Free Printable First Day of School Signs (and Last Day!)

These free printable first day of school signs are perfect for easy first day of school pictures- plus I’ve included coordinating last day of school signs! These free printable signs have been updated with the 2024-2025 new school year – Enjoy!

It’s that time of year! We’re a few weeks away from the first week of school time around here but I’ve been seeing so many families are already heading back! Whether you’re finishing off summer break shopping for school supplies or having so much fun soaking up the sun still, I know that countdown is on! Even if this finds you after the first day of school- make sure to save it to come back to at the end of the year, because I’m sharing first day AND last day of school signs as a free printable PDF file today! I also update these first day signs each year so you can come back to this post next year and snag the updated copies!

I’ve been making these signs for my kids since their first day of preschool. When they were little, I would do these for us super last minute while they’re getting shoes on, and every year my Instagram friends were so sweet to compliment those rushed signs. I love those first day of school photos we have of our kids right from when they started preschool then grade school and how I get to watch them grow year to year holding these cute first day of school signs. 

When I started offering free printables here on Lemon Thistle, this is one of the things I knew I’d want to share! I’ve been making these signs for my kids since their first day of preschool. It’s usually super last minute while they’re getting shoes on I grab a sheet of paper and letter a banner with some text, and every year my Instagram friends are so sweet to compliment these rushed signs. So this year I planned ahead and created a full set for you- no matter what grade, or level of schooling, I think I’ve got you covered!

Instead of just a cute sign with my own kid’s first day of whatever grade, I made different options for every grade level from elementary to high schoolers to celebrate the start of the school year. And then I added some bonus fun ones- no matter what grade, or level of schooling, I think I’ve got you covered! Last year a reader emailed me and explained that in some countries they word it ‘First day of Twelfth Grade’ instead of ‘First Day of Grade 12’ so I made a version of each for all the grades too!

*I’ve been updating this post each year, so pin this to save this for next year too! You’ll see some photos in this post are from previous years of the same signs!*

You can not only get the first day of kindergarten, first day of tenth grade, first day of middle school and everything in between, I’ve also added in the ‘last day of highschool’ (and daycare, first grade etc). It will be so neat to see them grow not just year to year, but through just a school year. I’m hoping these free school photo signs are going to help the other last minute moms (like me!) as they’re pulling together lunches and scrambling to find shoes that fit after a summer full of barefoot babes ;) All you need? Is a printer!

Included in the PDF First Day of School Signs/ Last Day of School Signs Bundle:

I’ve included SO many options in this totally free printable pack- I wanted to make it fun for anyone… no matter what grade or stage of life. I even added in a ‘First Day of Freedom!’ one for stay at home parents! I included the current school year on the sign for you so these will be dated when you look back at those first day of school signs once they’re grown! 

Here’s a complete list of the free first day of school signs and last day of school signs that you’ll get in this free download.  

How to Download these FREE Back to School Printable Signs 2024-2025

To download these First Day of School Signs, all you need to do is enter your email below and have it sent to your inbox. When you click the confirm button on the email you receive, it will open the PDF file directly.

Some browsers will start download immediately, others you’ll need to right click and save. The PDF files are uploaded in a compressed folder. Double click the zipped/compressed folder to ‘unzip’ it and see your first day of school sign printables (the last day of school printables are in the same file!). Once they’re in your downloads folder, you can get to printing! 

PDF documents are so easy to print off and don’t need any fancy printer settings like photos would. You can print this set of first-day-of-school signs for your current year with your home printer or send it to a local print shop.

While you can print it on any paper… for best results, I love to print these on heavy cardstock so they aren’t as easy for little hands to bend.  

These 2024-2025 school year signs are designed with a white background and black letters to keep the printing affordable without the additional cost of color printer ink. 

New to printables? You can find more tips for printing your free printables here.

You can download all the signs listed above in one PDF format file. Please keep in mind these free printables are for personal use only (you, your daycare etc.). Not for resale or republishing. Please contact me for commercial use.

How to use these signs for amazing first day of school photos

I know that taking photos, especially posed ones like this can be stressful for some kids and families, so I hope that having an adorable sign to keep their hands busy will help. 

To make it even easier for you, check out this post: 4 Tips for Better Photos of Your Kids– and none of them has to do with camera settings! So even if you’re using your phone, these will be great for you. Don’t forget to send the photos you’ve just taken to print so they don’t end up collecting dust on your hard drive- they’re better suited for a picture frame! 

Lastly- if you use these signs, you know I would love to see them in action! Tag me @colleenpastoor on social.

Pin this for later!

Not ready to print these right now? Want to remember where to find these signs for the last day of school or for next year’s update? Pin this so you can come back to it! Plus, pinning or sharing on FB helps this post reach more people which helps me be able to keep sharing with you. Thank you!

L