When the summer draws to a close, it’s time to start thinking about heading back to school. A Back-to-School retreat can be a great way to get young people ready and excited about a new school year.

Having a Back-to-School retreat can also be a fun activity to end the summer and give young people one “last hurrah” before they get back into the classroom.

With this back to school themed retreat, young students can be equipped with biblical truths to help them navigate the ins and outs of middle and/or high school. They can find instruction and encouragement in what the Bible has to say about doing their best and being confident in their faith.

Seek Wisdom

2 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
2 listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Wisdom is the prevailing theme throughout the book of Proverbs. The book is full of wise sayings and admonitions for wisdom seeking readers. It goes way beyond book smarts.

It’s great to have a great knowledge of history and mathematics, but it’s especially important to seek out the wisdom of God. Use this passage to teach young people about the importance of reading the Bible and prayer in order to hear and understand God’s plan and will.

When we have Godly wisdom, it affects every aspect of our lives: relationships, self-discipline, and even our school career.

Work Hard

11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Schoolwork can be tedious, difficult, and boring. Working math problems, writing essays, and memorizing facts and formulas can often seem like too much work.

Use this scripture from Hebrews to remind young students that their diligence to practice and study will be rewarded. Studying may not be fun for some, but it’s crucial to learning and will pay off in the form of confidence and knowledge.

This practice applies to many areas of life, not just school. Hard work and diligence are always worth it!

Do What’s Right

8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

For many young people, going back to school means being thrust into an atmosphere that is not always in agreement with the teachings of God’s word. There is often a longing to fit in and be accepted by peers that override the desire to follow the teachings of the Bible.

Use the scripture above to teach your young people to focus on the things of God and do what’s right according to Him. Man’s approval is fickle and not worth very much, but the favor of God is amazing!

Back To School Crafts:

Duct Tape Pencil Pouches

This craft is fun, creative, and extremely useful! Supply lots of multi-colored duct tape (it can be found in a huge assortment of colors and patterns) and follow the simple instructions to make the personalized pencil pouches.

Your young people can use the pouches in the new school year to not only keep track of their writing utensils but to also remind them of what they learned in your retreat.

My favorite Duct Tape patterns:

Emoji Locker Magnets

Preteens and teens love emojis. These cute and easy-to-make magnets are great for holding important papers, homework, and notes. Your attendees can customize the emoji faces to portray a wide variety of emotions and moods. They are a fun way to add personality to boring school lockers!

Perler Bead Earbud Holder

Earbuds are a back-to-school necessity. Unfortunately, they can get tangled and make a knotted mess! This cool, creative craft can help solve the problem of tangled earbud cords. Using Perler beads, students can make custom cases to keep their earbuds tangle-free!

Back To School Games:

Old School Back-to-School Games

Call on your sense of nostalgia for some good old-fashioned schoolyard games. Very little equipment (if any!) is needed. Red Rover, Mother-May-I, Simon Says, and Red Light/Green Light are great games to play with just about any age group.

There may be quite a few young people who have never played these games, so be sure to explain the rules clearly. They’ll get a kick out of these “old-fashioned’ games and you’ll get to relive your childhood for just a few minutes.

Snowball Fight

This is a great getting-to-know-you game. Attendees write three facts about themselves on a sheet of paper. They then crumple the paper into a snowball. On your signal, the attendees hurl the “snowballs” at one another until you call time.

They then must pick up a snowball, uncrumple it, and read the three facts on the paper aloud. They can then individually or as a group try to figure out who the three facts describe.

Duct Tape Boat Races

Save some colorful duct tape from the pencil pouch craft and allow the young people to create small boats. Line the boats up against one side of a kiddie pool and give the signal for the kids to race their boats across the pool using only their breath. The first boat across wins. This can go for multiple rounds depending on how many attendees you have.

Other Back To School Activities:

Escape Rooms

Escape Rooms are great activities to use to get young people to work together. Design a maze or obstacle to fit your space and create difficulty, but not impossible, questions for your attendees to answer. There should also be a few hard tasks to perform. Reward any team who completes the maze and breaks out of the escape room!

Back-to-School Survival Kit

There are plenty of mini-emergencies during the first few days of school. This toolkit will help take the stress out of those crucial days by helping students plan for any would-be crises.

Pack an empty mint canister or other small containers with items like lip balm, hand lotion, breath mints, wet wipes, and even a bit of spare change. The students can decorate the outside of the tins and then keep them in their lockers or backpacks. Crisis averted!

Get everything you need for your child to go back to school in this great bundle!

Having a Back-to-School retreat can be a wonderful way to end the summer and ease back into the school experience. Young people can learn about what the Bible says about hard work and diligent study.

They can be encouraged to stand up for what’s right and do what they know is good. They can go back to school equipped with the confidence and a desire to learn and seek wisdom in academics and in matters of faith.

If you liked this theme, you will love this “back-to-school” retreat theme for teachers!

Last update on 2024-08-21 at 06:57 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API