14+ Easy Back to School Crafts for Preschoolers | Simple & Fun DIY Ideas
Back to school crafts for preschoolers can make the first days of the school year feel a little softer, brighter, and more exciting. From cheerful colors to simple hands-on projects, little makers love crafts that feel playful, easy, and full of personality.
A cozy afternoon of back to school crafts for preschoolers is also a wonderful way to build fine-motor skills, spark creativity, and create sweet keepsakes for home or the classroom. Save these ideas for an easy mix of adorable projects that are simple to set up and fun to finish.
Cheerful Handprint School Bus Craft
A bright yellow school bus filled with colorful handprints makes a sweet keepsake for the first days of school. The simple shapes and bold colors give it a cheerful, playful look that preschoolers will love.
What you need
- 1 yellow cardstock or construction paper bus shape
- 4 small square pieces of blue paper
- Non-toxic red, green, purple, and orange paint
- Black paper for wheels and stripes
- Glue stick or school glue
- Scissors
- Black marker or letters for the school bus label
How to make it
- Cut a large yellow bus shape and add the window area with four blue squares
- Paint each child’s hand in a different color and press one handprint into each window
- Glue on black paper wheels, stripes, and the small bus details
- Add the school bus label and let the craft dry flat
Colorful First Day of School Crown
Bright and cheerful, this first day of school crown adds a festive touch to preschool celebrations. The bold letters, smiling apple, and playful stars make it feel extra special for photos or classroom fun.
What you need
- 1 printable crown template
- Colored cardstock or thick white paper
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Child-safe scissors
- Glue stick or tape
How to make it
- Print the crown template on sturdy paper
- Color the letters, apples, pencils, and stars in bright school colors
- Cut around the crown shape carefully
- Tape or glue the ends together to fit the child’s head
Adorable Crayon Notebook Buddy
A cheerful notebook buddy like this turns a simple school paper into a playful little character with lots of personality. The bright crayons, smiling face, and tiny shoes make it feel extra sweet for back to school crafts for preschoolers.
What you need
- 1 sheet of lined notebook paper
- Construction paper in purple, pink, yellow, blue, white, and rainbow colors
- 2 googly eyes or paper eye cutouts
- Black marker
- Glue stick
- Scissors
How to make it
- Cut a large notebook-shaped rectangle from lined paper and add a few small paper strips for the arms and legs
- Glue on the eyes, pink cheeks, and a curved smile
- Add crayon cutouts, a star, a rainbow, and paper hands and shoes
- Let everything dry and gently bend the arms and legs for a finished puppet look
Cheerful Paper Apple Craft
A bright paper apple makes a sweet little back-to-school decoration with a cozy, classroom-ready feel. The textured red surface and leafy green top give it a handmade look that preschoolers will love.
What you need
- 1 red construction paper or cardstock
- 1 green construction paper scrap
- 1 brown paper strip for the stem
- 1 white glue stick or school glue
- 1 pair of safety scissors
How to make it
- Cut a large apple shape from red paper
- Cut one green leaf and one brown stem
- Glue the stem and leaf to the top of the apple
- Add small paper pieces or crinkles for a fun textured finish
Cheerful Alphabet Tree for Back-to-School Fun
A bright alphabet tree like this brings a sweet back-to-school feel to any preschool space, with colorful leaves and bold letters that make learning look playful and fun.
What you need
- 1 brown sheet of cardstock or construction paper
- 26 colorful paper leaves or foam leaf cutouts
- 26 foam or paper alphabet letters
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 glue stick or craft glue
How to make it
- Cut a simple tree trunk and branches from brown paper and glue them to a light background
- Cut out leaf shapes in different bright colors
- Attach one alphabet letter to each leaf
- Glue the leaves onto the branches from top to bottom to finish the cheerful alphabet tree
Sweet Pencil Craft for Little Learners
A bright pencil craft like this feels cheerful and perfect for getting little ones excited about school. The long yellow body, pink eraser, and tiny black point make it look simple, playful, and instantly recognizable.
What you need
- 1 wooden craft stick
- Yellow paint or yellow craft paper
- Pink paint or pink paper
- Gray paint or silver marker
- Black marker or black paint
- Glue
- Paintbrush
How to make it
- Paint the craft stick yellow and let it dry
- Add a pink tip at the top for the eraser
- Paint or draw a gray band under the eraser
- Finish with a sharpened black pencil point at the bottom
Bright Personalized Pencil Name Craft
A cheerful oversized pencil name craft brings a playful back-to-school touch to any preschool wall or desk space. The bright yellow body, pink eraser, and rainbow letters make it feel extra happy and personal.
What you need
- 1 large yellow paper pencil cutout
- 1 pink paper eraser shape
- 1 gray paper band
- 1 black paper pencil tip
- Assorted colorful foam or paper letters
- Glue stick
- Scissors
How to make it
- Cut out a large pencil shape from yellow paper and add the pink eraser, gray band, and black tip
- Trim the pointed tip and rounded end pieces so they fit neatly together
- Glue the name letters across the center of the pencil
- Press everything flat and let the craft dry before displaying it
Adorable Apple Handprint Craft
A bright red apple handprint craft makes a sweet back-to-school decoration with a friendly face and a cheerful school-day feel. The rounded shape, simple stem, and leafy top give it a playful preschool look.
