Raise your hand if you want to have fun! Going back to school shouldn’t only be about homework and learning. There’s always plenty of room for entertaining activities. So put away the pencils and calculators and grab some popcorn, it’s time for a little break.

Here’s our pick of five back-to-school movies that will give you and your kids a much needed (and deserved!) break.

Freaky Friday (2003)

Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) do not understand each other, not seeing eye-to-eye on clothes, hair, music and each other’s taste in men. It gets worse when Tess doesn’t support Anna’s music aspirations, and Anna won’t give Tess’ fiancé a break. Both get identical fortune cookies after an argument in a restaurant and wake up the next day, Friday, to discover themselves in the wrong bodies. Like the saying goes, the mother and daughter have to walk a mile in each other’s shoes before gaining newfound respect for the other’s point of view. With Tess’ wedding coming up, they have to find a way to switch back – and fast!

Nancy Drew (2007)

Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) moves to Los Angeles with her father and immediately stumbles on a mystery involving a dead movie star, her inheritance and a daughter no one knew she had! Mean classmates are no match for what Nancy encounters in this mystery - almost being run over by a car and nearly blown up when diffusing a bomb! Nancy’s luck runs out when she encounters the bad guy who drugged her. Fortunately, Nancy wakes up in the nick of time and quickly escapes her attackers, solves the case and watches the men who drugged her go down! 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

Who wouldn’t want to attend Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry? Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) thinks he’s just an ordinary boy, but when he turns 11, he discovers that he is a wizard. Harry learns that his parents were wizards and were killed by an evil wizard, Voldemort, a truth that was kept from him. He begins his new life as a student, quickly befriending Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger along the way. The three friends quickly discover that something of great value is hidden somewhere inside the school, and Voldemort is very anxious to get his hands on it. If just one Harry Potter film isn’t enough, there’s always one of its many sequels. In addition, the books make great reading!

High School Musical (2006)

Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) meet over winter break when they sing karaoke together on New Year’s Eve. Troy returns to his high school, East High, and finds that Gabriella is a new student there. They quickly become friends and decide to audition for the Winter Musical. Problems ensue when Troy’s friend Chad becomes upset that the musical is distracting Troy from the basketball championships. Also, Gabriella’s friend wants her on the decathlon team. Despite mishaps and confusions – and of course, a few great musical numbers along the way – Troy and Gabriella get to the tryouts, their events, win the callbacks and land the parts as the lead pair in the Winter Musical. If the first one isn’t enough, there’s always HSM 2 and HSM 3, which is slated to hit theaters this October!

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Life for 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is not easy. Her father is dead, her mom ignores her and her brother runs with a bad crowd. She’s smart, but the environment she lives in threatens her aspirations. To avoid detention for her many absences, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee and wins. In hopes of making it to a more prestigious spelling bee, Akeelah begins seeking coaching from an English professor, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne). With the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Akeelah could make her community proud – but she must overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. Fun Fact: Some of the spelling words in the film include prestidigitation, quinquevir, bioluminescent and kookaburra!

Enjoy one of these flicks with the whole family. There is life beyond homework – but only after the homework is done!