The 100th day of school is an exciting milestone for every elementary classroom. It signifies both the halfway point of the year and an important time for setting new goals and realigning a fresh outlook. Most importantly, it’s a special opportunity for students to reflect on their hard work and celebrate all the progress they’ve made, and there’s a lot to celebrate for making it through these first 100 days!
In celebration, we’ve put together 19 of our favorite activities across all subject areas (plus some just-for-fun additions) to help you and your learners enjoy this special day.
What Do 100 Days of School Add Up To? Math Activities
Basic numeracy skills are a critical component of math instruction in the early elementary years. The 100th day of class is a great opportunity to challenge your students. Here are a few sample activities:
- Sing, move, dance, and count your way to 100 with these six YouTube videos.
- Challenge your students to find hidden pictures by completing a printable Hundreds Chart. This activity requires students to solve addition and subtraction problems or, for younger students, simply identify numbers.
- Let your students design their very own 100 days of school T-shirt to showcase on this special day. (Extra points if you participate, too!)
- Get parents in on the fun with a 100th-day-of-school collection activity. Simply have students collect 100 of a specific item at home (pennies, Legos, marbles, and small candies are all good options) and display them creatively. Here’s a parent letter and rubric for inspiration!
Reading Activities for the 100th Day of School
Nothing sparks a great conversation quite like a good book! Below are several of the best read-aloud selections to incorporate into your celebrations:
- Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day: Who doesn’t love Miss Bindergarten and all her kindergarten adventures? In this story, join her as she celebrates 100 days of school with her class.
- 100th Day Worries: This is a perfect option if you’re looking for a read-aloud to go with a collection project like the one introduced above. In 100th Day Worries, join Jessica as she contemplates different collection ideas, worrying about which is the right one to show her class.
- I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words: The fun and clever cadence of this book makes it enjoyable for all. Try leaving this book out in a separate center and give students a chance to count 100 words (without counting ‘a’ more than once) and see if they can come up with 100 on their own.
- 100 Snowmen: This seasonal read uses cumulative addition to count snowmen from one to 100. Older children will enjoy the math problems included on each page, while younger students can practice counting the snowmen throughout their winter adventures in this tale.
- One Hundred Hungry Ants: Join 100 ants as they march off to a picnic and discuss different ways to count to 100 as you go. A great cross-curricular read, this book illustrates math concepts such as division and multiplication in a way that is accessible for even your youngest students.
100th Day of School Writing Ideas
Test your students’ writing skills using these fun, creative writing prompts, appropriate for elementary students of all ages:
- Even your youngest learners can write their favorite sight words! Capture them on a digital or in-person class anchor chart with the following theme: “We can write 100 words!”
- Use a fun aging app (like AgingBooth) to capture your students at 100, and then challenge them to write on the topic: “If I were 100 years old…”
- Try out a writing prompt that will excite your students (and promises to give you a chuckle) by asking your learners to finish the sentence: “If I had $100 dollars..."
- Incorporate a poetry lesson with this short 100th-day poem. Spoiler alert: it’s not just about the 100th day of school—it also has exactly 100 letters!
Science Activities for the 100th Day of School
There are tons of fun STEM challenges that inspire critical thinking for your youngest learners. Many of these activities may be done at home with a little prep time. Incorporate 100 items, and suddenly, you have an awesome task that also fits the theme of the day! Check out these great examples:
- Play a fun game of investigating inventions from 100 years ago while blending STEM and historical concepts using this interactive Google Slides template.
- Make a clothespin fort. This simple engineering exercise asks students to find a way to fit 100 clothespins around the four sides of a box. Watch as your learners are forced to get creative when they quickly run out of room along the box’s perimeter.
- Building with 100 Items. Task your students with building a structure or tower with any available materials – class blocks, cards, or cups are a few ideas to get you started. Students will have so much fun working together to count and construct.
Just for Fun
The 100th day of school isn’t just about putting skills into practice but having fun and building your classroom community. Try incorporating a few of these activities and special surprises into your agenda to round out the celebration:
- Design treats perfectly suited to the occasion. A couple of our favorites include: “I am one smart cookie!” and “Congrats! You are 100 days brighter!”
- Compile 100 things that your students have learned during 100 days of school. Make a classroom activity out of reviewing and reflecting upon all of the milestones that your students have reached so far!
- Create a classroom mural of 100 reasons your students love their school. It’s a great way to demonstrate gratitude (and tie in a little Valentine’s fun as well).
This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated.
