These fun back to school games are the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of the school year with your kids at home or your kids in the classroom! Tons of fun ideas from scavenger hunts to printable games you can just print and go!
Back to School Games for at Home
These games are perfect for playing with your kids at home to celebrate the beginning of the school year or at a back to school party! Some of them might also work for the classroom but mostly, they’re fun ideas for celebrating back to school with kids at home!
School supply scavenger hunt – a fun way to get kids excited about going back to school! There are printable versions of the game so pre-readers can get in on the fun, too! Get them here.
Play these awesome back to school Minute to Win It games with things like glue sticks, brown paper bags, and more! Get the printable cards and instructions here.
Alphabet Relay – if you have a little one getting ready for Kindergarten, this is a fun game to play to work on letter identification and burns off a little energy at the same time! See how to play here.
Back to School I Spy– a fun way to get kids talking about the transition back to school. Get the free printable and ideas for how to get kids talking here.
Back to School Bingo -It’s a free printable game with 10 boards and the little cards to draw to play. This one would work well for either playing at home or at school! Download the whole game here.
Back to School Word Search – Something fun to do with your kids the day before or morning of school! Download the free word search here.
Picture Sudoku – 30 different printable games like picture sudoku that are perfect for getting kids ready for going back to school! Get the printables here.
Back to School Games for School
And these games are mostly designed for playing with a classroom full of kids at school to help get them adjusted to school, making new friends, etc. Some of these would also work for playing at home, just maybe switch things up a tiny bit!
Getting to know you beach ball – Write a bunch of questions on a ball and use them to get kids to answer questions about themselves. Get full instructions here.
Pick a Stick – kids will feel comfortable answering these questions and getting to know one another with simple prompts. Get the the rules and printable here.
What’s Your Name Workout – this is a great way to get kids moving as well as working on name spelling for younger kids. Download the free printable here.
Find a Friend Bingo – help manage those back to school jitters with this fun game that will help kids connect! Download the free printable here.
Getting to Know You Board Games – Three free printable getting to know you board games that encourage students to share information about themselves. Get them for free here.
Back to School Snowball Fight-there’s more to this activity than just throwing wads of paper at each other. See how to play (along with variations) here. 
Get to Know You Yahtzee – Based on the classic dice game, this is a great way to get kids talking about themselves and connecting with others in small groups. Download the game cards here.
Student Search – two different versions to help cover a greater age range, this printable game is a fun way to get to know each other on the first day back to school. Print the game sheets here.
Classroom Scavenger Hunt – Trivia questions (at grade level) and a fun scavenger hunt help students get familiar with their new surroundings on the first day of school! Download the free packet here.
Getting to Know You Cootie Catchers – This paper quizzer (cootie catcher) is a fun activity for students to get to know each other at the beginning or any time of the year. Print in color or black and white here.
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