The first day of school is more than just a calendar event — it’s a heart-tugging moment of pride, excitement, and sometimes even a few happy tears. Whether your little one is starting preschool, first grade, or heading back after summer break, these are memories worth keeping.

But here’s the good news:
You don’t need a full scrapbooking setup or hours of time to preserve these moments. It's all about doing rather than planning, thinking and procrastinating - in short: having fun crafting!

With just scissors, glue, and a little creativity, you can turn your child’s school days into keepsakes you’ll treasure for years. And to make it even easier, I’ve created a School Days Cut Out & Collage Book — filled with colourful school-themed elements like pencils, apples, paper scraps, rulers, and more.

You can grab it as a physical book or instantly download it as an eBook inside the Pepper Printable Club.

Ready to make some magic? Let’s dive in.

5 Easy & Heartwarming Ways to Capture Back-to-School Memories

1. Create a “First Day of School” Memory Page

Grab the printable ebook from the Pepper Printable Club or the physical book - in both cases cut out the elements and papers you need for your Memory Page. Yes, it's that easy - cut out the decoration you need and glue it on the paper.

Steps:

1. Choose a background page with colors or textures your child loves.
2. Glue the photo in the center.
3. Add cut-out decorations around the edges — think of it like a mini scrapbook.
4. At the bottom, write: “First Day of ___ Grade – [Date]”
5. Let your child sign their name for an extra personal touch.
6. If you use a black paper use a white sharpie to make your writing pop out!

Tip: Laminate or slide into a sheet protector and add to a school-year binder. And of course you don't need to use the square format. Print the paper in any size you want or cut out the size you need from the book.

2. Make a “What I Loved About Today” Accordion Book

Again, it's a quick craft and even better one you can add to the school's year binder where you can collect whatever you have created with your child!

What you need:

• 1 strip of paper folded accordion-style (you can use any printable paper)
• Glue, scissors
• Cut-out crayons, apples, or other fun graphics
• Space to write short sentences

3. Design a Back-to-School Photo Frame

Back-to-School Photo Frames make a great gift and, again, a great memory! It's an easy to do craft and you do not need a lot of material, at least not more than the School Days book or printable and a photo.

What you need:

• Cardboard (from a cereal box works great!)
• A printed paper from the book as background
• Cut-out graphics (pencils, rulers, notebooks)
• School photo

Steps:

1. Cut out a large rectangle with a center opening for your photo.
2. Cover the frame with a patterned paper and decorate with elements.
3. Tape the photo behind the window.
4. Display on a shelf or give it to a grandparent as a gift.

Instant keepsake with zero scrapbooking supplies needed.

4. Create a School Year Milestone Journal

What you need:

• 1 small notebook or staple-together printable pages
• Monthly title cards made from your School Days pages
• Glue, pens, and scissors

Steps:

1. At the beginning of each month, create a journal page with your child.
2. Add notes like “I learned how to spell my name!” or “We went on a field trip.”
3. Use themed elements to decorate each month (e.g. crayons in September, books in October).
4. Keep adding each month to build a full school-year keepsake.

Low-pressure journaling that adds up to something beautiful.

5. Make a “My Favorite Things” Poster

What you need:

• Large sheet of paper (it can be the rest of a wall paper as well!)
• Cut-out pencils, apples, and other icons from your book or printable
• Space for writing or drawing

Steps:

1. Help your child write/draw:
   • Favorite school subject
   • Best friend
   • Lunch they loved
   • One new thing they learned
2. Decorate with School Days cut-outs
3. Date it and hang it up!

Capture their personality now — before it changes next month!

Want All 15 Ideas?

These 5 ideas are just the beginning. Download the full “15 Creative Ways to Use the School Days Collage Book” freebie below and get inspired to make even more simple, memory-making projects.

Download the FREE idea sheet here

And if you're a member of the Pepper Printable Club, you already have access to the full School Days eBook — log in and download it anytime!