Our Class is a Family Book Activities and Free Activity
If you’re looking for a wonderful book to kick off the school year and build your classroom family, I can’t recommend Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen enough. It’s always one of my go-to read alouds during the first week of school.
Each year, it sparks the sweetest conversations about kindness and connection. I love how this book sets the tone for our school year and makes my students feel like they’re part of something special right away. It encourages community building which is essential to promote academic and social emotional growth.
Why Classroom Community Matters
Before diving into the book itself, it’s important to understand why building a strong classroom community matters so much—especially at the beginning of the year. When students feel safe, seen, and valued, they’re more likely to take academic risks, participate in discussions, and support one another emotionally and socially.
A strong sense of belonging fosters empathy, encourages collaboration, and significantly improves classroom behavior. In other words, when your class feels like a family, learning becomes a shared journey instead of a solo race. That’s why I love starting the year with intentional read alouds and activities that help students connect and set a positive tone from day one.
In this post, I’m sharing how I use this book in my own classroom with engaging extension activities that I’ve created to make it even more impactful. You’ll find a summary of the book, thoughtful discussion questions, and three school activity craft ideas that help build a positive classroom community your students will feel proud to be part of.
Plus, I have included a free printable poster that ties in perfectly to create a classroom promise chart. Whether you teach 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, or 4th grade, these class family read aloud activities are the perfect way to start off your year right!
Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen
Our Class is a Family is a picture book that helps students understand that school is more than just desks and lessons—it’s a place where they’re valued and supported. Shannon Olsen captures the idea that even though students may come from different home environments, within the classroom, they’re part of a team where kindness, respect, and care matter!
This book touches on important themes like inclusion, kindness, and cooperation. It helps children recognize that everyone has a role in making the class a safe and happy place to grow. The tone is warm and reassuring, which makes it especially perfect for the start of the year when many students are experiencing first-day jitters. I find that this book opens the door for honest conversations and sets the foundation for classroom expectations that feel more like shared promises than rules.
When I read Our Class is a Family aloud, I love how my students are able to talk about the message that can be learned. It helps kids see our classroom as more than a place to learn—it’s a family. I often pause to talk about what it means to be safe, loved, and accepted in our space, and the kids have the most insightful responses.
Discussion Questions I use:
- What are some ways we can help our classroom feel like a family?
- How can we make sure everyone in our class feels included and valued?
- What makes you unique and special?
- What lesson can we learn from this story?
Create a Classroom Anchor Chart (FREEBIE)
After reading my class the book, Our Class is a Family, I love to create a class chart where we write our classroom promises. I have students brainstorm with a partner, promises that they can make to keep our class a family throughout the school year.
The students share their ideas and together we make a class promise chart that stays up all year long. It is the perfect reminder throughout the year of how we should show kindness, respect, and honesty to our classmates.
You can get this Class Promise Chart for FREE here!
Extension Activities
Here are three back to school read aloud activities that are perfect to follow up your reading of Our Class is a Family. Each one gives the opportunity to reflect on what makes a class community feel like family and also what makes them different.
Our Class is a Family Promise Bracelet
One of my favorite back-to-school activities is having each of my students create an adorable class promise bracelet. After reading the book, I have students reflect on what it means to be a classroom family and what promises they can make to keep our class a family. This is the perfect follow up activity to the Class Promise Chart.
We also read the included poem called, “Our Class Promise”, which I love to revisit throughout the year. Students brainstorm what promises they will make with each bead representing a different promise.
The bracelets can be made with twine, string or pipe cleaners and beads. Each student’s bracelet is special and unique with different beads representing different promises. My students always love this craft and wear the bracelets for weeks after.
This school activity craft is hands-on, meaningful, and a great way to build classroom community.
Why I love it:
- It gives students ownership of our expectations
- It ties directly into our classroom anchor chart
- It creates a visual reminder of how we treat one another
Our Class is a Family Quilt
Another great followup activity to the book, Our Class is a Family, is a class quilt. Each child decorates two quilt squares to show what makes them special, how our class is a family, and a classroom promise.
We hang the finished quilt as a bulletin board, and it stays up all year long. It’s one of those projects that makes the room feel like home and reminds students of their promises to build a strong classroom community. My students always love seeing how their individual pieces of the quilt come together to make something beautiful.
Why I love it:
- It’s a perfect bulletin board to keep up all year long
- Encourages discussion about community and connection
- Reminds students of their own class promises
Our Class is a Family Picture Perfect Bulletin Board
After reading the book we discuss what makes each of us special and unique and how we can add to our class family. I take pictures of each student to add to the snapshot template for the “Our Class Family is Picture Perfect” bulletin board.
This is another great bulletin board that could be kept up all year long. It’s so fun to see how excited the kids get seeing themselves and their friends on the wall.
This is the perfect resource to establish a welcoming, student-centered classroom from day one.
Why It Works:
- Makes your classroom feel like home
- Reinforces relationship-building from day one
- Helps students recognize each other’s strengths and differences
A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School
Another book I love by Shannon Olsen is A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School. I love using A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School as a warm and welcoming way to start the year.
This heartfelt picture book is written from the teacher’s perspective and lets students know right away that their new classroom is a safe space where they’re cared for and supported. It sends the message that I’m here not just to teach them, but to cheer them on and help them grow throughout the school year.
At the beginning of the year, I’m always focused on setting a positive tone—establishing routines while also getting to know my students and building relationships. This book is one of my favorite ways to start that process. It opens the door for meaningful class conversations and works perfectly with our get-to-know-you activities and classroom community goals.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think your teacher wants you to know the most from this letter?
- How does it make you feel to know your teacher is cheering you on this year?
- What is something special you’d like your teacher and classmates to know about you?
A Letter From Your Teacher Craft & Writing Activity
I pair this book with an About Me craft that helps students share who they are in a creative and low-pressure way. You can find it here: A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School Craft
Students love decorating their pages and telling me all about their families, pets, hobbies, and dreams for the year. It’s one of the best ways I’ve found to get to know them.
Building a classroom family doesn’t happen overnight, but starting with the right books and activities makes it so much easier. These back to school craft community building activities are the perfect way to start the year. The books, Our Class is a Family and A Letter From Your Teacher, help me lay the foundation for trust, inclusion, and connection that lasts all year long.
From adorable class promise bracelets to an About Me writing page, these activities are designed to support SEL skills, school-year routines, and emotional intelligence. They’re perfect for visual arts integration, school book activity planning, and creating a great bulletin board that celebrates your students.
I hope these ideas help you kick off the year with intention and heart. And don’t forget to download your FREE anchor chart to get started right away!
Check out this post with more read alouds that are perfect to build classroom community!
Looking for more? Follow Caitlin Roselli – Teaching on Cloud 9 on TPT for more back to school activities, SEL bundles, and my favorite books activities for building that blast-building classroom community from the first day of school on!
