Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes Craft Ideas
We are getting ready to head back to school in a few weeks, and have been reading several back to school books. One of the ones that my preschooler got a kick out of is Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes. We happened to stumble upon a singing version of the book online and now can’t get it out of our heads! We also made a school shoes craft inspired by this fun book with a printable 1st day of school keepsake to go along with it. *Originally published on 8/5/2015 and updated on 8/8/2020.
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About Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes
Pete the Cat is back—and this time he’s rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song . . . because it’s all good.
Besides the song-like rhyme to the story, I love how it takes you through the entire school day in a way that sounds fun. Great for introducing a school day to preschoolers and kindergartners who may be going for the 1st time and unsure what to expect.
We love reading the Pete the Cat books series. Another good one for getting ready for the upcoming school year from that series is The Wheels on the Bus.
Rocking in My School Shoes Craft Ideas
We made a fun shoe craft that also can be used as a keepsake. I created free printables for you to print and do with the kids too! Across the top it says, “Stepping into 2nd Grade” (or Stepping into preschool, kindergarten, 1st Grade). There are spaces for the kids to write their name, the year, their teacher’s name, and their classroom number.
We traced my son’s new shoes that we purchased in our back to school shopping trip. After cutting around the outline, he colored/designed both sides of the shoe. He placed a foam soccer ball sticker on one side and a foam star sticker on the other side. It’s fun to see how they personalize and design their school shoe! We glued the shoe to the top of the printed ‘Stepping into 2nd Grade’ paper.
*Side note: I printed the template onto cardstock meant for the printer. This makes the page sturdier and look nicer. We also used the same cardstock for the shoe.
Free Printable Templates
You’ll find the following templates in the file:
- Stepping into Preschool
- Stepping into Kindergarten
- Stepping into 1st Grade
- Stepping into 2nd Grade
→ Print Templates HERE
Hang the finished Pete the Cat inspired shoe craft up on the refrigerator or place it in a school binder keepsake!
Another book-based activity could be making a shoelace tying practice board. The kids could also do shoe, guitar, or Pete the Cat coloring pages. My preschooler made prints of her shoes which we will be posted about on Fun Handprint Art blog here: Shoe Print Keepsake Craft.
More Back to School Fun
Below are a few more fun ideas to do with kids during their 1st week of school or before.
- All About Apples for Back to School {Free Printables} | The Natural Homeschool
- Alphabet Adventure Letter Sort | School Time Snippets
- What Pet Should I Get Activities | Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading
- Maisy Goes to Preschool: Back to Preschool Printable Pack | Simple Fun for Kids
- 1st Day of School Handprint Craft| Fun Handprint Art
What a fun Pete The Cat craft idea! Thanks for the free printable too!