Fun and Educational 100th Day of School Ideas for Busy Teachers
Reaching the 100th day of school is an exciting milestone for students and teachers alike. It’s an opportunity to reflect on everyone’s progress since the beginning of the school year while having a little fun. Whether you’re looking for classroom party ideas, ways to involve parents in your celebration, or a few quick activities to mark this achievement, keep reading to find our favorite 100th day of school ideas.
Why Celebrate the 100th Day of School?
The 100th day of school is an important checkpoint in the year. It provides a meaningful way to make the abstract number 100 more tangible for young students who are developing number sense.
It offers a variety of cross-curricular connections as well. There are many creative, hands-on activities that can reinforce concepts related to math, literacy, and even social-emotional skills during 100th day celebrations in schools.
5 Creative 100th Day of School Ideas
Below are some creative and educational 100th day of school activities for celebrating this special milestone in your classroom.
1. 100 Years Old (With a Twist)
One of the most familiar 100th day activities is having students and teachers dress up as if they are 100 years old. Here are a few new twists on the classic 100th day of school dress up idea:
Reach out to local senior centers to inquire if any centenarians would be willing to visit your classroom to be interviewed by your students. Be sure to provide the questions to your guest ahead of their visit so they have time to prepare. Here are a few ideas for questions that can help them share about their life:
- How has the world changed since you were in (your grade level)?
- What big events do you remember happening in the world?
- What is the most surprising or amazing thing you’ve seen in your lifetime?
- What is one piece of advice you’d give to kids today?
This provides an excellent opportunity to connect students with members of their local community while fostering skills they’ll use for a lifetime.
Have students write about what they think life will be like when they’re 100 years old. You can provide sentence starters such as:
- When I am 100 years old, I will…
- My favorite thing to do when I am 100 will be…
- When I am 100, I will eat…
- When I am 100, I will spend my days…
- I think being 100 years old will be…
2. Collect 100 Items
Collecting 100 items is another 100th day of school project idea that can strengthen home-school connections. Ask students to bring in 100 of something small, such as beads, coins, buttons, cereal, or toy cars. Have each student share their collection with the class.
To extend this activity, have students arrange their items into groups of 10 or 20 and work on skip counting.
3. 100 Acts of Kindness
Another meaningful way to celebrate the 100th day is by encouraging students to perform 100 acts of kindness as a class. Work together to create a list of small acts of kindness, such as helping a friend, writing a thank-you note to the custodian, or picking up trash around the playground.
Completing 100 acts of kindness is a great way to nurture social-emotional skills, foster a strong classroom community, and cultivate life skills that extend beyond the classroom—plus, it can double as a creative bulletin board display!
4. Build With 100
Challenge students to build a structure using 100 blocks, straws, marshmallows, or other everyday materials.
This activity develops problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills as students work together in groups. It also offers a fun way to incorporate STEM as students explore geometry and engineering concepts in a hands-on way.
5. 100th Day Fitness
Add movement to the day with 100-themed physical activities. Plan for students to do 100 jumping jacks, hop on one foot 100 times, or run in place for 100 seconds. You can also divide the class into groups and create a circuit of stations where each group completes 10 repetitions of 10 different exercises.
You can also find 100-themed physical activity videos on YouTube to engage your students throughout the day. From “Would You Rather…” brain breaks to jumping for 100 seconds, there are plenty of fun videos to get students moving.
Teacher’s Corner
Benita Afonso, a member of our Teacher Advisors Group, shared her tips and ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school with your class.
Why do you think celebrating the 100th day is important for students?
Celebrating the 100th day of school is a significant day to have all students participate! It marks a milestone in the academic year and it is also halfway through the school year. This celebration allows the students to reinforce math concepts.
Some activities that are associated with this activity promote community building, goal setting, and creative expression. This enhances student engagement and motivation for the remainder of the year.
What are your favorite activities to celebrate the 100th day of school?
With the older groups, I gave a cut out of 100 (a one and two zeros), had them arrange the number any way they wanted, and then had them draw something to incorporate that number. For example, one student drew a coconut tree (the one was the trunk and the two zeros were coconuts). Another drew a car (the two zeros were tires and the one was the bottom portion of the car) and a pair of glasses.
In addition, we also had the students write a few sentences with the following prompts:
- If I were 100 years old…
- If I had 100 dollars…
- If I had 100 pennies…
What advice do you have for teachers planning their first 100th day of school celebration?
The 100th day can be an exciting day for everyone. Some suggestions that I have to make the day go smoother is to always ask for help from your class parent (if you have one). Ask them to help prepare some activities or run a station. These activities should be planned in advance. Another piece of advice could be to have centers for the students that revolve around the 100th day.
What are some simple, low-prep ways teachers can celebrate the 100th day if they’re short on time?
Life does happen and sometimes we run short on time. One suggestion for prepping on short notice would be to keep focused on one or two activities that can be completed in a short period of time, such as eliciting 100 words they know and writing them on a chart. Another is to collaborate with other teachers and combine classes for a joint celebration.
What’s an example of a 100th-day activity you’ve adapted for English learners that was particularly successful?
To adapt this day for the ENL learner, it is crucial to consider using visual aids such as pictures and videos to explain the concept related to 100. Visuals can help bridge the gap. Use simplified, clear language and gestures to aid understanding.
How do you modify the traditional 100th-day celebration activities to meet the language development needs of your English learners?
One activity that I have incorporated in this special day was to have the student count to 100 in their native language. If Spanish was the main language, I had each child count up to groups of 10 until we got to 100.
The 100th day of school is more than just a fun celebration—it’s an opportunity to engage students in meaningful learning experiences that promote math, literacy, social-emotional skills, creativity, and more. By incorporating a variety of 100th day of school ideas, teachers can make this milestone both memorable and educational.
Build a love of math early on! Easy, hands-on activities for children ages 3–6 help develop understanding of basic math skills and concepts.
View Product →Thank you to our blog contributor, Benita Afonso, ENL/Building Point Person for grades 1 and 2 in Sleepy Hollow, New York.