Celebrating the 100th Day of School
Whether you’re counting the number of yards in a football field or measuring the largest denomination of U.S. currency, 100 is an important number! Bigger and more impressive than the 99 numbers that come before it, 100 is a number worth celebrating, especially when it comes to the 100th day of school.
100 days of school is not just a random numerical milestone, it’s a marker that your class of bright young minds is 100 days smarter than they were when the school year first began. Now that’s something worth celebrating! Here are some 100th day of school projects to mark the big one-zero-zero:
Ice Cube Challenge
Start your students’ 100th day with the ice cube challenge. In the morning, fill a bowl with 100 ice cubes and ask students to make guesses about how long it will take for all of the ice cubes to melt. Use this activity as a chance to talk about heat, friction, and insulation. Check on the cubes throughout the day as a fun way to keep students engaged.
If I Had $100
For this 100th day of school idea, all you’ll need is a stack of pretend $100 bills. Give each student a Franklin and ask him or her to write about what they’d do if they won such a large sum of money. This activity can be used as a chance to talk about the importance of saving money, and the benefits of donating to charity.
Counting to 100
This do-at-home project is a great way to get students excited about the 100th day. A week or two before your classroom celebration, challenge students to fill a jar or Ziploc bag with 100 items. Encourage creativity. Can you fit 100 pennies in the jar? 100 action figures? Consider making it a contest and having students vote on the most creative collection.
100th Day Glasses
For this 100th Day activity, kindergarteners and first graders will love having the chance to practice their scissor skills. Photocopy a block letter outline of the number 100 on to a heavy piece of cardstock and give students the opportunity to cut on the dotted line. Punch holes in the sides of the cut-out 100 and add pipe cleaners to make a groovy pair of 100th day glasses.
100 Cup Castle
This 100th day recess activity is a good way to get students working together. Provide small groups with 100 sturdy plastic cups each and set them to work stacking and building a cool, life-sized castle. At the end of the activity, take a picture of the kids inside their forts, then have fun knocking all the cups down.
100th Day Snack
After all of this 100th day celebrating, your students are bound to be hungry! For a fun snack, setup a buffet of small snack items—Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, gummy bears, etc. Let students practice their counting skills by measuring out 100 snacks. Include healthy snack items too, like blueberries and grapes.
The 100th day of school is a fun milestone for teachers and students alike. For more 100th day ideas, check out Quill’s cool selection of 100th day supplies.
Krista Wolfe is a marketing project manager for Quill.com where she writes to help small businesses, teachers and healthcare professionals make more informed decisions on office essentials. She also writes on our new community blog, Café Quill, about a wide range of business matters such as leadership, productivity and work-life balancing. Krista lives in Chicago and you can find her on Google+ or LinkedIN.