Things to Do Before Kindergarten Starts

These ten things to do before kindergarten starts will help your kindergartener be prepared and ready for the first day of school!

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With our oldest starting kindergarten in less than a month, we’ve been trying to plan tons of fun activities before September to make sure we maximize our time left with him before he’s in school all day. And if you’re in the same boat, first of all, I’m assuming you have all the feels about your child starting kindergarten, and second, you might be wondering how you, too, can enjoy the rest of summer before school starts! I thought it would be fun to share some things to do before kindergarten starts! And yes, last week I shared how to prepare your child for kindergarten, which might seem like the same thing, but I promise, these are different suggestions! These are things you can do together and that post is more how you can prepare your child. See! Different!

Here are ten things to do before kindergarten starts:

1. Go school shopping. If your child is anything like mine, he’s probably super excited about this one. We just went school shopping last week and my son was so excited and told everyone he saw what we were doing. about it. He doesn’t need new shirts, but I’m also planning on going soon to get a few pairs of pants. If your child doesn’t have a backpack yet, that’s a exciting thing to pick out, too!

2. Attend Back To School Night. Your child’s elementary school will probably have a Back to School Night where your child can come meet his new teacher, see the classroom he’ll be in, find his desk and/or cubby, and get to walk around the school. It’s a great way for your child to get comfortable with where he’s going, meet his teacher, and meet a few kids in his class! Plus, it’s just fun!

3. Play on the playground at the new school. If your child hasn’t ever been to the school before (assuming they didn’t have preschool there), go play on the playground one day before school starts! It’ll be a good way to help your child familiarize himself with the playground. My daughter is starting preschool this year and after we did this she wouldn’t shut up about her “new playground.”

4. Play “school.” Remember when you were little and you pretended to be either at school or like you were the teacher? This is another fun thing to do with your new kindergartener! Use their real teacher’s name and talk about raising hands and listening when other people talk. It’s a sneaky way to give them some tips!

5. Read a special kindergarten book. We checked out a few books about kindergarten from the library and it’s fun going through them and reading them with our son. There are lots of well-reviewed ones on Amazon, or you can just search for books about kindergarten at the library!

6. Make a countdown chain. My kids always love having a visual countdown to big holidays or vacations, so why not make a countdown for the first day of school? Just grab some scissors, a stapler or tape, and some construction paper, and you can make a fun paper chain! This school bus countdown is adorable, and I love this pencil one, too. They’re so fun!

7. Go grocery shopping for school lunches and school morning breakfasts. One thing we’re excited about is packing school lunches, and I’ve been getting my son involved on deciding what he wants to bring for lunches. He was so excited to go to Costco and get things he wants me to put in his lunch (he’s super excited about little bags of chips like this) and easy, fast things he wants for breakfast (like breakfast sandwiches or frozen waffles). I told him he can’t have them until school starts and he can hardly wait!

8. Anything else fun he wants to do! It might be the zoo, the drive in movie, or a favorite playground. We’re planning a trip to Wisconsin Dells before school starts and Little J couldn’t be more excited. It definitely doesn’t have to be that big, but just try and soak up every last minute of summer with your child!

9. Eat their favorite dinner the night before school starts. My kids rarely decide what we’re having for dinner, so this is a special one for them. Let your child decide what their favorite dinner you make is, or what their favorite place to eat out at is, and do it! It’s their last dinner before school starts, so you better make it a good one!

10. Serve a special breakfast the first morning of school. Here’s a fun collection of 25 back to school breakfast ideas you can check out. Some are more first day of school-themed than others, but it’s a great roundup! I love the pencil waffles! I was going to add another thing I loved from there but then I just kept scrolling going “I love that one! And that one! And that one!” There are so many fun breakfast ideas that you can try out to make their first day special as soon as they wake up!

With only a few weeks before school starts, there’s not a lot of time left to spend with your child! I know that sounds dramatic and of course you’re still going to see them in the mornings and evenings, but for someone who’s never had a kid in full-day school before, it is dramatic! Thank goodness I have this list of things to do before kindergarten starts to make sure this last month is the best one of the summer! Good luck, mamas! I hope you’re not a hot mess on the first day (although if you are, come on over and we can be a hot mess together!)!