What you need
- Red washable paint
- White paper or cardstock
- Brown construction paper
- Green construction paper
- Black marker
- Pink paint or blush crayon
- Glue stick
- Scissors
How to make it
- Paint the child’s palm and fingers red, then press the handprint onto white paper to form the apple shape
- Cut a small brown stem and a green leaf from construction paper
- Glue the stem and leaf to the top of the apple
- Add eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smiling mouth with paint or marker
Colorful Crayon Name Craft
Bright crayon-shaped bookmarks make a cheerful back-to-school craft for preschoolers, and the fluffy pom-pom centers give each one a playful, hands-on texture. The rainbow colors feel extra festive and fun.
What you need
- Colored cardstock or construction paper
- Black paper strips or black marker
- Pom-poms in assorted colors
- Glue stick or white school glue
- Scissors
- Small sticker shapes for decorating
How to make it
- Cut long crayon shapes from the colored paper, making a pointed top for each one
- Add black stripes near the top and bottom to look like crayon wrappers
- Glue an oval outline in the center, then fill it with pom-poms in matching or mixed colors
- Finish with small sticker decorations near the bottom and let everything dry
Cheerful Paper Backpack Craft
A bright paper backpack makes a sweet back-to-school keepsake with playful colors and a friendly, classroom-ready look. The layered flaps, tiny stars, and button closures give it a cute pretend-school style that preschoolers will love.
What you need
- 1 purple paper or cardstock bag base
- 1 pink paper flap
- 1 teal paper pocket flap
- 1 yellow paper handle
- 1 pink paper strap
- 1 yellow button
- 1 pink button
- 1 white string or paper fastener
- 1 star stickers or paper stars
- 1 glue stick
- 1 child-safe scissors
How to make it
- Cut a tall backpack shape from purple paper and add a rounded top flap and a smaller front pocket flap
- Glue the pink flap, teal pocket, and yellow handle in place
- Add the buttons, string closure, and star decorations for a playful finish
- Attach the pink side strap and let the backpack dry flat before displaying it
Cheerful Paper Plate School Bus Craft
A bright paper plate school bus makes a cheerful preschool keepsake with friendly little faces riding along for the school day. The rounded yellow shape, simple black stripes, and colorful windows give it a playful, easy-to-recognize look.
What you need
- 1 yellow paper plate
- Blue paper squares for the windows
- Black construction paper for the stripes, wheels, and bumpers
- Skin-tone and hair-color paper for the student faces
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Black marker
- Gray paper circles for the wheel centers
How to make it
- Cover or paint the paper plate yellow and let it dry if needed
- Cut out four blue window squares, black strip pieces, wheels, and small bumpers
- Add simple face shapes with hair, eyes, and smiles, then glue them into the windows
- Finish by attaching the stripes, wheels, bumpers, and gray wheel centers
Cheerful Alphabet Caterpillar Craft
Bright rainbow circles and a friendly face turn this alphabet caterpillar into a playful back to school project for preschoolers. It looks sweet on a wall, bulletin board, or learning corner.
What you need
- 1 green paper circle for the head
- 7 colorful paper circles for the body
- Black paper strips for legs and antennae
- Black letter cutouts A through G
- Googly eyes or paper eyes
- Pink paper circles for cheeks
- Glue stick
- Scissors
How to make it
- Cut out one larger circle for the head and several smaller circles for the body
- Add eyes, cheeks, antennae, and a smiling mouth to the head
- Glue the letter cutouts onto each body circle in order
- Attach the circles in a curved line, then add black legs underneath each section
Cheerful Pencil-Shaving Flowers for a Back-to-School Bouquet
Bright pencil-shaving flowers bring a sweet handmade look to a preschool back-to-school display. The curled shavings create soft petal shapes, while the colorful centers and green paper stems make the bouquet feel playful and fresh.
What you need
- Colored pencil shavings in assorted shades
- Green construction paper
- Pom-poms or paper circles for flower centers
- Glue stick
- Scissors
How to make it
- Cut several flower stems and leaves from green construction paper
- Arrange pencil shavings in a circle to form each flower petal shape
- Glue a pom-pom or paper circle in the center of each bloom
- Attach the flowers and leaves to a plain background or poster board
Colorful Back-to-School Pencil and Apple Wreath
Bright pencils, shiny apples, and playful school colors make this wreath feel cheerful and welcoming. The big ribbon bow at the top adds a sweet finishing touch that is perfect for a preschool classroom or front door.
What you need
- 1 foam wreath form or cardboard wreath base
- Construction paper in red, yellow, green, blue, orange, purple, and black
- 1 yellow polka dot ribbon
- 1 black-and-white check ribbon
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 glue stick or craft glue
- 1 pencil template or freehand pencil cutouts
- 1 apple template or freehand apple cutouts
- 1 set of foam or paper alphabet and number pieces
- 1 marker or paint pen for small details
How to make it
- Cut out paper pencils, apples, letters, and numbers in bright school colors
- Wrap or cover the wreath base, then glue the ribbon bow at the top
- Arrange the pencils and apples around the wreath, layering them for a full look
- Add the letters and numbers, then finish with simple drawn details like pencil stripes and apple stems