Free Printable First Day of School Signs – UPDATED for 2026
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Great News! These First Day of School Signs have been updated for 2026. You can find the new download files below. Enjoy!
As always, I feel like we just celebrated the start of summer. Maybe more this year. With older littles who seem busier than ever, this summer is flying. But looking ahead, school starts in a few weeks for us. And, as you know, it’s never too early to start planning for back to school time.
One of my must haves in our family is the annual back to school signs.
To kick this school year off right, I designed new 2026 Free Printable First Day of School Signs. They are perfect to make your back to school photos even more fun this year.
Do you want to know my favorite part of back to school time? Crisp, fresh composition notebooks that haven’t even been cracked open yet. There’s something about their size that makes them really fun to use. And I love the feel of the smooth pages, unbroken spines and lots of room to fill up with new knowledge. I usually pick up a few this time of year too to use for my business. It’s great seeing them over flow with new ideas during the year.
These composition notebooks inspired these Free Printable First Day of School Signs. Do you notice the pattern in the background on the sign? That would be composition notebook pattern that you see.
When I was a kid, composition notebooks only came in black. It was quite boring when I think about it. We used to color in the white parts of the design with neon highlighters to make them “colored”.
Then, somewhere along the way, they added some more traditional colors – red, blue and green. This helped distinguish different subjects. And science always was assigned green.
These days, though, composition notebooks come in an array of colors. From bright pink to teal green and orange, there are a rainbow of notebook colors to choose from.
Our Free Printable First Day of School signs are no different. I created four colors for each sign, so your kids can pick their favorite. There is traditional black, spunky pink, soothing teal and popping orange.
These Free Printable First Day of School signs include one generic first day of school sign in each color. This way you can make one sign to work for all of your kids. OR print out different colors so your kids can choose their favorite.
You can download your 2026 Free Printable First Day of School Signs below.
Looking for Specific Grade Levels?
I also designed these First Day of School Signs in grade level sets. You can find them in the shop here.
Preschool/Kindergarten/Elementary First Day of School Signs
Middle School First Day of School Signs
High School First Day of School Signs
Choose one pack or buy the ENTIRE set so you have all of the grades covered.
Have a rising Kindergartener? Celebrate their very first day of school with this SPECIAL SIGN COLLECTION. It’s a set of GROW WITH YOU First Day of School Signs. Includes First Day of School Signs from Kindergarten (2026) to Senior Year (2039). A great way to create a special first day of school tradition.
Why are the Signs Helpful?
As the family photographer, I’ve been snapping first day of school pics for almost a decade now.
I also snap photos at the end of each school year too. That’s a lot of school pictures.
Over the years, I’ve discovered how easily the photos can start to look the same after awhile. Since I’m not the best about sorting through photos (many times I go through them a year or two later), I started to get the different years confused. And whether I was looking at a first day photo or a last day photo.
So, I started using this Free Printable Last Day of School Chalkboard Sign a couple years ago. This way, I could identify that I was taking the end of the year photos.
But this year, I wanted something a little more modern. And that could be used for the first day of school.
Using photo signs in your first day of school photos can be quite helpful. When looking back at the photos, you’re less likely to confuse the grades, year and when the photo was taken. This will save you time when organizing your photos later.
If you like taking lots of different poses for your photos, you can use the sign in the first one only. Then, when you’re going through the photos, you have a reminder of when the photo was taken. All of the following photos will be part of that set.
Another idea is to try different poses with the signs. Your child can hold it up in front for a traditional pose. But they can also try holding it high in the air. Or they can move the sign to an angle. There are lots of different ways to get creative with your back to school photos.
How Do I Print My First Day of School Signs?
Each first day of school sign measures 8″ x 10″. The sign is laid out on an 8.5″ x 11″ page for easy printing.
For your sign, medium to heavy white cardstock is best. Here is the white cardstock that I like to use for sign printing (affiliate). It’s not actually that heavy, so it works with most printers. Or you can use a heavier white cardstock like this one for a more lasting sign. (affiliate)
Need more tips for printing your design? Check out our printing tips here.
Once printed, trim your sign to the exact size using scissors or a paper cutter (affiliate). Then, they are ready for back to school photos.
Ready to Download your Signs for 20256?
We are so excited to have the First Day of School signs for 2026 ready for download!
You can download your Free Printable First Day of School Signs below.
Looking for specific grade level signs? Be sure to stop by our shop to grab grade level specific first day of school sign sets.
Preschool/PreK/Kindergarten/Elementary
Want to prep early for June? Just in case you want to get ready for the end of the school year at the same time, be sure to download the Free Printable Last Day of School Signs. Or bookmark the page so you’re ready at the end of the school year.
Love these signs, but not time for the First Day of School yet? Pin it below so you can come back later.
Want to make back to school time special this year? Check out favorite back to school traditions to start with your family. It’s a great way to make this exciting season even more memorable.
Or try some of our other favorite back to school activities including making this apple garland, wishing your child’s teacher a great school year with handmade washi tape pencils or making a sweet gumball craft to kick off the first day.
Happy Celebrating,
Natalie
i am so excited to use these! Will you be making matching ones for last day of school?
We’re so glad that you enjoyed these signs. I will try to make a set for the last day of school this year. The end of the school year always comes up so quick that I haven’t had a chance to create them yet. Thanks for the idea. We hope you have a wonderful school year ahead.
I absolutely LOVE these signs! Thank you so much for making them available! I hope it’s not too much to ask, but can we get matching last day of school signs!
Thanks so much for stopping by our blog. I will add a last day of school version to my to do list this spring. I’ve been meaning to design them for a couple seasons now, but always get caught up in our family’s end of school year traditions. Promise to try to prioritize this project this year. Be sure to check back. Wishing you a wonderful school year ahead!
Do you make these for the Last Day of School also?
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Sadly, time has not allowed me to make the last day of school versions of these signs yet, but maybe sometime soon. This might be the year. Hope you enjoy the first day of school version. Have a great year ahead!
Will you have last day of school signs that match as well? So cute!!!
Thanks so much for stopping by our blog. I will try and make matching last day of school signs for this upcoming year. Hopefully, this will be the year I get to them. We hope you have a wonderful school year ahead.