First day of school coloring pages capture that mix of excitement and nerves kids feel before walking through the classroom door. A backpack, a school bus, and a classroom doorway can all feel like small milestones on that first morning. Coloring a familiar scene like the bus stop or the classroom doorway gives kids something calm to focus on before or after the big day.
These are free printable PDF coloring pages built around first day of school moments, from the school bus stop to the classroom door. They work well for preschool and elementary-age kids, with several more detailed scenes that older children and adults who enjoy school-themed coloring can dig into, too.
Explore Our First Day of School Coloring Pages Collection
A few pages in this set focus on one clear first-day moment. The bus-stop and classroom-door scenes each use two main figures with plenty of open space around them, while the feelings page places four expressions side by side. We kept the backgrounds open on those so the main figure or expression stays the focus. Two other scenes go further: the circle-time page has a small group of children introducing themselves to the class, and the school gate page shows a parent waiting while a child leaves holding a drawing. Both add more figures and small background details, which gives an experienced colorist more to work through than the more open, simpler scenes. Files print at full size on US Letter or A4 without needing any resizing.
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Fun Ways to Use These First Day of School Coloring Sheets
School day pages connect with questions that may already be on a child's mind: the ride over, the walk to the door, or who they will sit next to. A child might pick a brighter color for one expression on the feelings page and something more muted for another, depending on how the morning actually feels. These pages fit naturally into a routine before the bus arrives or after school when there's a drawing to talk about. In a classroom, a teacher might set one out during the first morning's circle time, giving kids something to do with their hands while everyone settles in. None of this needs much time; a few minutes with a page can simply give children something familiar to do while the morning routine or classroom settles.
Get Your Free First Day of School Coloring Pages
A new school year comes with a lot of firsts, and a coloring page is a small, easy way to sit with one of them. Print the bus stop scene for the ride over or the school-gate page for pickup, whichever fits the moment. Share a finished page on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or X with the hashtags #FirstDayofSchool, #DirectColoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.Is there a school bus coloring page in this set?
Yes, one page shows a child waiting with a parent for the school bus on the first morning, which works well for a kid riding the bus for the first time.
2.
Why does the feelings page have four expressions instead of just happy or sad?
Starting the school year rarely comes with just one feeling, so the page includes happy, excited, nervous, and shy side by side. That way, a child isn't limited to picking between two extremes if what they're actually feeling is somewhere in between.
3.
Does the collection include a teacher meeting a new student?
It does. One scene shows a teacher welcoming a backpack-wearing student at the classroom door, which can be a nice pick for a child starting at a new school.
4.
Is there a pickup or end-of-day scene, or is everything about the morning?
There's a page for the end of the day, too. It shows a child leaving school with a drawing while a parent waits at the gate. It pairs naturally with the bus-stop page if you want to cover the full first day.
5.
Would this be too complicated for a preschooler just starting out?
Several pages use only two main figures and leave plenty of open space around them, which can feel more manageable for younger children. The circle-time and school-gate pages carry more figures and background detail, so they're better matched to elementary-age kids or older.
6.
My child colors fast and gets bored. Is anything here more involved?
Yes, the circle-time page includes a small group of children instead of just one, and the school-gate scene adds a parent, a gate, and a drawing in hand. Both give a faster colorist more going on in the frame than the single-figure pages do.
7.
Can I print just one page, or do I need the full set?
You can print just one. Each design is provided as its own PDF. Pick the page you want, download it, and print it on US Letter or A4 paper.
