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Summer is drawing to a close, and no matter how you or your kids feel about school starting back, watching a fun movie together is a great way to connect and commemorate the end of the summer.
You can stream any of these 20 back to school movies on popular streaming sites, but make sure you decide for yourself whether a particular movie is appropriate for your kids! Common Sense Media is a great site that shares potentially troubling aspects of movies and books so you can decide ahead of time.
20 Back to School Movies for the End of Summer
Teacher’s Pet
This fun movie is about a dog going to school with his owner, which makes all the normal school issues much more interesting!
Hoopla – free with library card
Rent on Amazon – $2.99
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
While it’s not just about school, the main premise of this movie (and all the movies and books) centers around the kids going back to school each fall. This may not be like the school your kids are going to, but they’ll love it nonetheless.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Freaky Friday
This remake of the classic film is all about a mom and daughter switching bodies, so the mom ends up going to school in her daughter’s body. Many laughs ensue!
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ – free with subscription
High School Musical
Many teens head to their first year of high school along with lots of singing and dancing!
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Matilda
Let’s hope your kids don’t go to a school like Matilda’s, either, but its pretty funny to watch her figure out how to manage! Based on the classic book by Roald Dahl.
Rent on Amazon – $2.99
Sky High
This movie’s about a very special high school for super talented people, and a young man who goes there but doesn’t actually have the superpowers his parents thinks he have.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Based on the popular young adult series, this movie follows young Greg and the trials and tribulations of middle school.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ – free with subscription
Napoleon Dynamite
This one may seem like kind of a stretch, but if you have older preteens or teens, they will love this bizarre and quirky movie (that does center a lot on life in high school).
Rent on Google Play – $3.99
Watch on Hulu — free with subscription
School of Rock
Another movie about a very nontraditional school! Jack Black as a new music teacher shows his students how to really rock and roll.
Rent on Amazon – $2.99
Friday Night Lights
If you loved the TV show, try the full-length movie based on a small Texas town’s love of footballl.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Akeelah and the Bee
This is a heartwarming movie about a little girl who perseveres at spelling (as well as in the rest of her life) through many difficulties and goes on to achive great things.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Mean Girls
Suitable for teens, this comedy takes a look at the popularity wars that often go on in high school.
Rent on Amazon – $2.99
October Sky
This movie may not technically focus on school, but maybe because of the time of the year the movies takes place during, it always feels like a back to school movie for me.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Monsters University
Monsters going to college—a great premise for lots of laugh.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Wonder
This movie is based on the bestselling book about a boy with a facial malformity who enters public school after being homeschooled up until that point.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
Mr. Holland’s Opus
Suitable for teens, Mr. Holland is a talented musician who thinks he is giving up his personal dreams by teaching at a high school.
Rent on Google Play – $3.99
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Recess: Taking the 5th Grade
Inspired by the television show, this movie looks at the fun and foibles of a close-knit group of fifth graders.
Watch on Disney+ — free with subscription
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
How to Eat Fried Worms
The first day of school is a popular theme for kids’ movies, and this one takes that theme and adds on eating worms.
Rent on Amazon – $2.99
Borrow on Hoopla — free with library card
Bridge to Terabithia
Two new friends who meet at school use their imaginations to journey to a new world.
Rent on Amazon – $3.99
A Little Princess
Boarding school isn’t necessarily the same kind of school your kids are heading to, but what this young girl experiences in a new place are probably still relatable (you could also check out the much older Shirley Temple version!).
Rent on Google Play – $2.99
Do you have any favorite back to school movies? Let us know in the comments!
