There are two types of first-day-of-school kids: ones who stand up and smile, and the others that collapse on the floor in defeat. Let's face it, most kids fall into the second category. After months of summer vacation, no kid really wants to take a photo right before their first day of school.
Their unbridled, honest expressions and actions make for hilarious photos. From holding up brutally honest signs to lying on the floor in defeat, kids turn cute pictures into hilarious fails.
You Get A Sign, You Get A Sign, Everybody Gets A Sign!
The youngest child may not have her first day of school lined up, but you don't need a sign for that. Or do you? This family would have had a normal school photo, had the youngest not displayed her wrath over being left out.
Her sign says, "If I don't hold a sign too, I am going to scream." The mom will make any sign to capture a sweet (and hilarious) family photo.
No Matter How Much You Edit The Picture It Won't Make Her Look Happy
The mom posed her daughter with a gorgeous backdrop and plenty of Instagram stickers to embellish the photo, but she still didn't cooperate. Kids don't care how charming your Instagram story looks when they have to face the worst challenge of their life: learning multiplication.
In this first day of school picture, the tags and stickers make the picture way funnier. This one would make a fine addition to a yearbook.
Glad To See His First Day Of Preschool Is Going Well
It always bodes well when a child's first day of school results in him lying on the ground as if he wants to go to bed. Don't we all? Most likely, the teachers don't want to be there, either.
A commenter proposed that the son is testing out a new method to score the ladies. You know, that timeless flirting method of lying on the ground so people will trip over you. That'll get you noticed.
We Can't Tell If He's Sad Or Mad
Panicked, frustrated, or sad? It's hard to tell with that wave of emotion written all over this child's face. Even with a photogenic sign and his two teddy bears, he can't seem to face the emotional wrath that is kindergarten.
You have to love kids' honesty. No matter the occasion or the setup, kids will not smile if they're not feeling happy. This boy is one of many who dreads the onslaught of kindergarten.
The Second Day Of School Just Doesn't Have The Same Charm
On the left, you can see an excited boy ready to take on the world. On the right, you find the same boy on the morning of the second day of school. One day has already crushed his spirits.
If not for the comparison picture, we might have assumed that he actually liked school. Next year, this boy might not look so eager on his first day of school photo. Time will tell.
This Face When You Find Out There's No Cow Hauling In Kindergarten
This picture contains all the elements of a brilliant first-day-of-school photo: a cute background, a funny "when I grow up" fact, and an adorable school outfit. It would have been one for the books if the boy didn't suddenly realize how quickly summer flew by.
Who are we kidding? It's still one for the books. This picture will likely embarrass this boy far into adulthood, and it'll always be funny.
Can You Guess Who's More Excited?
For kids, going back to school means picking up work and responsibilities. For the parents, the first day of school means that they don't have to keep their kids entertained all the time. It's no wonder that these parents seem relieved and excited.
Who knows whether those kids are acting, or genuinely appear upset? After all, their parents are in robes, and they have to start doing homework today.
"Don't Let Them Take Me!"
Some parents snap adorable photos of their children waving from the school bus. Other parents try to do that, but their child ends up crying and clawing at the window instead.
You just have to feel bad for this kid. He's tackling his last opportunity for freedom by begging to get off the bus. But like all other elementary school kids, he'll just have to endure his first day back.
One Of Them Has Been To School Before
The downside of using the first day of school sign trend is that some kids will refuse to hold what you make. If you let them design their own sign, you might receive some brutally honest results.
The kindergartener still has life and motivation within him. The other has sat in class long enough to never enjoy it again. He has the eyes of a child who has seen too many spelling tests.
She'll Cherish This First-Day Photo When She's Older
Almost everything about this photo set up indicates that the parent is going to get a fantastic shot of their kid on the first day of school. Just look how adorable this little girl is, with her crisp polka dotted dress and the perfect bow in her hair. And what a nice sign!
Not so fast. You can make her stand there holding the sign, but you can't make her smile on what she probably considers one of the worst days of her life.
"My Mom Said I Would Regret This Haircut"
There's nothing quite like an embarrassing haircut in front of a professional backdrop. This Redditor uploaded a picture of himself on the first day of school in 2003. "Personally, I think I peaked way too early," he said.
Although you can't see the shirt in the crop, he's also wearing a shirt with comic characters that say, "Skateboarding is sooo not a crime!" If that isn't early 2000s aesthetic, we don't know what is.
Mom Said She Wanted A First Day Photo, But She Didn't Specify Anything Else
On the first day of school, nothing seems to go your way. You have you wake up earlier than usual, rush to eat breakfast, pack for classes you don't want to attend. And now you have to take a picture? No way.
