First day of school quotes: 31 best back to school quotes for kids

First day of school quotes and reading them out loud - like a mantra - can help with the excitement and nerves. Especially for kids starting school for the first time after securing a primary school place in 2023.

In the run-up to the first day of school kids (and parents) can be understandably nervous and a strong quote can help put you and them in the right frame of mind. Talk through what their days might look like, role-play the moment they leave you to go through the school gates, maybe. Involve them in their packed lunch sandwich ideas for the week. And throw in a few dad jokes and riddles for kids to keep it light. 

Parenting expert, Kirsty Ketley explains that she loves using positive affirmations with her kids. She says "A child who has confidence, will feel like they can take on the world; so reframing the way in which we talk to children to a more positive tone will hugely help. Encouraging kids to be independent, helps put them in a positive mindset. Encourage them to get themselves ready in the morning, it gives them a sense of accomplishment. And, ensure that you recognise their efforts - 'thank you for getting your bag ready, that's helped us lots this morning' for instance, helps boost their self-esteem and confidence."

There are so many emotions that go into the first day of school, from excitement to nerves. As a parent, it’s essential to keep in mind that your child is probably feeling a range of emotions, too. As back-to-school quotes go here are a few of the best to remind you why you’re sending them off to school.

First day of school quotes

Whether it's your little one's first day ever at school or you have a returning Year 2, or even a secondary school starter, we've found some of the strongest Ffrst day of school quotes around to have on hand.

• 1. "You can never be overdressed or over educated." - Oscar Wilde
• 2.  "You're off to great place, today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!" - Dr Seuss 
• 3.  "Intelligence plus character—that is the true goal of education." - Martin Luther King 
• 4. “You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.” - Someone

• 5. "This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change." - Taylor Swift
• 6. "Don't try so hard to fit in, and certainly don't try so hard to be different... Just try hard to be you." - Zendaya 
• 7. "Dreams come a size too big so that we can grow into them." - Someone
• 8. "I've always felt strongly about equal opportunity for women. Girls have to be taught from early on that they are strong and capable of being anything they want to be." - Beyonce
• 9. "I'm not going to school just for the academics. I wanted to share ideas, to be around people who are passionate about learning." -  Emma Watson 
• 10. “If you don’t understand, ask questions. If you’re uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable about asking questions and then ask anyway." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• 11. “All things are difficult before the become easy.” - Someone
• 12. "You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." - Michael Jordan
• 13. "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
• 14. "Success in no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." - Pele
• 15. “Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.” - Dave Willis
• 16. "You have to stay in school. You have to. You have to go to college. You have to get your degree. Because that's the one thing people can't take away from you is your education. And it is worth the investment." - Michelle Obama 

• 17. "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker
• 18. “You learn something every day if you pay attention.” - Ray Beblond
• 19. "Education is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think." - Albert Einstein
• 20. "A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers." - Helen Keller
• 21. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” - Arthur Ashe
• 22. "Education is the passport to the future for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X
• 23. "Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom." - Oprah Winfrey

• 24. "If you want something you never had, you have to do something you've never done." - Someone
• 25. "Sometimes you have to do what you don't love, so that you can do what you love." - Someone
• 26. "Procrastination makes easy things hard and hard things harder.” - Mason Cooley
• 27. "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
• 28. “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” - Helen Hayes
• 29. “Teachers can open the door, but you must enter it yourself.” - Chinese proverb
• 30. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” - John Wooden.
• 31. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

Back to school quotes are always good for social media use, scrawling on your home planner, writing a note in your kids lunch box, or including in a card. Mum of two, Louisa tells us how she always writes a card at the start of each school year; "I really want my two to have memories to look back on, so at the start of each school year I put 10 mins aside to write a card to each of them, reminding them how great they are and that they're learning everyday. I always include a strong quote, like these ones, at the end."

So, pick your favourite first day of school quote, one that sends the message you want and shout it out loud.

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