While the outfits, books, bags and hairstyles may have changed, the excitement surrounding going back to school, making new friends and learning new things seems timeless.
Take a look at these lovely photos from
HuffPost to see how the first day of school has changed from the past century.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5c33m2BpcwzYfjpSnQ9npfJBLuEL8lzek6EHnkXDV2uPRGGltMyPdBq5Y2FKcjz4QTSxt-DL6KcBa-62lNCbeVvywh17DzZ0tbOfBRmKR5Dh_bg4xwdyqXnFG7jGrkbiGzIOXgath1Kk/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25282%2529.jpg) |
A young boy and girl on the way to school for the start of a new term in the 1920s |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHU8O3XMtaTYd_qCCq9GehM9T8RbvgYzLwLAd2Uoak-uNVZZn6mSPl9Lvd_gao9OijwppfXZdQgutVGOhOTxe4ZO6UXd5MxgCFcqKSAYkwrrMK5tZKdEMrg_OfQnyXc6I-1R8R_77ae4/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25283%2529.jpg) |
A girl's first day of school in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, circa 1921 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgUWifBENE4Eg0SS6yu2siVbjHEjD7xJUtUE9vddUEasww0Qg8-snQiERJDwscLiMx2Z5y5HL5eaSxuDaf4kAKFybDf_W0gRGCGkMQ47GdbylSXC3SodMKmae2lmWxgr0Eb0t7xXtNTw/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25284%2529.jpg) |
Japanese children in traditional garb start school in California in 1927 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPbKQJDcQJKW3XHU5MLRhpVudb-lgFAKzht8thZA3P89zxmr5OnOv9-Pq8yJNyIpq4BnfoHHwSY7JDZEd8ZAEIHEd68sUnpr-YUNL-Pkr49IglU44RI7VMtbzO9uY8f6USNdf3yTBbCs/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25285%2529.jpg) |
A 5-year-old girl shows off her books after her first day of kindergarten, circa 1929 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6AuF_s8F4ZkLy080qP7zjzmrhZe9mph5Rej_S3EAFBuzudj-nh2lLvhgLMeQ-IAFI2KbRTppf7e8mtgJoTCzhun64AbTTgWdxg6mdd6lFtvhDM1B-tT1ArIPAqYwWoDOzkf4Vswit1x4/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25286%2529.jpg) |
A mother takes her daughter by the hand as they head to school in the late 1920s or early 1930s |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMmYq4CkWSvKpypZ0oGbhmFaV7ixnb-a3JnKEXIMOitiP3rrDqivUpO31EPTBfPfxDSzZO31HqartLSPdLI-HgRxZRy_1FF7ESVsARLsZKsp49Agd27G9sVDKBr6NjxkNb4l3mBdzcyY/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25287%2529.jpg) |
A young Australian boy stares into a classroom already full of students, circa 1930 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxtgrmKTBS-8ivT9sQ_ofRNYprDyb1xsnIM2cRFbuHbACwreULA_PiqljXZj2QQvbOORiv6Gg-NTJkgqx8lvDsKKZxxoHRH_xVy19IJUuzrnPtWs7YhCndTh2EdbHKnaI_SNgk5Y2vhc/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25288%2529.jpg) |
Children on their way home from school, with book bags strapped on their backs, after the first day of classes in Germany, circa 1930 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSKTB2yw2G-mwnroVJCBvGIUH_CWgyltMF7Jimi-hn_1Lo-qhFkpRigJpMefNqUxDsA4fyT5fOEVEWnooq2kxTctned3FPKHMciNueYERtM68D6b7K2WFJZsEZ9AHi4_rJx-x19p3hpE/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%25289%2529.jpg) |
