The 100th Day of School

Today was our 100th day of school and we had so much fun! The children dressed up as 100-year-old men and women, complete with powdery gray hair, gaudy jewelry, suspenders, and canes! They looked adorable! We started off our morning with our "Senior Citizen Fashion Show" and photo shoot. That was just for fun... lots of giggles as these first graders strutted their senior stuff down the fashion runway!

I wanted to do some different activities this year, so I came up with a few new ideas for this special day. My kids LOVE to sing and we began with a simple, little song. It was great because it was easy to learn and then we used it for a quick word-work lesson, highlighting word-wall words and finding "super sounds" in certain words, like school. Then we made Memory Books, recalling special moments from our first 100 days in 1st grade.

{Madelyn draws and labels some of her good friends in class.}

{Derek makes a folder to keep all of today's projects in. Cotton ball hair and pipe cleaner glasses would later finish it off. Lots of creative, fine motor activity... and they turned out so cute!}

After lunch, we explored 100 Grand candy bars for our science investigation and used our senses to determine the ingredients inside. That was a definite hit! And math was active and CRAZY as each student team took on the "100 Pound Package Challenge." The challenge? Could each team fill a box with classroom items totaling 100 pounds? They scoured the classroom, searching for items for their boxes. Then, we weighed each box, recorded the data on a table, compared the numbers, and declared a winner... 72 pounds was as close as a team got to the 100 pound goal. What fun! (After the activity, the children had to put everything back where they found it... super easy clean up for me!)

 

{Ryan and Jonah use tools and their senses to explore the 100 Grand bar, inside and out.}

{Caroline records her findings on her investigation sheet.}

{This student team scurries about the room, looking for items to fit inside their box for the "100 Pound Package Challenge."}

If you'd like to try these activities when celebrating your 100th day of school, you can find the printables in my TPT store. The set also includes literature suggestions, a social studies activity on 100 years of kid-friendly inventions, community and art ideas, and more. Check the link to see more.

LINK to Materials

If you're a Pinterest user, I have a board where I collect other ideas for planning this day. You'll find videos, literature suggestions, snack ideas, decorations, art projects, and much more on the board. Check it out!  

LINK to Pinterest Board {The 100th Day of School}

Remember... make sure you plan to dress up... it's so much fun! Get tacky! Pull out your heaviest jewelry, get that rose-scented perfume, grab a bunch of tissues, roll down those knee-high stockings, borrow a cane, and throw on your best robe and slippers! Oh, and don't forget the blue eye shadow and bright red lipstick. They're a must!

Your Turn: Do you have a favorite activity, idea, or picture book that you love to use when celebrating the 100th day of school?

Happy teaching!