Back-to-School Night lays the foundation for the entire school year and allows you to introduce yourself, connect with your new students and their families, and make everyone feel welcome. You want to make it a night to remember— but how? Use these 11 simple and fun back-to-school night ideas to help students and their families leave feeling excited and informed about what’s to come!
The Importance of Back-to-School Night
Research consistently shows the benefits of strong school and home partnerships, and Back-to-School Night is the perfect opportunity to start building these connections.
This night is not just ANY school event though— it’s a chance to begin collaborative partnerships with the families of your new students. It’s worth your time and effort to make this Back to School Night stand out!
11 Back-to-School Night Ideas
Set the night up for success by using a customized slide show and creating 10 fun stations for families and students to enjoy!
Slide Show for Back-to-School Night
A back-to-school night slide show allows you to introduce yourself, answer important questions for families, and help students feel welcome.
These editable back-to-school slides will help parents leave the event feeling welcomed, informed, and excited about the upcoming school year.
How to Create Your Slides
- Download your slides to PowerPoint or Google Slides.
- Choose your slides.
- Decide between colorful or black fonts.
- Keep only the slides you want to use and delete the rest.
- Customize your slides.
- Every slide is editable so you can add your own information.
Personalize the experience for your families and students even more by creating slides in multiple languages!
Options for Presenting Your Slides:
- Present to everyone all at once.
- Greet everyone at the door. Introduce yourself and ask them to find a seat.
- Invite students to sit on the carpet near the board. (This usually helps make the room a little quieter!)
- Keep your presentation short and highlight the most important information.
- Play the slideshow in the background.
- If your school does staggered time slots for Back to School Night, just have your slideshow playing on your screen in the background.
- As you welcome students and families, encourage them to pause and review the slideshow before they begin working through the different stations.
Check out even more helpful tips in the Back to School Slides Teacher Guide!
Back-to-School Night Stations
Next, use stations!
Unlike traditional school events where families sit and listen, back-to-school night stations are designed to help families be a part of the classroom! There are activities for the whole family— including students, siblings, and adults.
Involving everyone in Back to School Night ensures everyone feels welcome and excited about the new school year!
After your presentation, invite families to explore the classroom by visiting your 10 stations:
- Sign-In Station
- Information Station
- Supplies Station
- Donations Station
- Photo Station
- Snack Station
- Creation Station
- STEM Station
- Family Station
- Poster Station
How to Set Up Your 10 Back-to-School Stations
“10 stations…can I really do that?!” YES, yes you can!
Setting up these stations is low-prep and makes a big impact as families and students feel welcome in your classroom.
Here’s how to easily set up your Back-to-School Night Stations:
1. Sign-In Station
First, the sign-in station. Set up this station right outside the classroom door. Allow families to sign in before they enter— saving time and ensuring everyone makes it to this important station!
What You Need:
- sign in papers
- pens
Choose different forms depending on what your school calls this special night:
- Open House
- Back to School Night
- Curriculum Night
- Family Night
Allow students to sign in too! This creates a positive and memorable first interaction with you and your classroom.
2. Information Station
Once inside your classroom, families can collect important forms OR fill out the information you need at the information station.
What You Need:
- classroom forms
- pens
If you have a lot of papers to distribute, consider preparing a folder for each family.
Also, give families a back-to-school survey that helps you get to know their child while helping build a stronger home-to-school connection!
3. Supplies Station
Next, families can drop off student and classroom supplies at the supplies station.
What You Need:
- signs or labels for supplies
- bins or baskets
4. Donation Station
At this station, families can choose one or more things to donate to your classroom.
What You Need:
- Helping Hands cards
- Pocket chart OR tape
Use a pocket chart to hold the cards or tape them to your board so families can easily take one or two with them.
When choosing the items to display, be mindful of different budgets and select items ranging from very inexpensive to more costly so everyone feels like they can help.
5. Photo Station
Next is the photo station— families can take memorable pictures of their children or a fun family selfie here. This station is perfect to place in a corner of your classroom or right outside your classroom in the hallway!
What You Need:
- Printed photo signs
- rulers or large popsicle sticks
- tape
Tape signs to a ruler or popsicle stick to make them easy for little hands to hold. To go the extra mile, hand colorful wrapping paper or craft paper on the wall to create a fun photo backdrop.
6. Snack Station
At the snack station, sit out a small treat or let your students make their own snack mix. This is an easy (& yummy!) way to make everyone feel welcome.
What You Need:
- Small cups or bags
- bowl for each ingredient
- tongs or spoons
- mini bottles of water
Ingredient Ideas:
- cereal
- fish crackers
- mini marshmallows
- mini pretzels
- popcorn
- raisins
- candy pieces
*Be sure to have enough supplies for your students’ siblings too!
Allergy Considerations:
If you have information about student allergies before the Back to School Night, choose your ingredients accordingly so everyone can participate. Save packaging for parents to review in case they have questions.
7. Creation Station
At this station, children can create something to take with them or display in the classroom for the First Day of School.
This station can be as simple as a coloring page or more involved like a craft– depending on how long your Back to School Night event is and if you have extra hands to help or not.
Activity Ideas:
- coloring pages
- bookmarks
- popsicle stick picture frame
- keychain craft
- friendship bracelet
*If you decide on a craft, have a completed example at the station for reference!
8. STEM Station
At the STEM station, children can try out some of your classroom materials. This is a hands-on way for them to feel comfortable and get excited about returning to school on the first day.
Material Ideas:
- connecting cubes
- legos
- blocks
- magnetic tiles
- hashtag blocks
- any STEM building pieces
Choose 1 or 2 materials and place them in a defined area like a tabletop or a small rug for easy containment and clean-up.
9. Family Station
At the family station, families work together to build a tower before the timer goes off. This quick activity invites families to be a part of their child’s learning experience!
What You Need:
- Small plastic cups
- timer
10. Poster Station
At the final station, children help create a class poster that shows what they want to learn this year.
What You Need:
- piece of chart paper or poster board
- printed heading
- sticky notes
- pencils or markers
Hang the poster low enough for students to reach and add your own ideas first as an easy reference!
Find all of these back-to-school night resources in the editable Back-to-School Night Bundle!
Back-to-School Planning
Check out these FREE first day of school lesson plans and 60 essential classroom routines checklist to make your back-to-school planning a breeze!
Use these simple and fun back-to-school night ideas to engage families from the start and show them how much you value their involvement in their child’s academic and school journey. It’s going to be a great year!
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