Parents and their children are seen outside a school in Tokyo in the early 20th century |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzZgxfPkdZcpRJrPVCGbrlrRABjM8rqQKaSExCbNpW-T3Y44qa9QMRLZvAOCyXK-d6DbEemDKDK1enD6rSMMOkS9myUwkvcCqHIVZSAQBTyvbJM6zuQlS2GVn0cafQ0YWXg6Ql373E0Q/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252810%2529.jpg) |
Students in France greet a photographer at the start of a new term by shaking their schoolbags in 1932 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkm6VWb21Yzm_WCZrxyovpceji4hugTd39XMrTNYkiT5hIFPP48n8-mdcJfIddGKbykP8P8xxebw5FLNO8rTL4aMOJb7zt2H-W15PifzP2lEUezotuQ1JnFrXlGt-z47NnYmRjQD2E4E/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252811%2529.jpg) |
During World War II, Parisian students line up a courtyard on the first day of classes |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VXkrQT1RM0-V6cNzBmn9ACEJnc6vy-rTMwW5rkiRFoOJmXv5gTrmDCTlpsHTA7PECitUJCitAfNMDGKL5t6nZPEUJXo6ZywJ7QspalylTDS5yrEKoKSc7g0yXN5DS_LuWAVVG2vrM_E/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252812%2529.jpg) |
A little boy in Paris says goodbye to his mother outside a school in September 1945 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizL9vxOa4VxbBlpGGZGdhzQmn09Hr8Gh1rwjCJmruTwu2Hh7ZeRcAJxKw3ZBFWE0F0aih01m39ZrYFRpZqGZsZFOqFFT7pP92vgEKaFQBpCT7aAeVPJLyEjTMyc98-uL-W8rt4wwYaSvs/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252813%2529.jpg) |
As their instruction begins in 1948, students at the Lucy D. Anthony school examine a small turtle |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCM7DPYeK-3KvnDwe091lztXgZvWQBiaxAeVEV_Tgq-nk4UjKgL-bV9yNfMNJV2u4kkLU-9CkRwVsHFBNZppGUaezxnQzeXSmhfpt0OLl7AkOKf7Z_7B1R73IjpBswg4-EvXktXBBd1w/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252814%2529.jpg) |
In 1948, a young girl shares a moment with her mother outside the Lucy D. Anthony school in Madison, New Jersey |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrCOElLRLcdoXK8VIOuunB5qqhojkUn7rtgJLNYFHTcz_dWDqv9uLwQ-3iRGC_zGN1g_JvMRCcYz9rmD1rz_QX36ot05wO66JzZlTyfeqk_5MC__39SEOqnamBZ3vjTm9XaZq6ladqys/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252815%2529.jpg) |
Joyce Payne and Vincent Baker have fun depicting their teacher at a school in New York’s Harlem community on Sep. 13, 1948 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHUbMoanwQSwSAMhyphenhyphenmFkAVYXl7RJWhGWzDTduE_E-yaMEl7Y8i52gnWEuY2-aJ-WKXEPyrz2XGfCvn2zfYMMA7jOHDeqjro4E_rfcNr_O81Luzv2T7C9oQGpdV2WUBuERh22KLeHdvsc/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252816%2529.jpg) |
Nap-time on the first day in 1949 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4TcrNwe55XOpGyaVsqpo4EmxwdcSTpK4Q16IOfJsxfwk8gdzPIg-Cwb-sI2rs53YJu7N-vTR8tCOYqWNzb2Fyzdbs4SMgEIwXkucE63rykESexuEpizDcSa9SMq7STGIHHZyZAyLzoE/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252817%2529.jpg) |
Wide-eyed children listening to fairy-tales on their first school day in 1949 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwR-6_LyjWi5JPt5RCoP8-WM8blQUAc7Chr5aeeZA5No0Uyorzdbsx-nG-6KVHGakDWRpHrVKmlH_gdomgWj56Qelh2sDWPtbhHNcFiB5t1a_gssDdPADkU453Zp743ExUIjLSciYu3cY/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252818%2529.jpg) |
