10 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Day of School!
A Top Ten List of Ideas for Educators, Students, and Families
Not quite sure why we didn’t, but I don’t ever remember celebrating the 100th Day of School growing up! So you can be sure that when I learned about as a teacher, we sang it from the rooftops. I never saw the 100th Day as an end goal — as if it was a monumental task to reach; instead, I viewed as a moment to reflect on and celebrate all that had already been accomplished in the first half of the year. So I’d get quite little kid giddy come the end of January/beginning of February. So, when is your 100th Day of School happening?
To kickoff our 100th Day, I’d often have my kids list 100 accomplishments that they had had so far in the school year, whether as an individual or as a group. A fun way to prompt such reflection is, “Remember when …?”
Remember when …?
The 100th Day gives classrooms a chance to reflect, in order to then set new goals for the rest of the school year — half the adventure still awaits! So to properly celebrate this 100th Day of School, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite activity ideas (and note, even more are shared by the ever-inspiring educators on Pinterest).
In no particular order, check out this Top Ten List:
- Set up rotation stations: Set up stations around the classroom or send home these ideas as a Free Choice Friday list:
- Fold 100 origami projects — consider including some video tutorials
- Brainstorm 100 words — can add constraints like begin or end with the letter “H”
- Using a hundreds chart, race to 100 by rolling dice and moving a chip or game piece forward
- Print a 100 Day coloring page (find many here!)
- List 100 algorithms that equal 100
- Create a structure by stacking 100 red plastic cups
- Design with 100 pattern blocks or build with 100 LEGOs
- Decorate and assemble a pair of paper 100 glasses (free printable)
- Write a short narrative with sentence starters like: 100 day ago I didn’t know … or If I had $100 dollars …
2. Share a reading list: Share this reading list of stories underscoring the theme of 100 with your classroom families. Challenge everyone to read 100 pages or 100 books individually or collectively! Or have your students create their own themed reading list. What books related to 100 do they know of?
3. Exercise: Divide your class into teams. Ask them complete one or more of the following:
-> Complete 10 reps of 10 different exercises to equal 100 total.
-> Challenge teams to run 100 laps between all team members.
-> Host a 100-yard dash or a 100-metre sprint.
4. Foster number sense: What does 100 look like? Create a bulletin board display or create small collections of 100. Group small items like candles, cotton balls, cotton swabs, puffy balls, craft sticks, stickers, and/or paint dots into groups of 10 to equal 100.
5. Create self-portraits: Bring out the paints (and the tissues)! Ask kids to create not only self-portraits of themselves here and now, but ask them what they think they will look like at 100 years old. Consider showing these someday centenarians how to crinkle paper to look like wrinkles or stretch cotton balls for some well-earned white hairs.
6. Link compliment chains: Paper chains provide a festive atmosphere, but they also can be full of praise. Ask students to write a compliment for each classmate on a separate construction paper strip and deliver to the admired. Then each student can create their own compliment chain. Use blank strips to connect all students’ chains into one big long one so that you can hang the accolades in your classroom or hallway.
7. Host a fashion show: Ask students to design a hat in honor of the 100th Day. There are many models online to consider, but one of my favorites is the chef-style hat made from a band of construction paper adorned with ten thin strips. Each strip can showcase the number 10 — think stickers, paint dots, puff balls — to again highlight the number 100. Have your students hold their heads high on a classroom runway.
8. Propose a T-shirt contest: Creativity’s abound when you ask kids to decorate their own t-shirts. They can use a simple white tee or turn an old one inside out. Search online for images for some clever inspiration. You can provide prizes like the most funny, surprising, or creative (*teachable moment about homonyms!). Hang the shirts along your classroom walls to create a fun room environment.
9. Suggest a menu: Share some of these ideas to start or continue the celebration at home. One could start with a breakfast plate that shows the number 100 (e.g., bacon + pancake + fried egg), plan a snack of 10 bites of 10 different goodies (e.g, pretzels, grapes, goldfish), or a sweet dessert of a cake shaped like 100.
10. Be loud & proud: If you’re in a physical classroom right now, ask your student to work together to come up with a design for the outside of your classroom door that all visitors will see. You could propose a school-wide door decorating contest. If you’re remote, ask kids to create an personalized background using a poster board, a sheet, or a Zoom background to celebrate the day when online.
So many ways to enjoy a day that holds so much meaning and can be just as memorable. Do share your favorite 100th Day of School activities below!
