First Day of School Photo Signs

I love celebrating the new school year by taking a photo of the boys holding first day signs. I usually find a free printable sign online the night before after some last minute googling and hope that I have enough ink for my printer.

With school being online a few years ago, I almost created special distance learning signs for the boys to hold. In the end, I decided to stick with a regular but cute first day of school sign. How did I do that? By creating my own printable signs using my their school colors.

Precious First Week of School Pictures

I couldn’t take pictures of them boarding the school bus or meeting their teachers in the classroom, so I kicked our first day of school signs up a notch by simply printing them in color. It’s a fun way to start the current school year. You can make matching colorful signs for the end of the school year as well.

I know it doesn’t sound like much but the boys were at a new school in August and I wanted to encourage them their new school environment with some school spirit. Using the distinct school colors helped do that, I also made them custom shirts using my Cricut.

Free Printable First Day of School Signs

Why is my free printable first day of school sign better than other free printables out there? Because you can easily customize them yourself using your own kids school colors! It’s a better way because you can keep it simple and print in black on a white background or use the different options to edit the colors and/or add your child’s name.

Most first day and end of year signs are black and white. It’s not really feasible for someone to share every color combination possible along with every year and grade combination. There are some options on etsy, if you want to have someone make it for you but you will pay a pretty penny and will need to order it ahead of time.

My own personal solution, and now a great option for you is using Canva. Canva is a graphic design platform I often use for my blog. Usually I just make pinterest graphics for my blog posts, but this time I used it to create my own first and last day of school signs.

Once I created my basic sign using design elements and text, I was able to swap colors out easy peasy. This came in handy when I reenrolled my son Quinn back at his home school. His first day of 7th grade sign was maroon and gold and I easily changed his last day of school sign to black and red since he switched schools mid year.

First Day of School Sign Printables

These printables work for any grade level from the first day of kindergarten or preschool to senior year. Depending upon how creative you want to get these editable first day of school signs can include teacher’s name too. They are fun for kids of all ages and a great way to celebrate the first week or last week of school.

First Day and Last Day of School Template

Are you ready to check out my first day of school editable sign template? If you are familiar with Canva then you can easily edit the file to fit your needs. It’s perfect for first grade through twelfth grade, actually you could start with a first day of preschool sign if your kids are still that young. Mine aren’t. :-/

CLICK HERE for the First Day of School Template – this template is for your personal use only

New to Canva? You need to create your own account (a free account works fine) and then come back and click on the template link again. Now you will have access to my shared template. Make a copy of file and then you can start customizing the signs for your own child!

These are my new favorite things for back to school, and I wish I had created it when my kids were younger. We could have easily had first day and end of year signs that coordinated with their school colors from kindergarten and elementary school through 12th grade. I will just have to settle for a first day sign for the middle school and high school years now.

Free Cute Printables For First Day of School

The video above shows how easily you can change the colors, and text to customize these signs. Plus edit it to make a last day of school sign. If you are ambitious and know which schools your kids will attend in future years you can edit and create signs for all the following grades levels and download each pdf file.

If you are unfamiliar with Canva, watch this video to lean how to sign up for a canva account and start using the template. Do not request access to the file. 

Now, there is no need to hunt for a new first day of school sign each year, or try like I did to find the same designs we’ve used in previous years. These free printable signs can be created for each school year on your own computer and downloaded ready to print when you need them. They can also be saved in your online Canva account. Plus make a matching printable last day of school signs at the same time.

First Day of School Tradition

Let’s have a happy first day of school, your big kids might even like these fun signs. Or maybe they just tolerate them, like mine do. 🙂 I do think printing them in color using my personal color printer does make for an adorable little prop. But if you want to keep it simple just use a white back ground with black letters.

If using my free printable first day of school signs aren’t your thing, you can always use another first day photo prop like a school chalkboard sign or dry erase board. Both are frugal ideas that can be reused each year without having to print new signs.

The chalkboard style signs don’t work for me because my handwriting is terrible. If you saw my handwriting you would think I was a doctor. 😉 Printing out a cute sign is a great idea for me and anyone else that doesn’t have the skills to neatly create new school chalkboard signs each year, for each of their kids.

✏️ How to Customize Your First Day of School Sign in Canva

Don’t worry if you’re not a design pro—Canva makes it super easy to personalize your printable sign in just a few clicks! Here’s a quick guide to help you get started:

✅ Step 1: Open the Canva Template

Click the link in the post to open the editable file in Canva. If you don’t already have a Canva account, you can create one for free in less than a minute.

✅ Step 2: Click “Use Template”

Once the file opens, just click the purple “Use Template” button. This will create your own editable version of the sign.

✅ Step 3: Edit the Grade & Year

Click directly on the text that says “First Day of…”
– Change the grade level to whatever you need (e.g., Preschool, 5th Grade, etc.)
– Update the year to match the current school year

✅ Step 4: Optional – Customize Colors & Fonts

Want to match school colors or your kid’s favorite color? Click on the text box and use the top toolbar to:
– Change the font style
– Adjust the text color
– Increase or decrease the font size

✅ Step 5: Optional – Add Your Child’s Name

If you want to include your child’s name on the sign:
– Click on “Text” in the left-hand sidebar
– Choose “Add a heading” and type in their name
– Drag and drop it wherever you’d like on the sign

✅ Step 6: Download Your Sign

When you’re finished, click Share > Download in the top right corner.
– Choose PDF Print for best print quality
– Select only the page you need (if there are multiple pages in the template)

✅ Step 7: Print It Out

Use cardstock for a sturdier print, or place the sign in a frame to create a photo-ready prop. You can even reuse the frame for a matching Last Day of School sign later!

Free First Day of School Signs or First Day of School Poster

Create your own adorable sign to celebrate your child’s first day. It’s perfect for any grade.

Head over to Canva by Clicking Here for the First Day of School Template. Remember this template is for your personal use only. Please and Thank You. Also if you are new to Canva and have to create your own free account, come back and click the template again to use it.

Favorite Back To School Traditions

Taking first day of school photos is one of my favorite school traditions. It’s second only to finding the best deals on back to school supplies. I love sending my kids with all the supplies they need, supplies their teachers request and donating school supplies to kids in need without breaking the bank. Finding and sharing deals has always been a hobby of mine. This free printable editable sign is my new back to school deal for you.

More School Season Ideas

• Red apple back to school donut holes
• DIY desk organizer using cardboard and duct tape
• Printable lunch box jokes

This post was originally published June 4, 2021.