This boy isn't following along with any more shenanigans this morning. He'll be a challenge for the teacher for sure. But for now, his stubbornness earns us a funny picture.
The Face Of Someone Who Knows That Only The Brave Survive Grade 1
This boy has the expression of a veteran. He knows what horrors lie ahead, and he must emotionally prepare for the toils. This is the face of a protagonist who just learned how perilous his hero's journey would be.
In comparison to the child next to him, this boy looks ready to fight. Or, perhaps he's fatigued. It's likely a mixture of both; feeling sleepy and stubborn makes your first day of school all the more difficult.
Don't Take Professional Photos Too Early In The Morning
You can gather as many professional props and lighting sets as you want, but the photo won't turn out well if you shoot it too early in the morning. Kids are used to sleeping in during the summer, after all.
This boy is likely depicting a realistic reenactment of the tenth grade. If so, props to his acting and devotion to realism as an artist. Also, he needs to go to bed earlier.
Only Seventeen More Years...
A Redditor posted a photo of her daughter on her first day of school after explaining that she will continue to attend class every day for the next 17 years. What you see is the face of a girl whose dreams have just been crushed.
The daughter's shirt says "class of 2029," which makes a hilarious first-day outfit. Unfortunately, companies don't sell those graduation shirts in kids sizes. Maybe it'll still fit her in 2029.
Just A Quick Pre-Cry Before Pre-K
Even with a pre-made sign, this daughter does not seem happy. Children can only fake a smile for so long. This mother didn't take the picture fast enough to catch her grin before it turned into a pout.
Unlike the other pictures, this girl seems less afraid of school and more angry at the thought of it. Hopefully pre-school starts her off on a positive note since she'll be in public school for at least another 12 years.
The Perfect Sewage Pipe Backdrop
For this teenager in the '90s, the ideal scene for her first day of senior year was in front of a drainage pipe. Why? Who knows. The aesthetic is both fascinating and horrifying at the same time.
The original poster claimed that she liked the color palette of the sewer water and figured it would create an intriguing backdrop. At age 16, she probably didn't intend for it to become comedy gold.
When Mom Forgets To Make A Sign
Who wants to bet that the dad snapped this picture? The new first-grader doesn't even know how to react, because the sign isn't guiding him. Maybe it's his disappointment over the fact that he doesn't get a cool sign.
If the mom had remembered, this could have made a cute picture. But hey, there are far too many things to keep in mind on your child's first day of school.
She Has A Long Road Ahead Of Her
If the first day of Pre K4 is this rough, imagine how all the following years of "first day" photos are going to look. This little girl is just not feeling it, despite being dressed to a T. Guess kids just really don't like holding up the silly signs their parents make for them.
Those hipster jeggings look super cool on her. We hope the first day of Pre K isn't too bad!
She Even Gave Herself A Haircut
This little girl looks completely distraught about getting in the car for that final bit of freedom before she's stuck in school for the rest of the year. We wonder if she gave herself a home haircut in an effort to avoid going to school.
She looks a little bit punk rock with those short, choppy bangs. We're willing to bet that she makes friends right off the bat as soon as she gets to school.
What Does She Think It Says?
This child looks absolutely delighted to be holding up her yellow sign on the first day of school. There's just one thing we're curious about -- what does she think it says? Or does she know that it's blank?
Either way, that smile is contagious and you can't beat the adorable outfit she has on (complete with pink cowgirl boots). She's going to be a hit in her class this year!
If Looks Could Kill...
Well, someone doesn't look happy at all to be going back to school. In fact, she's absolutely shooting daggers. You don't normally picture this kind of expression coming from a person who's wearing bows in her pigtails and a custom t-shirt with her name on it.
We're so glad that parents take the time to capture these moments. Little Kylee is sure to look back at this and laugh someday in the not-too-distant future.
Tragedy And Comedy
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this one speaks at least twice that. First, you've got the kid who's heading off to his first day of school for the year. His sign says, "help... I have 9 more years of these photos."
Mom's sign is a lot more detailed. She lets everyone know how excited she is that her son is off to school, even including a line about looking forward to "pooping in peace." Oh, my.
Won't Even Look At The Camera
You can't help but feel for this precious little one who so obviously does not want to be heading back to school. Her body language says it all. She's doubled over, with her arms crossed in front of herself. And she won't even look at the camera.
We hope her dread of going back to school is due to the fact that she had a really fun summer. Once she's back with all her school friends she's sure to get over it sure enough!
He's Mastered The Art Of The Scowl
This sad little guy knows how to frown in a way that the whole world can understand. It almost looks like he woke up a couple of minutes ago and was just informed that school was starting today.
