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MathGrades K–3 10 min read

100th Day of School Activities: 25+ Ideas for Counting, Math and Fun

Published · FreeClassTool Teaching Guides

  • #100th day of school
  • #Counting
  • #Place value
  • #Celebrations
  • #Grades K–3

The 100th day of school is a celebration built right into the math curriculum. Students have counted toward it for months, and the big day turns one number into tens and ones, money, patterns and a well-earned party.

The 100th day lands on a different date in every district, often between late January and February, depending on when school started and how many days off you’ve had. Below you’ll find more than 25 ideas: a daily counting routine, 100 collections, place value and money, hundreds chart games, 100-second challenges, writing with a copyable word list, review questions, a plan for the day and ideas for older grades.

Count Up to the 100th Day With a Daily Routine

The 100th day means the most when students have watched the number grow. Make counting the days a two-minute part of every morning, starting on the first day of school or whenever you begin.

  1. Add a straw. Add one straw to the ones cup each morning. When there are 10, a student bundles them and moves the bundle to the tens cup.
  2. Tally the day. A helper adds one tally mark, crossing every fifth mark. The class counts by 5s, then adds the extras.
  3. Color the hundreds chart. Color one square a day on a big classroom chart. By the 100th day, the chart is full.
  4. Write it three ways. Write the day as a number, in expanded form (47 = 40 + 7) and in words (forty-seven).
Try it: Days of School CounterProject the Days of School Counter as your daily board. Choose Count by hand and press Add today each morning, or pick Auto from start date, enter the first day of school and list your holidays and breaks under Add no-school days. Auto mode counts Monday to Friday and shows the date day 100 falls on. Under Show on the board, turn on Straws, Hundreds chart, Tally marks, Money and Expanded & word form.

Collect and Count 100 Things

A 100 collection is a classic for good reason: students see how big 100 really is when they hold it in their hands.

  • Bags of 100. Each student builds a collection of 100 small things, like buttons, beads or paper clips.
  • Count it two ways. Sort the collection into 10 groups of 10 and count by 10s, then make 20 groups of 5 and count by 5s. Same 100, different groups.
  • Estimate first. Fill one clear jar with 100 cubes and a second with an unknown amount. Is the second jar more or less than 100? How do you know?
  • Build 100 together. Each student adds 10 cubes to a class tower until it reaches 100. How many students did it take? (10.)

Show 100 With Place Value and Money

The 100th day is the perfect time to show what happens when 99 grows by one: ten ones become a ten, and ten tens become a hundred.

  • The big trade. Start at 99 and add one more. Students say what changed in each column.
  • Bundle a hundred. Band ten bundles of ten straws into one big bundle. Write 100 and name each digit: 1 hundred, 0 tens, 0 ones.
  • 100 pennies, 10 dimes, 4 quarters. Lay out each set with real or play coins. Each is worth one dollar, or 100 cents. Which set has the most coins? The fewest?
  • A penny a day. If the class saved a penny every school day, how much would it have on the 100th day? ($1.00.)
Try it: Place Value ChartIn the Place Value Chart, choose Ones to hundreds and type 99. Press the plus button on the ones column and the readout explains the regrouping: 10 ones became 1 ten, and 10 tens became 1 hundred. Use Hide a digit or the Hide buttons on each form so students work it out themselves.

On the Days of School Counter, the Money picture adds one penny a day and trades up, so on day 100 it shows a dollar, and the Straws picture adds a bundle of one hundred. For more hands-on ideas, see place value activities.

Hundreds Chart Activities for the Big Day

Students have watched the chart fill up all year. On the 100th day, use it for patterns and puzzles.

  • Pattern hunt. Color the 10s, then the 5s, then the 2s. What do students notice? Which numbers are in all three patterns?
  • Mystery number. Give clues: “I’m more than 50. I’m less than 70. My two digits are the same.” (55 or 66, so add one more clue.)
  • Missing numbers. Cover a few squares. Students name each missing number and explain how the numbers around it helped.
  • Past 100. Switch to a 1–120 chart and ask what comes after 100. The pattern keeps going.
Try it: Interactive Hundreds ChartIn the Hundreds Chart, pick 2s, 5s or 10s and press Count along to color one square at a time while the class counts. Under Missing numbers, press Cover random squares; students tap each square to reveal it. Download Missing Numbers PDF adds an answer key page.

For a whole list of chart games, see hundreds chart activities. Pull mystery numbers with the random number generator from 1 to 100.

100-Second Challenges and Counting Races

One hundred seconds is 1 minute and 40 seconds: long enough to feel like a challenge, short enough to keep everyone moving.

  • Jumping jacks. How many can you do in 100 seconds? Partners count for each other, then switch.
  • Count three ways. How long does it take the class to count to 100 by 1s, by 5s and by 10s? Why is counting by 10s so much faster?

For the 100-second challenges, type 1 minute and 40 seconds under Custom time in the Classroom Timer and press Set time, so everyone can see the countdown.

Try it: Online StopwatchFor the counting race, press Start on the Stopwatch, then press Lap when the class finishes counting by 1s, by 5s and by 10s. The lap list shows each count’s time and marks the fastest and slowest.

100th Day Writing and a Ready-to-Copy Word List

Writing about 100 lets students be silly and thoughtful at once. Keep prompts open so everyone has something to say.

