To parents’ delight and kids’ chagrin, school is officially back in session. Across the country, kids have begun to slug their way back to school, and as always, most of them aren’t too happy about it. Over the years parents have snapped some truly hilarious back-to-school photos of their kids and we’ve found the cream of the crop. It’s okay, kids — we’re not laughing at you, we’re laughing with you.
There are really only two types of kids in this world: those who adore school and those who don’t. We were always deathly afraid to step foot onto that school bus for the first time after summer break, despite knowing all of the faces in the windows. We’d kick, scream, and ultimately force our parents to drive us to the drop-off line because, we’ll admit, we were brats!
And it looks like we aren’t the only brats to brace school campuses. The kids in the below photos are less than thrilled to have to turn their attention back to books, teachers, and their times tables, and TBH, having been there, we can’t blame them. But kiddos, enjoy your school years while you can.
Adulthood is more boring (yet stressful AF) than you think it is.
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1. Don’t Leave Me!
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His older sisters are starting kindergarten and preschool, which means baby brother is the last to leave the nest.
And by the looks of it, he’s not too happy about being left alone with mom and dad. “Real life people!!” mom and Instagram user @KarlyJaneSmith wrote earlier this month.
“This morning WAS NOT MAGICAL!”
“We were all prepped and ready and it was a complete knock down drag out every step of the way…”
2. #ThirdGrade
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When you hear about parents having to drag their kids to school “kicking and screaming,” you think they’re kidding.
However, these parents literally had to dislodge their son from the front door in order to get him to his first day of third grade. Sure, there’s a good chance this pic is staged.
However…
We have a feeling this has actually happened to more than a few families on the first day of school throughout the years.
3. The Old “Snake Ate My Homework” Trick
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Brooke thought she was posing alone for her seventh grade “first day of school” pic.
But man, oh man, was she wrong. Yup. That’s a giant-ass snake photobombing Brooke’s pic. “I saw the snake,” Booke’s mother told local Alabama news outlet WRBL.
How do you recover?!
“I said, ‘Brooke come here’ and she looked at me like I’m not done taking pics! So I said, ‘Brooke get away from the tree now.’ I said it calmly, but I’m sure my face said it all.”
4. Put The Lightsaber Down, Honey
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Playtime is over, sport.
“On the eve of a new school year I had to share last year’s epic first day of school picture,” Instagram user @sometimeshomemade shared in 2016. Aside from being hilarious, this sounds like a lovely family tradition.
“Hopefully a better one tomorrow to start 2nd grade!”
Not even the thrill of riding the bus could put a smile on this kid’s face. And honestly, that’s fair.
5. Something’s Missing…
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Wait… Why is the bus driver laughing? Why does this photo seem off?
“We were late for the bus and she had to run a big block holding her shoes… oops,” Instagram user @panda_rocks wrote in 2016. Well, on the bright side, at least she caught the bus, and at least she remembered her shoes before running out the door!
6. Gauge’s Bad First Day
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Gauge certainly doesn’t look thrilled to start kindergarten.
“Kid #1: didn’t get a good pic bc he thought he missed the bus 🙄,” Instagram user @lynnsss8 wrote in 2018. “Kid #2: didn’t get a single picture Bc he refused to answer the questions, and was also being a little brat.” Eh, he’s the teacher’s problem now, right?
7. At Least He Knows How To Negotiate
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Mom, you want me to hold a sign?
Then here’s the deal. It’s almost like he’s trying to warn his naive, new-to-the-world-of-school brother about something. Huh. If it makes his parents feel any better, at least they’re raising an honest kid. An honest kid who hates school, that is.
8. When Your Mother Is Inconsolable
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“I’m gonna miss y’all,” Mom said as she leaped for joy.
In 2016, Keshia Leeann Gardner posted this back-to-school photo on Facebook to the chagrin of her five kids. Her photos received over 175,000 likes and over 285,000 shares because TBH, this is how every parent feels on the first day of school. We don’t know who our bigger spirit animal is — Keshia or her son Cole who’s shielding his eyes.
9. Nice Going, Mom
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Listen, by the time summer vacation is over, Mom has other things on her mind.
She has to buy new school clothes, supplies, figure out the bus route. Sometimes, making a back-to-school sign isn’t priority on the to-do list! Just get on the bus and have a good first day, okay? Mommy has to tick off a chore and make a mimosa.
10. Different Strokes For Different Folks
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Some decide to get back into the school swing with a brief sidewalk meditation before loading onto the bus.
Others pull a Kanye and get rude with the paparazzi. Hey — to each their own, right? “And while waiting for the bus… She meditated,” mom and Instagram user @shabbymissusb wrote in 2016. “He refused photos like a celebrity.”
