As the school year kicks off, it’s essential to have activities that keep your little learners engaged while reinforcing critical skills. These back to school centers for kindergarten not only offer meaningful practice and enrichment of various beginning of the year math and literacy skills, but they are also hands-on, interactive, and… of course, fun! These versatile centers are perfect for center rotations, morning work, or as activities for early finishers. Your students will build key foundational skills through interactive and exciting activities that make learning feel like play!

Back to School Centers for Kindergarten Tips

Setting up and managing kindergarten centers is no easy feat! Before launching your back to school centers for kindergarten, I highly recommend checking out these top ten tips for managing centers effectively!

Here are some additional tips to consider:

As you introduce these back to school centers for kindergarten, simultaneously teach your center routines and procedures.

Beyond the center routines and procedures mentioned in this post, I also recommend explicitly teaching students how to use the kid-friendly I Can visual direction cards, which will ultimately lead to independence.

These back to school centers for kindergarten are also a great opportunity to slowly introduce students to various manipulatives and how to use the school tools they will be using all year long. Don’t be afraid to just let your students explore the manipulatives in addition to completing the center activities.

Bonus tip: Each back to school center comes with a student response sheet. In the beginning of the year, you’ll need to provide plenty of modeling on how to complete them. If students need extra time—no worries! Or if you decide not to use them for every center, no problem! You’re laying the foundation for strong routines that will benefit them all year long!

There are also additional options provided for each center activity, making it easy to differentiate based on student needs… so be sure to check those out!

Math Back to School Centers for Kindergarten

These back to school centers for kindergarten are perfect for center rotations, but they’re also versatile enough for morning work or early finisher activities!

Here is a sneak peek at the math back to school centers for kindergarten!

Tracing Numbers

After counting the backpacks, the students will use a dry erase marker to trace the numbers 0-10.

Subitizing Scissors

Students will match two scissor cards to create a pair of scissors. One side of the scissors has a number, while the other side has a picture representation of the number. You can choose between finger representations, ten frames to 10, or both!

Secret Shapes

At this math center, students will sort twelve real-life objects into categories based on their shapes.

Tracing Shapes

Using a toy car (or one of the printable options included), students drive the highway path to trace fourteen different shapes.

Then, they can complete the response sheet by tracing each shape four times to help the racecar driver get to the finish line.

Colorful Crayons

For this vibrant math center, students will sort objects based on their color.

Ten Frame Pencils

Students will count or subitize the dots on each pencil ten frame. Then, they will match each notebook number to the correct pencil ten frame.

Snap Cube Digits

This is a fun way to familiarize students with snap cubes as they build the digits 1-10 using this common math manipulative.

Sticky Subitizing

Students will build each glue bottle by matching the number, finger count, and five frame for the numbers 1-5.

Count the Pencils

This center practices 1:1 counting for numbers 1-10. Students will count the number of pencils on the empty shopping basket card. Then, they will match the correct number to the pencil cards.

Finish the Pattern

Work on two types of patterns, including AB and ABB, at this math center. Students will extend each pattern with the correct button shape and color.

Students can also complete the response sheet by extending each pattern with the correct buttons.

Literacy Back to School Centers for Kindergarten

While the math back to school centers for kindergarten are always a favorite among students, let’s not forget about these hands-on literacy centers!

Tracing Letters

Using a dry erase marker, students will trace the capital letters on the cards. They can also fill in each letter using mini erasers, pom poms, or any other manipulatives.

Making Matches

Students will match a pencil card to the notebook card with the same letter. There are three different centers included: matching uppercase to uppercase, lowercase to lowercase, and uppercase to lowercase.

With the printable response sheets, the students will match each pencil to the correct notebook.

Rhyming Desks

For this literacy center, the students will create a rhyming pair by matching the correct chair to each desk.

When it comes to the student response sheets, you can either have students cut and glue to make a rhyming pair, or you can have them draw a line to connect each rhyming pair.

Sticky Syllables

Practice syllables as students sort eighteen picture cards based on the number of syllables in the word. Then, they can circle the number of syllables for each picture on their student response sheet.

Playdough Practice

If your students love playdough, they will definitely love this literacy center. Students will build lowercase letters with playdough on their playdough mats. Next, they will trace the letter with their finger. Then, they will tap and say the letter (or the letter sound) three times. Finally, students will build an item that begins with the letter.

Alphabet Apples

Using the apple letter mats, students will sort three of each letter shown in different fonts onto the mat.

On their response sheet, they will match the correct lowercase letter to each apple.

Rhyming Busses

Students will sort sixteen bus cards into two categories — rhyme and do not rhyme. There are schoolhouse headers included to help students organize their sort.

On the printable response sheet, students will circle the image that rhymes with the first image in the box.

Look and Cover

For this center, you will need pom-poms, counters, linking cubes, mini erasers, etc. to cover the letters. The students will look for and cover a specific uppercase letter on each of the twenty-six “Look and Cover” cards.

Sort the Pencils

The students will match the pencils based on the beginning sound of the picture to the correct pencil case. Each pencil case has the uppercase letter, lowercase letter, and a supporting image to help students determine the sound.

Then, they will match each image to the correct pencil pouch on their response sheet.

Compound Match-Up

Work on compound words at this literacy center. Students simply build compound words by placing two individual word parts together. On the cut and glue response sheet, they will match the compound word to the individual word part.

Back to School Centers for Kindergarten

Grab all 20 back to school centers for kindergarten, including 10 literacy and 10 math centers here!

If you love these back to school centers for kindergarten, you will love this kindergarten centers bundle, featuring 220 math & literacy centers!

More Back to School Activities

Help students learn how to use school supplies with these How to Use School Supplies activities and craft!

Incorporate a variety of name activities and crafts during back to school that help students learn to spell their name.

Establish classroom rules and expectations with these classroom rules activities and craft!

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