He could also be upset that he's wearing such an enormous shirt and carrying a lunch box large enough to hold food for a team of hungry construction workers. Surely his day will get better than this.
Preschool Protest
We're witnessing a full-on preschool protest here, people. This little guy simply does not want to attend the first day of school, no matter how excited the other kids in the picture look. By excited, we mean that they're standing up versus laying on the ground in a classic tantrum pose.
What’s so bad about preschool? There are snacks, naptimes, reading, crafts… sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask us.
Why So Blue?
Awww, if "feeling blue" means being sad or forlorn, then this little guy is definitely blue to the core. Not only is his entire outfit blue, but the look on his face is so sad it's almost making us cry!
If only there was a way to make all these bummed-out schoolchildren understand that they have it easy and that things are only going to get worse from here… oh, wait. That probably wouldn't help.
Twinning!
Here's one way to tell a set of twins apart. Take them to school on the first day and see how they react. In this case, the kids made such different expressions that it makes it super easy to tell who's who.
The good news is that they both look completely happy and at peace with the fact that they're going back to school. One of them just decided to ham it up a little more than the other.
Such A Sad Sight
OK, this is probably not a first day back photo. But it's somewhere around the start of the school year, and this child is not happy one bit about photo day. That expression is sheer misery. But it's hilarious too. She’s really overdoing it with that exaggerated frown and sad eyes!
Don’t you want to know if her parents ordered any of these from the photography studio or if they decided to pass on spending money on this shot?
We'll Count This As An Absence
Really? Absent on Day 1 of school? That's hilarious. September 4, 2015 was a bad day for whatever student it is that's missing from this back-to-school picture.
Hopefully the kid actually did show up to school despite totally bailing on their parents' photo opportunity. We're guessing they were just brushing their teeth or taking care of some other last-minute task before heading off into the great unknown of a new school year.
Second Time Is The Charm
Gotta hand it to whoever set up this photo shoot… they don't mind at all sharing with the world the fact that they completely forgot to do this on the FIRST day of school. That's what most people do.
Maybe a second-day shoot is better, though. The kids won’t have as much of that back-to-school anxiety and can give a better idea of how they’re feeling about the new year. In this case, she looks pretty happy!
Before And After
When the mother of this little girl saw the state she was in after her first day of school, she asked the child what she'd been up to that day. Hilariously, the girl answered "Nothing much." Just how do you get so messy doing nothing?
"She'd obviously had a really fun day," the mom added. We're glad the girl had a great day and that mom isn't upset about cleaning up that school uniform!
This Is Not A Fail!
We've seen a few variations of this idea, where a child wears an oversized shirt with the year they're graduating high school printed on it. But this takes it to a new level!
This mom had a shirt made that not only says her son’s class year, but has a spot for him to make a handprint. This way, everyone can see how much he’s grown each year, in addition to the shirt becoming a little more snug with each passing photo. Such a cute idea.
Another Before-And-After Photo
Here's another before-and-after photo of a child coming home at the end of the first day of school. She started out the day picture-perfect, just as tidy as can be. But the photo on the right tells a different story.
Her mom captioned this, "Check the state of this. Shoes on the wrong feet and everything." Her hair has come out of her braids and her shirt is untucked, too. It's fun to see how many kids truly enjoy going to school!
Help Me!
Someone please help this boy! He's way too young to be aware that the next ten years are going to be filled with obligations like this – standing on the front porch and holding up ridiculous signs that his parents make.
Despite the fake look of worry on his face, he seems to be in pretty good spirits about heading back to class for another year. He's bound to have a great day with that attitude!
What About The Parents?
We've seen a couple photos of parents celebrating as their kids head back to school for a new year. But here's a unique graphic that shows how much back-to-school changes for parents from the first day of kindergarten to the first day of sixth grade.
At first, they're overly anxious and sad to see their babies growing up. But by the time middle school comes around, they can't get out of the school parking lot fast enough after they've dropped off their kids. Get us out of here!
Just Another Tiring Day At School
What is it about elementary school that just wears kids out so much? Don't they know how much harder it is to put in a full day at the office? This little girl looks absolutely disheveled after her day at school. She started out all perky and eager to head out to her first day.
By the end of school, though, she's totally disheveled and looks like she needs a cup of coffee to get going again.
Every Adult Can Relate To This Photo
Have you ever felt so tired in the morning that you wanted to collapse on the floor? This daughter did that in the middle of her first-day-of-school picture. "Our daughter is NOT OK with going back to school," the Imgur poster said. Perhaps the warm coat made her think that she's back in bed.
Plot twist: there's no child under there. Just kidding; there is. But you wouldn't be able to tell either way.
