The purpose of celebrating 100 days of school is to have fun while reinforcing reading, writing and math skills kids have learned so far at school. Plus, hands-on activities are what make learning memorable. Whether you’re looking for creative 100th Day of School activities (a great excuse to get kids together) or planning an event for students, here you’ll find fun, interactive activities that help kids get in the spirit of celebrating 100 days of school. These clever ideas are from Elyse Rycroft, who provides resources and ideas on her blog, Proud to Be Primary.
MATH ACTIVITIES
Dice Games – Test probability with a roll and tally game. Kids roll the dice 100 times, tallying the number rolled each time. Graph the results. Or try racing a friend to 100 as each of you roll the dice. Simple and fun!
Graphing & Sorting – Have kids graph a set of 100 items, such as pom-poms, Skittles, acrylic gems or any other colorful items. Count out batches of 100 and have kids sort them by color and graph their findings.
100-Item Necklaces – Kids count out 100 Fruit Loops or colorful beads to string onto a necklace, creating a unique (and even edible) treasure.
Guessing Game – Fill jars and containers (of various sizes and shapes) with different items. Some should contain 100 items, while others contain more or fewer. Students try to figure out which jars have 100 items in them.
LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES
Drawing – Ask kids to think about how the world will be different 100 years from now and draw a picture of what they believe the future will bring (or look like).
100 Days Smarter – Students have been learning for 100 days, so encourage them to write down how they’re 100 days smarter than they were when school started.
100 Words – Challenge kids to write 100 words with a particular theme (words about school, words that start with the letter A, words about family, etc.).
Creative Writing – Ask kids “If you had 100 dollars, what would you do with it?” and have them write their answers. To incorporate math, have them research and record the value of their chosen item(s) to figure out if they’ve stayed within their spending limit.
Collections – Ask students if they have a collection of 100 items that they can bring in to share and talk about with classmates.
GET ACTIVE
Hopscotch – Head out to the playground or backyard with some chalk and have kids draw different hopscotch games using numbers 1–100. Shorter hopscotch games can skip count by 5s or 10s to get to 100.
Workout – For a 100th day workout, write different exercises on a board, such as 10 push-ups, 10-second wall sits, 10 jumping jacks and more. Kids go through each of the exercises, while moving from station to station.
Hide and Seek – Can the kids find the 100 Hershey’s Kisses you’ve hidden around the classroom (or house)? They’ll have lots of fun looking—and even more fun eating them.
Scavenger Hunt – Embark on a school-wide (or neighborhood) scavenger hunt. Kids can search for anything from school supplies to rocks outside. Print San Diego Family’s 100 Days of School Scavenger Hunt by clicking on each pdf below. One is for students and classmates at school, the other for kids to do with friends and neighbors.
School Version
Neighborhood Version
100-Second Challenge – This is really fun! Have kids predict how many times they can do an activity, then set a timer for 100 seconds, challenge them to do it, and discover if their predictions were accurate. Possible activities could be how many times they can jump on one foot, write their name, say the alphabet, or how far they can run or hula hoop in 100 seconds. Get creative!
100 Acts of Kindness – With the 100th day of school and Random Acts of Kindness Day both falling in February, encourage social-emotional learning by asking kids to perform 100 small acts of kindness in the classroom, at home or both. Once kids get started, track gestures of kindness on the whiteboard. Brainstorm ideas together or get suggestions in San Diego Family’s article “41 Random Acts of Kindness: How to Make the World a Better Place” at www.sandiegofamily.com/things-to-do/donations-volunteers-and-local-fundraisers/random-acts-of-kindness.
Build with 100 Items – Give kids 100 items (such as toothpicks, marshmallows, popsicle sticks or playing cards) and ask them to create a structure of their choice.
100 Snacks – Who’s hungry with all this learning? The 100th day of school isn’t complete without a snack! Have kids count out 100 pieces of food (pretzels, Goldfish or other trail mix ingredients), counting by 1s or grouping by 10s, which will provide energy the rest of the day.
Whatever activities you choose to commemorate the 100th day of school, celebrate your progress and make it fun and memorable for the kids!
Elyse Rycroft is a K–3 teacher and blogger at Proud to Be Primary. Get more ideas and resources at www.proudtobeprimary.com.