  • If I had 100… Students finish the sentence and draw it. 100 puppies? 100 balloons? Where would they keep them all?
  • When I’m 100 years old… Students imagine what they’d like to do, learn or see. Keep it about hopes and fun.
  • 100 days smarter. Students write or draw one thing they’ve learned since the first day of school.

The word tools don’t have 100th day presets, but they all accept your own list. Copy these words and paste them one per line.

100th day word list (20 words)

  • hundred
  • hundredth
  • century
  • count
  • tally
  • tens
  • ones
  • zero
  • digits
  • place value
  • skip count
  • bundle
  • penny
  • dime
  • dollar
  • collect
  • estimate
  • pattern
  • milestone
  • celebrate
  • Word search. Paste the list into the Word Search Generator. All 20 words fit under its 30-word limit; choose the Medium or Large grid.
  • Word scramble. Pick up to 12 words for the Word Scramble Generator and add a hint after a spaced dash, like “century - 100 years.”
  • Crossword. The Crossword Maker takes up to 20 words, so the whole list fits. Add clues the same way, like “dime - A coin worth 10 cents.”

A 100th Day Review Game and Make-100 Bingo

Wrap up the math with a game. The first five questions fit a Money category and the last five a Numbers category.

  1. How many pennies make one dollar? 100
  2. How many dimes make one dollar? 10
  3. How many quarters make one dollar? 4
  4. How many nickels make one dollar? 20
  5. Which is worth more: 100 pennies or 4 quarters? They are worth the same, one dollar.
  6. What number comes right after 99? 100
  7. How many tens make 100? 10
  8. What is 50 + 50? 100
  9. How many years are in a century? 100
  10. If you count by 5s, how many 5s make 100? 20
Try it: Review Game Show & Team ScoreboardType these into the Review Game Show as two categories of five, add teams and play in Classroom Presentation Mode. Hidden Double Points tiles and a Final Round keep the ending exciting.

For Make-100 bingo, the Bingo Card Generator puts the answer after an equals sign on the cards and the question on your call list. Paste nine lines like “70 + ? makes 100 = 30,” from 10 through 90, for 3 × 3 cards. More tips are in review games students love.

Plan the Day, Celebrate and Include Everyone

A big day goes smoothly when students know what comes next. Short, timed rotations keep the energy up without letting it spill over.

  1. Morning count (10 minutes). Count today on the counter (press Add today if you count by hand) and enjoy the “Happy 100th Day of School!” banner and confetti.
  2. Make groups (2 minutes). In the Group Maker, type custom group names like Tens, Dimes, Dollars and Centuries.
  3. Stations (4 × 10 minutes). Rotate through collections, place value and money, the hundreds chart and writing when a 10-minute Classroom Timer ends (see visual timers in the classroom).
  4. Challenges, game and certificates (30 minutes). Run two or three 100-second challenges, play the review game, then hand out certificates.
Try it: Award Certificate MakerIn Award Certificates, choose Custom, type “100 Days Smarter” as the custom award title and add a “for” line like “for 100 days of learning and growing.” Choose Class list to make one per student, pick the Confetti or Medal design and press Download PDF.

Plan a calm moment after the busiest part of the day: the Sensory Hourglass 2 Min Calm Down preset, or an Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness video from SEL Videos & Brain Breaks. See brain break ideas and calm-down corner ideas for more.

Inclusive notes

  • Celebrate the class’s 100 days. Students who joined mid-year or missed days are part of “our” 100 days too.
  • Make dress-up optional. If students dress as 100-year-olds, keep it kind and skip jokes about older people. A crown with 100 dots works for everyone.
  • Don’t rely on supplies from home, and check your school’s policy on food, parties and outside items before you plan.

100th Day Ideas for Older Grades

Older students still enjoy the 100th day when the challenge grows with them.

  • 100-word stories. Students write a story exactly 100 words long. Cutting words is great editing practice.
  • 100 facts. The class works together to list 100 facts about a science or social studies topic.
  • 100 years ago. Students research school, toys or travel a century ago and compare them with today.
  • Bigger place value. On the Place Value Chart, switch to Ones to thousands, show 100 and then 1,000, and talk about why 1,000 is 10 hundreds.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 100th day of school?

It depends on your district’s calendar. The 100th day is counted in school days, so it shifts with your start date, holidays, breaks and snow days. Many schools reach it between late January and February. Enter your first day of school and no-school days in a days of school counter to see the date, and update it when the calendar changes.

What are easy 100th day of school activities for kindergarten?

Keep activities hands-on and short: count 100 small objects in groups of 10, color a hundreds chart, build a tower of 100 cubes, do jumping jacks for 100 seconds and draw a picture for “If I had 100…” A simple certificate at the end of the day makes it feel special.

How do I count the days of school without missing any?

Make it a short routine at the same time every morning, with a student helper adding a straw, a tally mark or a colored square. A digital counter can add one day by hand each morning or count school days automatically from the first day, with your holidays and breaks listed.

How can I celebrate the 100th day if some families can’t send in supplies?

Keep classroom counters, cubes, beads and paper on hand so every student can build a collection at school. Skip food-based activities and costumes that cost money, and offer simple choices like a paper crown. Focus on what students have learned in 100 days, which everyone can share.

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