Children getting to know their new teacher, circa 1950 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeqhEBJnWKRwn5xtnfOecTnwjW6QLpCJVHYT9lKn4_lJR3jBHe6GOKTARjx_E4i-TC0jGtoZa3S_ZdE2nDn8t4b0I3N_OVvc42_S9BI_Zgq7toAC7mhBuEasEBzbAGE6HMcQpFTh0Rs0/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252819%2529.jpg) |
Students eagerly vie to be called on at a New York school, circa 1950 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6T8MtSzPaT0mGQIsYgQu-PqvcoIZGsPi6YWvrLds_ec3epU4O4KfSoQSyYRE9RYfbB0jSXr75wMTzZUW7p74fBNrUxmE05vyf86vBaC0njaCjbt-P65QAkxUAzkYIT66E0Wil7StfL9Q/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252820%2529.jpg) |
Teacher Agnes Bolton stands in the schoolhouse door on the first day of classes for her only pupil, Jimmy MacLellan, in Scotland, circa 1950 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPpnogM_qZhsM6XyJvoF3Q6qhfZrxHq5GhWoyYJM8PaGxNJDOkS_jdppgUVmsFBPEhApuY86BocyVYlEv5mk1FJny5piR2eCRZ6FC-2EnI61erejuWl9CT4OWE0TTUKC-_Z5YQJrexcY/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252821%2529.jpg) |
Five-year-old Howard Crafter has a tough time adjusting at the St. Nicholas County school, circa 1952 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJujgUGpeNJ6YBQnJi12tmOQnfJLHHewmXChqD-tdxUvtyl0j97hWmulHOop4J-XdTUh-3QrdeqQPaG6fG3z6Zqwdp5CsCO5gez3j4ahtPFki71NpkJ2BrSN0q0zgziQiK2GxxL7gDaGo/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252822%2529.jpg) |
Richard Sharp on his first day at the St. Nicholas County Primary School in Loughton, England, circa 1952 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kUfqA25mpd2kktqVDPElfqEDldHoH0TeSU-3HKQsiyPw2D9ZSimyV7nsNhvDyNicsFMGbqjJBiORpE8H-UNbGqgPd1PzC3YR926ZjqgGaoXzYq6pGlbYb_WtbOPskY3R7bWwUx85qvE/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252823%2529.jpg) |
Children hard at work on Sept. 15, 1959 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgtfEZDXxccn2kCIFyHgE_ns731hpdnK0uDL1BBo_S2RMiAdypKNgmNgETq_4IZSj4Q1WYsfNIuRvG8FawFQScSsvFu8vxjN-C5A68VQKtQKH_9D1K2w94Wvs2oiFb6pnIdL-fKIZhuk/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252824%2529.jpg) |
Delores York heads off for her first day at a previously all-white school in September 1960 in Arkansas |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU587dIgjIqApxyCSIbQjAn0QNTSBRAZxXhD5g8e4cdK5htXY8O-BPPlL1sCRGYR7L_ce_7HMlgjJTHz4VrLnMxZvTCLEsLbSzFqsihtz5VF9qNOL4MFe3dHAnJDjIjj5Ed0LHr3xsKTo/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252825%2529.jpg) |
Two brothers about to start the new school year, circa 1964 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji22tF8DbVjo3SeKDzE98NuoeaRDGjcPEDvWX6oC0aazUxE8eUu7EiSvoaUFkcbpXZvo93YbjRUxSv1-RBTlPCSS81Pq8cOqTZRXFuUBLi7lwDdhRmob9no-7VK46Qy1CMVGxdeaErkF0/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252826%2529.jpg) |
