First Day of School Scavenger Hunt

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Originally published August 2, 2019. Updated July 11, 2022.

Make the first day of school fun with a scavenger hunt for kids. Whether you play as you walk your child to school or whether you’re a teacher and use this free printable with four different designs on the first day of school. Make going back to school fun this year.

This free first day of school printable contains four different scavenger hunt boards that you can download as many times as you’d like.

How to Use the First Day of School Scavenger Hunt

• Use it with your child as you walk to school
• Send it with your child to look for the items when they get to school at the start of a school year
• Librarians can use it with children
  • Or you may prefer the free 4-page library scavenger hunt printable
• Teachers can have the student play a back-to-school game using these scavenger hunt boards as one of the first day of school activities
  • You can have students play individually or in teams

• The scavenger hunt can be played as way for students to familiarize themselves with the classroom, library or school
  • When they are more familiar with the space, they’ll feel more comfortable more quickly in the space
• If the first day of school is rainy use this scavenger hunt for kids as an activity to replace going outside
• It’s particularly useful for the first day of kindergarten or for students attending a new school
• It’s also helpful for an open house or other school activity

The first day of school is a big deal. Making it fun can relieve the natural nervousness many children feel. The distraction of playing a game that is fun works well for most children.

Get 20 different scavenger hunts in the Big Bundle of Scavenger Hunts, with a total of 80 different game board pages, that you can download immediately.

First Day of School Scavenger Hunt

• Gain access to the free scavenger hunt when you sign up for our free newsletter. You’ll be sent an email after you sign up that contains the scavenger hunt pdf.
• Print the scavenger hunt boards out on computer paper or card stock paper
  • I prefer card stock paper because it’s sturdier and holds up better in little hands running around playing a first day of school game
• Print as many copies as you’d like depending on as many children will be playing this back-to-school scavenger hunt because you want everyone to have their own scavenger hunt sheet
  • I recommend printing extra copies since the scavenger hunt boards can get lost or damaged in the excitement of the hunt
• You can have the children find all the items on their sheet or have them find all the items in a row or column like you do in playing bingo
• If you’re playing the hunt with a larger group of children, you can have the children look for the items in teams rather than individually

Check out the variety of other free scavenger hunts that could be adapted for your first day of school:

Frequently Asked Questions about Classroom Scavenger Hunts

What is a classroom scavenger hunt?

It’s a fun way to to help new students become familiar with the classroom and meet their new classmates while they find the items on their game cards. You can use this free scavenger hunt template to create a fun activity that is personalized for your classroom and needs.

It’s a great way to help students in a lower elementary classroom, in a therapy session and in special education classrooms get comfortable in the new classroom.

How do you do a school scavenger hunt?

Choose a printable scavenger hunt like this one or create your own (you can use this free scavenger hunt template in 8 different colors).

Set the rules for playing the scavenger hunt.

Set a timeframe for the activity.

Encourage the students to have fun and understand that the goal of the activity is to get over those first day jitters.

More resources for the first day of school:

• Morning Routine for School Tips – 18 tips for establishing a morning routine for school that makes your mornings run more smoothly and teach your child life skills and independence.
• Back-to-School Morning Routine Printable – With more than 10 free printable morning routine chart options, there are choices for children of all ages, abilities and special needs.
• Homework and Study Planner Free Printable – Academic success is built on organization & discipline, so using a study planner is key. This free 3-page school planner comes in 5 different color combos
• Simple Back-to-School Ideas – 90+ back-to-school tips, organizing ideas, crafts and recipes

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Pin for later so you can find this first day of school scavenger hunt year after year for the start of a new school year.

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You can find all our best back-to-school organizing, crafts and recipes in the table below. You can scroll though the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.