Inspiring Ideas to Help Students Celebrate 100 Days of School
Inspiring These days I think we can all appreciate finding something to smile about. The 100th day of the school year is the non-denominational celebration that students and teachers alike can enjoy. It’s past the halfway point in the school year and looking at the homestretch. This day tends to fall at the end of February or early March, depending on your school’s schedule, so you’ll have to determine the right time to celebrate with your class. There are lots of ways to make it special, but here are some ideas to get you started, as well as some 100th day of virtual school alternatives — so you can be prepared in this ever-changing educational landscape.
100th Day Snacks
One hundred of anything sounds like a lot, but the 100th day of school is a great time to invite students to practice math skills and “count it out” by creating their own snack board with 100 kid-friendly snackable options. Invite students to count in groups of 10 and choose 10 of each item they enjoy until they reach 100. Include scoops and tongs to keep hands out of the mix or try chopsticks for older kids needing a challenge. Use paper plates with dividers or a printed worksheet to help younger students count out their pieces. If it’s not the right time for sweets or snacking, provide treat bags to send their custom trail mix home with them. Here are some snack options that work well for this activity:
Woven rice cereal
Mini marshmallows
Peanuts or almonds (if allowed)
Chocolate chips
Cinnamon candies
Raisins or dried cranberries
Pretzels or pretzel sticks
Butterscotch chips
Circle oat cereal
Candy-coated chocolates
Gummy bears
Cheese crackers
Fruit cereal
Graham snacks
Popcorn
Snacking virtually? Enlist parents and guardians to find some small snacks in the pantry to count out. Try threading 100 Cheerios on a dental floss necklace for a treat they can wear to a streaming class party. Students with dietary restrictions could count out sunflower seeds and set them out for birds.
100 Books Celebrating 100 Days
Check out this list of 100 books to celebrate 100 days and choose one to read with your students! You can host a read-aloud over video conferencing software or assign older students to one-on-one or small group readings with younger counterparts, with an accompanying feedback assignment.
100th Day Goal Setting
Goals are a great way to celebrate a milestone, and the 100th day of school is a great time to re-energize some momentum that could have waned over the school year. Help students set goals for how they will celebrate this achievement (similar to resolutions at New Year’s). You can set these as a countdown in the days prior or use the 100th day to kick off some great new habits to carry through the end of the year. Goals could be for individual students or the class as a group, and they could be related to lesson plans or global citizenship.
Read 100 pages
Write 100 words per day in a journal or toward a larger project
Learn 100 facts on a subject
Volunteer 100 minutes
Plant 100 trees or seeds
Collect 100 food pantry donations
Solve 100 math problems
Collect 100 pieces of litter
Help another student for 100 minutes
Read for 100 minutes a day
Meditate for 100 seconds each day or hour
Other 100-Themed Ideas and Activities
- Make a 100 list (100 acts of kindness, 100 reasons you love your grade, 100 things you are thankful for, 100 things you could be when you grow up).
- Build a tower using 100 of something such as paper cups or folded paper.
- Hide 100 things (could be cut-out paper shapes from a paper punch, for example) and have students work to find them all. This could be made virtual by asking students to direct you around your classroom as they watch remotely.
- Learn about recycling or composting and make a list of single-use items that take over 100 years to break down (and set a goal of reducing the use of those items.)
- Encourage students to dress up in what they imagine will be the fashion trend in 100 years or 100 days.
Whatever you choose to do or encourage your students to explore, make sure it’s a positive event. All of the recent changes and pivots in schooling have been a challenge for everyone, and students are working hard to thrive in spite of them. Setting an example of celebrating wins, even if it’s simply making it through another day, is a great life lesson. Students will appreciate the recognition and you’ll get to have some fun, too.
