Introduce kids to their classmates by letting them draw a picture that represents all their favorite things. For example, Tommy might color a picture showing him on a soccer team or playing with his puppy. Allow the kids to talk a little about themselves to their classmates so that they can get to know each other better.
Create a school bus from an entire egg carton. Color an egg carton with yellow markers or paint. Cut out two black circles from construction paper, or use small caps from a soda bottle or milk carton. Glue the paper or caps on the top lid of the carton, closest to your body. Use black markers or apply lettered stickers to the top of the bus to spell out the child's name or the term "school bus." Once the carton is complete, allow kids to tape small photos of friends and family to the inside lid, or to transport mini toys in their school bus by sliding the craft across the table.
Take individual photos of your students on the first day of school, and let the kids create a small scrapbook from construction paper of their first week of school. Attach the photo to the first page of the scrapbook. Write the student's name, the name of the school and teacher, and the year on the cover. Write each day of the week on a different piece of construction paper, and let the kids draw or color things that they did the first week of school. For example, a child might draw pictures of riding the school bus, sitting in the cafeteria or playing on the playground.
Many kindergarten classes use a science journal to help kids better understand and remember what they've learned in science class time. Let kids decorate the cover of the journal they'll use for the year with colorful pipe cleaners. Apply a thin layer of tacky glue to a piece of construction paper slightly smaller than the cover of your notebook, and then place extra-wide pipe cleaners on the cover. Line up the pipe cleaners in stripes, or let kids create spirals, curls or zigzags. Glue the pipe cleaner covered paper to the cover of the notebook with more glue, and let it set aside until all the glue has dried. Decorating the journal is not only artistic, but it's functional since the kids will enjoy their artwork on the notebook every time they use their science journal.