Welcome, PreK teachers, to the exciting first week of the school year! You are about to embark on another fun-filled journey of learning and discovery with your little learners. During this special week, you have the opportunity to lay the foundation for an amazing year ahead, connect with your students and help them begin to build that sense of belonging. I especially love using picture books this time of year to frame different concepts I want my students to explore.
There are so many amazing first week of school books and activities you can use to help settle your students and make them feel welcomed and connected. Below are 11 of my favorite first week of school books and activities!
Why use first week of school books and activities for preschoolers?
I personally love incorporating some of my favorite picture books into my lessons during the first week of school. It may be one of my favorite first week of school activities. There is something about sitting down with all my new students and sharing a book together. Their eyes light up, and they become completely enthralled by the book. These picture books are a great jumping off point for some awesome connection building first week of school activities!
Before I move on and share my top 11 books and activities, have you downloaded my free Kindness Scenario Cards yet? These scenarios have been made with preschoolers in mind and are great for helping your students practice sprinkling kindness into any situation! Click on the image to download them!
Here’s why incorporating picture books into your lessons is a fantastic idea:
- Visual Engagement
Picture books captivate young learners with their colorful illustrations and engaging visuals. They provide a visual representation of various emotions, characters, and situations, making it easier for children to connect with the content and understand complex concepts. The illustrations in picture books also serve as a great conversation starter, allowing students to express their thoughts and interpretations.
- Building Community
The first week of school is all about building a sense of community and fostering positive relationships among students. Picture books that explore themes of friendship, collaboration, and inclusivity can be used as powerful tools to promote a sense of belonging and acceptance. By reading stories that highlight the value of teamwork and kindness, teachers can help create a supportive classroom environment where students feel connected and valued.
- Exploring Emotions
Emotions play a significant role in a child’s social and emotional development. Picture books offer an opportunity for students to explore and understand a wide range of emotions experienced by characters in the stories. Through discussions and reflections on characters’ feelings, students can develop empathy and emotional intelligence and learn appropriate ways to express their own emotions.
- Sparking Discussions
Picture books are wonderful conversation starters, encouraging open dialogue and critical thinking in the classroom. Teachers can use thought-provoking questions about the story’s themes to engage students in meaningful discussions. Discussion also promotes active listening, communication skills, and the ability to express opinions.
- Language Development
Reading picture books aloud exposes students to rich vocabulary, sentence structure, and storytelling techniques. By listening to the teacher’s fluent reading, students enhance their language skills, including vocabulary acquisition, comprehension, and fluency. Teachers can also choose books that highlight diversity in language and culture, promoting an inclusive and multicultural perspective within the classroom.
Incorporating picture books during the first week of school allows teachers to create a nurturing and stimulating learning environment. By using stories that emphasize community, feelings, and empathy, teachers can effectively teach these important concepts while fostering a love for reading and learning.
11 of my favorite first week of school books and activities:
There are so many stories that promote great classroom habits like love and acceptance that it can be hard to choose sometimes! But, I think I have come up with a list that not only celebrates those but also helps celebrate the power of friendship and community.
These books will create a positive and engaging atmosphere in your classroom. Whether it’s exploring themes of self-acceptance, kindness, or personal growth, these picture books will help set the stage for an exciting and meaningful year.
Book #1: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Follow kids through their school day, activities, and homes while helping all students realize no matter their race, family makeup, clothes, religion, or ability, everyone belongs. Including this book is a great way to help students notice each other’s differences and celebrate them!
Try this Activity:
Try creating a Classroom Faces Gallery where students draw their friends. You could also do an About My Friend Gallery and your students interview a classmate and fill in each frame with an interest, something about their family or favorite things. Encourage students to do a gallery walk-through and notice all the differences and similarities of their classmates.
Book #2: Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen
A book that will help build and strengthen a class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where they can be themselves, make mistakes, and be a friend to others.
Try this Activity:
Have students draw a picture of their family or bring in a family photo to share with the group. Discuss questions like, What makes a family? How is a class family the same as your family at home? Does a family all need to look the same? Act the same?
Book #3: Your Name Is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
When a little girl becomes frustrated because no one can pronounce her name, she learns about the musicality of all names and teaches others at her school to sing—and say—her name correctly.
Try this Activity:
Use this book as an opportunity to connect with families Send a note home asking families to share the meaning of the child’s name. Share responses in class as a group. Discuss why students like their name and what is unique about it.
Book #4: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
Sarah is very nervous about her first day of school. Her dad tries to get her out of bed, and Sarah says she is not going. She is worried about starting her new school and not knowing anyone.
