Celebrate the 100th Day of School in style with these fun 100th Day of School ideas! They’re a great way to celebrate students’ accomplishments and look forward to the rest of the school year. All ideas have been classroom-tested and teacher-approved!
Fun 100th Day of School Ideas for Students and Teachers
1. 100 Days Across the Curriculum
Try this tasty activity from Karen, a 4th Grade Teacher, in Marietta, GA to kick-off the 100th Day in style.
My fourth grade students still enjoy celebrating the 100th day of school, so each year, we plan special cross-curricular thematic activities for them to participate in throughout the day. We begin with a special 100th Day breakfast. I ask families to send in cooked breakfast sausage links and mini donuts, mini muffins, or biscuits. Each child receives one sausage plus two mini baked treats that form the number “100” on his or her breakfast plate. After that, we move on to math where we work to create different equations with 100 as the answer. The kids become quite creative as they use math operations to arrive at sums, differences, products, or quotients totaling 100. For writing, we “Tweet” 100 word-paragraphs about books we’re reading, as well as passages discussing current topics in science and social studies. We also read silently for 100 minutes and finish up by working on 100-piece puzzles for an indoor recess activity.
2. Estimate to 100th Day
One hundred items have never been so much fun as with this idea by Judy, a Kindergarten Teacher, in Adairville, KY.
I use the 100th Day of School to offer my young students practice with estimation. They learn firsthand that an object’s size affects the appearance of quantity or volume. I fill a number of clear sandwich bags with 100 items of different sizes (100 popcorn kernels, 100 pieces of popped corn, 100 small paper clips, 100 large paper clips, 100 beans, 100 grains of rice, etc.). I then hold each bag so they can estimate which has more. We then count the number of items in each bag so students can see they have 100 items each. (Tip: You also can play this game by filling some of the bags with 100 items and some bags with a number representing less than 100 of the same items and have students estimate how many items are in the bag holding the smaller amount.)
3. If I Had $100…
Spark creative writing with this idea by Ricci, a 1st Grade Teacher, in Fresno, CA.
On the 100th day of school I have my students make a class book in which they each work to complete one page featuring the writing prompt, “If I had $100 I would…” I then have each student illustrate his or her own contribution and we bind the individual pages together to make a class book. It’s delightful to learn what each student would do with that much money. In addition, students’ families really enjoy reading the class book at Open House, too!
4. Fresh Ideas
The 100th Day is a great way to get students exited about learning. Try these ideas by Gwen, a 1st Grade Teacher, in Galesburg, IL to get you started.
If you’re looking for some fresh and fun 100th Day of School activities, look no further.
- I hide 100 pennies for students to find. They place the pennies in the 100th Day Pocket Chart.
- I have my students use rubber stamps to fill in 100 grids on chart paper. (Tip: Have students create patterns with their stampings.)
- I also ask students to work together to construct a building out of 100 cubes or blocks. Before building, they have to figure out how to divide the 100 blocks between or among the builders.
- I ask students to make individual lists of 100 words they see in the classroom.
My students enjoy these activities and I enjoy seeing them engaging in so much learning fun.
5. 100th Day Hits
Need some clever 100th Day of School activities? Check out these ideas by Terrie, a Kindergarten Teacher, in Norfolk, VA.
Here are some 100th Day of School activities that have proven to be a big hit with my students.
• We read stories that feature the number 100 and make books about what we would do with 100 things (or 100 dollars, etc.).
• I set a timer and have children jump (or stand perfectly still, or balance on one foot, etc.) for 100 seconds.
• I have the children bring in 100 objects from home that can fit inside a self-sealing sandwich bag. In class we group these objects by 10s then count how many groups of 10s we’ve collected all together. I then help students relate that total number of groups (e.g., 250) to the number of students in our class (25). We also relate the total number of objects (say 2,500) to the number of students in the class (25). We then repeat this exercise by dividing the objects into groups of 5.
6. Spelling the Way to 100
Inspire self-confidence with this terrific spelling idea by Staci, a 1st Grade Teacher, in Topeka, KS.
I have my kids compile a big list of 100 words they know how to spell. At first they are skeptical that they can really spell that many words, but I tell them to take a “Let’s see” attitude! I then break the task up by asking them to each contribute a few words. I add these to a master list, and, after reading this list together, students are inspired to think of more. At the end of the day, I offer each child a copy of the list of 100 words they can read and spell. They are excited to be able to take the list home to impress friends and family.
7. Encourage Pride in Work
Idea by Kathleen, 4th Grade Teacher, Collingswood, NJ
To celebrate the 100th Day of School and to encourage students to take pride in their work, I create a display I titled, 100 Papers We Are Proud to Display. To determine how many papers each student needs to contribute, we divide 100 by the number of students in class.
Each student can then decide which papers to add to the display (e.g., test papers, pieces of writing, drawings, book reports, etc.), but I insist the papers be polished examples of their best work. I give the students a certain time period during which they need to prepare their papers. Then, for the days leading up to the 100th Day, I set aside class time for a few students at a time to present their papers to the class. Students appreciate the ability to choose and display those three or four examples of their very best work, and the complete display of 100 papers is impressive and gratifying for us all.
8. Rock to 100 Days
This idea is by Heather, a Kindergarten Teacher from Pueblo West, CO.
This year I decided on a Rock Star theme for my classroom and it has proven to be quite popular with all my students. We have a Rock Star of the Week, A Rock Star Word Wall, and Rock Star bulletin boards. When it came time to discuss our 100th Day of School Party, one student suggested (you guessed it) a Rock Star Party! With that theme in mind, I came up with the idea of offering each student 100 seconds to strut their stuff during which time they can each sing, dance, juggle, play an instrument—whatever they choose to rock it out for the rest of us! This offers kids 100 seconds of fame apiece!
By Brandi Jordan
This piece was originally published in 2017.
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