11. S.O.S.
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Please! Anyone! Send help!
Thankfully, most kids can’t really wrap their heads around the concept of time, and therefore don’t actually understand how long 10 years actually is. But man, we’re feeling the weight of this sign for this poor second grader. Let’s just hope that he is a big fan of school and that 10 years of this stuff actually feels like heaven.
12. When You See It
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While this little girl is trying her best to put on a brave face for her first day of school, her brother on the other hand…
…well, he’s having a meltdown. We definitely wouldn’t want to be that parent trying to detach their son from the floor in order to catch the school bus. Hopefully, everything ended up going as smoothly as possible.
13. This Little Girl Is A Real Mood
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Lucie, also called “wee madame” by her mom, according to the NY Post, looks like she had a long day.
“When I went to pick her up from school and saw how she looked, I was mortified,” the mother told Barrhead News. “When she was getting her bag out the car and walking towards me, I took the picture.”
Her theory?
“She had her skirt round her ankles almost and a bow at the back of her hair,” Mom told Metro, who said her clothes were a bit oversized.
14. This Excited Mama
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Sweet freedom, alas.
Hey, school can suck for kids, but sometimes adults need a little space and this mom seems to be living her best life. She says the kids love their awesome tradition and have started coming up with their own costumes and prop ideas the last few years.
Jokes aside, she told GMA, she misses the quality time with her kids when they go back to school.
“I adore my children,” Leslie Brooks added. “Summers are awesome and I really don’t look forward to them going back to school. I miss them incredibly.”
15. No Turning Back
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This little girl was looking for an excuse to get back into the house.
“Mommm please, I just need to get a cookie… nooooooooo!!!”
This caption just about killed us. Honestly, this little girl holding on to the doorbell for dear life is us every morning, except we’re clinging to our carpool and iced coffee. Wow, parenting looks joyful…
16. Jumping For Joy.
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At least someone’s excited.
These adorable sisters are all like “who cares” about the first day, like “seriously.” According to Laura Beth’s Instagram, she is “mommying the shit out of life” with her “lucky husband” and four daughters.
While we love love love the picture above, her most recent back-to-school had us rolling over with laughter.
See below:
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17. Private School Problems
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Someone’s staying up all night.
If you wore uniforms growing up, having to monogram or personalize the insides of your skirts, shirts, and jackets was a part-time job for your loving mother. Since everyone’s wearing the same thing it’s important to have your name on your items, or they can easily be stolen.
Chara, who has three sons, wrote: “Twas the night before School started back, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; except for all the mothers labelling school uniforms.”
18. Bye Boys!
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Can we jump in??
The sweet mom said, “We had a great summer and I’m sad to see the kids go back to school!” Honestly, her sons don’t seem too thrilled to go back to school, but hopefully someday they’ll understand even the best of parents need a good book and cocktail after a stressful week at work…or just because it’s Tuesday.
19. Mom’s Club
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LOL, when the kids are away…. moms can do whatever they please.
Photographer and mother Shawna Genua decided to celebrate the first day of school with this wild photo shoot. Robyn Pedretti Kelly, one of the moms in the picture, told Popsugar how it came together: “Our neighbor Shawna sent a group text out on Sunday night before school started and said, ‘Bring your pajamas and some props! Let’s take a fun photo!’”
“We wanted to do a different take on the whole ‘I’m sad my kids are going back to school’ vibe,” Robyn explained. “We wanted people to know that parents need a break sometimes. Just like when our kids are upset and stressed, we tell them to take a breath. Take a break. We did the same.”
The results were glorious.
20. Wise Guy
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This funny teacher showed off his sense of humor outside the classroom!
He wrote, “8am outside my classroom waiting to meet my new students. I’m so excited. 3pm I met them!”
In the before-and-after, he’s holding his jacket in one hand and his polished tie is now around his head. We’re pretty sure this image sums up every teacher’s exact mood after learning 30 new names and all their parents.
21. It’s All Fun And Games Until Someone Gets A Hurt
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It seems like everyone’s pretty stoked to head back to school. That is, until you get to the last picture.
“Almost everyone made it to their first day of school,” Instagram user @yoder_k wrote about their kids. “Ryder went to the doctor instead.” We hope the doctor fixed him up so he could make his second day of school his official first day.
Bonus: Wait A Second…
Aw, this kid looks pissed to be headed back to sch — now wait just a minute.
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“Everyone’s posting pics of their kid’s first day of school and I’m over here like,” this fully grown man caption his “3,149th day of work” photo.
Be lucky that you have so many firsts, kids. It’s all monotony from graduation on out. LOL.