Try this Activity:
Talk to your preschoolers about their first-day feelings. Help them identify them and name them. Discuss the feelings. Ask questions like when have they felt this before? How can they cope? This is a great opportunity to introduce coping strategies or feeling strategies to help little learners navigate their feelings.
Book #5: You’re Finally Here by Mélanie Watt
A bunny bounces through a range of emotions in this funny picture book about how difficult it is to wait. At first, he’s ecstatic that you, the reader, have arrived. But he can’t help letting you know that waiting for you took too long, was way too boring, and even became insulting.
Try this Activity:
After reading, discuss classroom rules and develop them as a class. It is important to include students when creating the rules for the classroom. Although you may have to help them develop the wording and may want to include specific rules for things like listening and speaking, they will have some great ideas!
Another fun classroom community idea is to create classroom mottos. Classroom mottos are easy-to-remember “rules” that we want our students to remember and “live.” I’ve used classroom mottos in my classroom for years and absolutely love them.
Book #6: We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Penelope the dinosaur is having a rough first day of school because she keeps eating all her classmates. She is struggling to fit in but learns that it is not fun when you get bitten.
Try this Activity:
How about helping your students learn more about each other? Try creating a get-to-know-you question jar. Pick a question at morning meetings or as a transition time activity. This will allow students to get to know each other in a casual way without feeling like they are completing an assignment or have to have the right answer.
Book #7: The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
A fun story that packs a powerful message. This book explains that the day you truly begin living is when you realize that even though you may be different from everyone else, once you find the courage to share your story, the world will create the space for you that you deserve.
Try this Activity:
Get students communicating. Play some icebreaker games to help them get to know each other. Here are three of my favorite icebreaker games:
This or that
A Great Wind Blows
Find someone who
Book #8: Back-To-School Rules by Laurie B. Friedman
When it comes to surviving school, Percy’s at the head of the class, and if you can follow his ten simple rule, then school will be easy and fun! But you have to know there’s more to school than showing up on time and staying awake in class. Percy shows you exactly what not to do.
Try this Activity:
Although classroom rules are important, you want to ensure students have set expectations. It’s ok to have fun and brainstorm some funny rules to make it the best year ever!
Book #9: Hello World! by Kelly Corrigan
This book is the perfect reminder that the journeys we take through life are all about the people we will meet along the way–people who will make us smarter, stronger, and more amazing than we ever thought possible.
Try this Activity:
Give your students a card each and have them draw one person in their life who has affected them in some way (smarter, stronger, etc.). It may be a parent, friend, grandparent, neighbor, etc.
Have them draw a picture and explain how they have helped them. You can also have them draw a picture of someone who they think is smart, strong, etc., and have them discuss why. Discussing these types of traits will help your students begin to see what it means to have a growth mindset .
Book #10: The Pigeon Has To Go To School by Mo Willems
A pigeon who must go to school frets about math, learning the alphabet, heavy backpacks, and what the teacher and other birds would think of him.
Feelings are so important when it comes to preschool. Preschoolers have a lot of feelings, and often times they are BIG feelings. Pigeon doesn’t want to go to school in this story, and many of your students may have felt the same during this first week.
Try this Activity:
Discuss how Pigeon might feel. How can we calm ourselves down? Consider creating a calm-down space in your classroom and help students understand why it’s there and how to use it.
Book #11: Monsters Love School by Mike Austin
Summer is over, and now it’s time for the biggest adventure of all…Monster School! These colorful monsters are going to school for the first time, and they couldn’t be more excited!
Try this Activity:
Encourage your students to share a time they were nervous, excited, anxious, etc., about something. What happened & how did they overcome it? Introduce positive affirmations to your students and how having a positive mindset can make some situations not so bad after all. Maybe you could even hand out a positive affirmation to your students to stick on their desk for the week.
Have Fun with Your Preschool First Week of School Books And Activities!
Picture books are an absolute blast during the first week of school! By diving into these engaging stories, you’ll create a classroom where connection, fun, and learning go hand in hand. By fostering a positive and inclusive environment and helping students understand their own emotions through discussions, your students will build that all important connection during their first week in your classroom!
Looking for More Starting School Ideas for Preschoolers?
7 Practical Tips to Building a Supportive Classroom in Early Childhood
8 Simple First Week of School Activities for You Preschool Classroom
10 Best Back to School Books for Preschoolers
9 Important Class Mottos for the Start of the Preschool Year
Let's Connect:
Sara