Mary Lynch, an assistant principal at a school in Boston’s Roxbury community, leads first graders to a school in the city's North End on Sept. 6, 1967. Operation Exodus, a voluntary busing program organized by Roxbury parents, transported students from overcrowded schools in predominantly black neighborhoods to schools in predominantly white neighborhoods that had vacant seats |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5_nuU9HCycMsTblJhLzjYtLeL1BnHGcSdEvu8EJVdb2KVg-NSZz-7dalMSnut51nYIw8EFnz7xJTEg5RqSz8MMhS_DSEymrG9NefeD8QjyU3jphvlgRSY_F9qRvS7lwDg5gHn0ZLzjQ/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252827%2529.jpg) |
Children walk up a flight of stairs to attend a newly desegregated school in Berkeley, California, 1968 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7hwUVdrvpmeB0fIvouT036TINnA2RUTmf8WJ2nKpoPy_MpBMWAEm-q-k_k8uFQJzKxshF93yHZMBrmYFgxBShNdv5rb638DFqldoD65kpTQNfx9L8z5qq_4N_TkOPL-O8Fzvic-iYZU/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252828%2529.jpg) |
Jim Hard (left) of Framingham, Massachusetts, gets acquainted with Joseph Reis of the Roxbury neighborhood at the Trotter School in Boston on Sept. 3, 1969 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqKIa3gu73hI2N_5BPY5eZgA_ZRS2I2PQoGetmmYCrlg9vHxo3caEMUQo1HGpeFALMAx6seX1-FsMLj1b382VqmT14G4wmmd3PwwEWzTPT4qOC_c2iMdfyUkjwuN_UgfxElwEMGyKYCY/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252829%2529.jpg) |
Canadian kindergarten teacher Trisha Langley teaching her first lessons on Sept. 7, 1971 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZX5tQJZ9MVtQ6MUPrblSH_ev7cyThbGk_f1Y4aGYUpl-cWgppz-smxxz5R4aRXsTpOHzftmkUVL5z9O2_5tcCsFaFV6_YtCKEiIlK7Nd67y169-4mVI9mTOo69hU9PgRIxJcueZocO8/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252830%2529.jpg) |
Students at the Mary E. Curley School in Boston on Sept. 8, 1975 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ap_BgeMC0-MG3aW6YXqF9OhasNOwAC_rRXLWRKqcTRitjyk-2Pq9mrMWlE7Ly9we7ZAQLJAwxhYy880HuJ4G4IQZJKZYDCkhm-okAx5wR64wb7c-bHKa7xgYsCx9-7OIf6FVVzdXihs/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252831%2529.jpg) |
Maranda Francisco seems taken aback by a classmate’s antics on Sept. 20, 1987 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN15Kt5Ond4V1YhKWx28jOX4dv_qE15LMXEEeqMhIW-uU0_66i0ilMKMQtym7NmhAlKbpg9ftsO6kqtx4WzXZC4cuDSFaDyAdSO64sG2Qlnb678AH9Gj6UE0kCfmGM_-7JT6GagAUNm9Q/s640-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252832%2529.jpg) |
Students line up at the Side Creek Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado, on Aug. 11, 1987 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvttrAX4uNgHITZSlNglKQaZdoQWfnk6oej3vX_shQ9r-sZIYd922BlyaA3XUMV1deA_jQXmZLu26l9JkdXUXO3nxm-HJdQZtMfkkx3ZKcsuCBdBaB78JLXXrRF9I-XSCr-vTvDOgHvw/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252833%2529.jpg) |
Schools kids arrive at Ellis Elementary School in Denver on Aug. 31, 1988 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGA_5blYEjSgqFItSluQTT-qTaFHy9yIUbC9DDiFYEE1HtsoQlf4ouwN8paeWBHPXYxOrElEELb0NvlEJ4R1D_HRSXc3ZZVra6JMsguij0z6UBfWIdFBSgfDazMnKYT8R3SRK6wl434jM/s1600-rw/vintage-first-day-of-school+%252834%2529.jpg) |
Five-year-old Dylan O’ Sullivan appears determined to make it a good year as he heads into class in Denver on Aug. 30, 1989 |