apples.
Add ribbon at the top for an extra decorative touch.
Materials: Cardstock, markers, stickers, ribbon, crayons.
Best for: Reading corners, classroom activities, or school gifts.
5. Back-to-School Pencil Craft
Create oversized paper pencils using yellow, pink, black, and gray construction paper.
Kids can decorate the pencil body with their names or patterns. Display several finished pencils together for a colorful classroom decoration.
Materials: Construction paper, glue, scissors, crayons.
6. First Day Photo Frame
Make a special photo frame for a child’s first-day-of-school picture. Cut a frame from sturdy cardstock and let kids decorate the border.
Use apples, stars, school buses, pencils, and colorful stickers to create a festive design.
Materials: Cardstock, glue, stickers, markers.
Memory tip: Write the school year and child’s age on the back.
Read Next: 20 First Day Of School Crafts For Preschool
7. Paper Bag Backpack
Turn a small paper lunch bag into a pretend backpack. Decorate the bag with crayons, stickers, paper shapes, and a personalized name tag.
Attach paper strips as shoulder straps for imaginative play.
Materials: Paper bag, construction paper, glue, crayons, stickers.
8. School Supply Collage
Create a colorful collage featuring crayons, pencils, notebooks, glue bottles, scissors, rulers, and backpacks.
Cut the shapes from construction paper and let children arrange them into a large school-themed picture.
Materials: Construction paper, cardstock, glue, crayons.
Learning bonus: Talk about what each school supply is used for while crafting.
9. Handprint Apple Tree
Paint a child’s hand with washable brown paint and press it onto paper to create a tree trunk and branches.
After it dries, use fingertips dipped in red, green, or yellow paint to create apples on the branches.
Materials: Washable paint, paper, markers.
Keepsake idea: Add the child’s name and school year beneath the tree.
10. DIY Crayon Box
Create a pretend crayon box from cardstock. Draw or cut colorful crayons and place them inside a decorated box shape.
Kids can choose their favorite colors and add their names to the front.
Materials: Cardstock, construction paper, glue, crayons.
Creative extension: Use the finished project as a classroom display.
11. Back-to-School Garland
Make a festive garland from paper apples, pencils, books, stars, and backpacks.
Cut the shapes from colorful cardstock and connect them with yarn or ribbon. Hang the garland above a desk, classroom board, or craft area.
Materials: Cardstock, yarn, glue, markers.
12. School Bus Photo Craft
Create a school bus template with a large window. Place a child’s photograph inside the window and decorate the rest of the bus with crayons and paper shapes.
Materials: Cardstock, photograph, crayons, glue, construction paper.
Why it’s special: It combines a fun craft with a memorable first-day keepsake.
13. Name Letter Collage
Write a child’s name in large letters on a piece of cardstock. Let them fill the letters with colorful tissue paper, stickers, paper scraps, or drawings.
Materials: Cardstock, tissue paper, stickers, glue, crayons.
Learning benefit: Children can become more familiar with the letters in their names while creating artwork.
14. Paper Plate Apple
Paint a paper plate red, green, or yellow to create a giant apple. Add a brown paper stem and green leaf.
Decorate the apple with fingerprints, stickers, or small paper circles.
Materials: Paper plate, washable paint, construction paper, glue.
Classroom idea: Make one apple for every student and display them together.
15. DIY School Crown
Create a paper crown decorated with school-themed shapes. Add apples, pencils, stars, books, or backpacks around the crown.
Write “Back to School” or the child’s name across the front.
Materials: Construction paper, glue, stickers, crayons.
Fun use: Wear the crowns during a first-day classroom celebration.
16. Pencil and Apple Wreath
Create a simple school-themed wreath using paper pencils and apples.
Cut out several shapes, decorate them with markers, and glue them around a cardboard ring. Add a ribbon at the top for hanging.
Materials: Cardboard, construction paper, markers, glue, ribbon.
Best for: Classroom doors, homeschool spaces, or children’s bedrooms.
17. School-Themed Friendship Chain
Create paper strips in different colors. Children can decorate each strip with drawings, stickers, or positive words.
Connect the strips to form a long chain and display it in the classroom.
Materials: Construction paper, glue, crayons, stickers.
Message idea: “Together We Learn and Grow.”
18. DIY Backpack Name Tag
Cut cardstock into an apple, pencil, star, or backpack shape. Write the child’s name in large letters and let them decorate the tag.
Cover it with clear contact paper to make it more durable before attaching it to a backpack.
Materials: Cardstock, markers, stickers, crayons, contact paper.
19. School-Themed Rock Painting
Use smooth, clean rocks as tiny canvases. Paint them with apples, pencils, books, smiley faces, school buses, or encouraging words.
Allow the paint to dry completely before displaying or using the rocks.
Materials: Smooth rocks, washable or acrylic paint, paintbrushes.
Idea: Create a collection of positive school-themed rocks for a classroom garden.
20. Back-to-School Memory Box
Decorate a small cardboard box that can hold school memories throughout the year.
Kids can personalize the outside with stickers, drawings, their names, and school-themed shapes. Use it to save artwork, notes, photographs, or small keepsakes.
Materials: Small cardboard box, construction paper, glue, stickers, markers.
Why it’s meaningful: The box can become a collection of memories that grows throughout the school year.
Easy Ways to Make Back-to-School Crafts More Fun
Choose projects based on children’s ages and abilities. Younger children may enjoy painting, stamping, gluing, and decorating, while older kids can handle more detailed cutting and assembly.
You can also turn simple crafts into learning activities. Count apples, identify colors, practice spelling names, recognize shapes, or talk about the purpose of different school supplies.
Don’t worry about making every project look identical. Giving children freedom to choose colors and decorations makes each finished craft more personal.
Back-to-School Crafts for Classroom Decorations
Several of these projects can double as classroom decorations. Paper pencils, apples, school buses, garlands, wreaths, and friendship chains can brighten walls, doors, bulletin boards, and reading corners.
A great approach is to let every child contribute one piece. When the individual crafts are displayed together, they create a personalized classroom environment that feels welcoming from the first day.
FAQs About Back-to-School Crafts
What are easy back-to-school crafts for kids?
Paper plate school buses, apple stamping, bookmarks, paper pencils, name collages, and school supply collages are easy options that require only basic craft materials.
What crafts can preschoolers make for back to school?
Preschoolers can enjoy painting apples, decorating paper pencils, making handprint trees, creating simple collages, and decorating school-themed crowns with adult supervision.
What materials do I need for back-to-school crafts?
Common supplies include construction paper, cardstock, washable paint, crayons, markers, child-safe glue, stickers, paper plates, recycled containers, and ribbon.
Can back-to-school crafts be used as classroom decorations?
Yes. Pencil garlands, apple wreaths, school buses, paper chains, and student artwork can all be displayed around a classroom or school entrance.
How can I make back-to-school crafts educational?
Combine crafting with simple learning activities. Ask children to identify colors and shapes, count objects, practice their names, or explain what different school supplies are used for.
