Ten Low-Prep 100s Day Centers

The 100th day of school is coming up! For many of us it usually occurs in February, right around Valentine’s Day. In fact, one year I combined our 100s Day celebration with Valentine’s Day. Since 100s Day activities take a little bit of advance preparation, I thought now would be the perfect time to share some ideas for simple 100s Day centers along with a few ideas to use throughout the day!

Whole School Activities

On 100s Day some schools like to have their students dress like they are 100 years old. It is very cute when the little kids do it! And some schools have students design 100s day shirts to wear. Our school tends to dress like they are 100 and everyone joins in on the fun, cafeteria staff included!

Whole Group Classroom Activities

Now on to the classroom celebration! I start by having a sign hanging up outside the door that says, “You are 100 Days Smarter!” and attach crepe paper to hang over the door. The students love to walk through it as we come in and out during the day!

During the day we do a few whole class activities. One is reading the book Ready, Set 100th Day by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. That is one of my favorites, but there are many books to choose from. Here’s a great list of titles from Kinder Craze called, “50 Books to Celebrate the 100th Day of School.”

Another is making a list of items we would want 100 of and making another list of items we would not want 100 of (This idea has been listed on a few different websites). Sometimes, I have students bring in a collection of 100 objects and we spend some time going around the classroom looking at them. However, I always play a counting to 100 math song, either during morning meeting or calendar time! Check out a couple of our favorites below!

100s Day Fun Centers!

Typically, the last part of the day is saved for our 100s Day Fun Centers! Of course, this is schedule dependent and can fit wherever you have about 1 1/2 hours of time. This is the part of the day the students are looking forward to the most 😁! I will have 4-5 centers dependent upon how many students I have in class that year. My aim is to have no more than 5 students per center. The centers rotate every 15 minutes with 5 minutes in between for clean-up.

Before we begin our 100s Day centers, we gather on the big carpet and I give the directions for each center, modeling when needed. I, also, make sure there is an example or picture directions at each center, so students can do them independently. While the students are doing their centers, I will monitor, but, tend to stay near the 100s Day snack table. Hopefully, that gives you an idea of the set-up for centers. Now, I’m going to share a list of 100s Day centers I have used in the past!

1. 100s Day Snack– For the 100s Day snack, I send home a sign-up sheet about 2 weeks prior with 10 snacks that we would like donated. Examples include: 1 bag of chocolate chips, 1 bag of pretzels, 1 bag of goldfish, 1 box of cereal, etc. Be sure to include items such as zip top bags, plastic bowls, and plastic spoons. That way you will have everything you need for this center.

On the day of, I will place the snacks in bowls around our small group table and the students will choose 10 of each snack. Of course, the students will wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before selecting their snacks. There is a placemat the snacks are placed on to make sure they have all 10 snacks. When they have sorted their snack, it goes into a zip-top bag. The students bring the snack home, unless we have time to eat it in class. Here are a couple of free mats to use!

2. 100 Drops of Water– This is a free one from The Classroom Creative’s post, “100th Day of School Freebies.” For this activity students predict how much of a glass will be filled after adding 100 drops of water, then they actually test this out. I have used baby food jars and pipettes in the past and it has worked very well! You could, also, use small clear cups. Furthermore, this center is great because it has accountability, with the paper that gets completed along with it. Click the center name for the link.

3. Write 100 Words– The name is self-explanatory. I will give students clipboards for this, so they can walk around the room writing words they see. They can include words they already know, too. Click the center name for a recording sheet freebie from First Grade Funtastic!

4. What Would You Buy With $100?– This one is a book page that will be put with the rest of the class’s pages to make a class book. Class books become some of our class’s most cherished books to read. Click the center name for the one I used, a freebie from First Grade Fever.

5. Fruit Loop Necklace– For this one, students string 100 Fruit Loops onto a piece of yarn and, then, it is tied to make a necklace. This one does take some prep because I cut the yarn in advance and tape the end to make it easier to get the Fruit Loops on.

6. Race to 100– This game can be played with a partner or individually. You just have to print the board, get some crayons, and have dice on hand. I love the rendition from This Reading Mama! Again, click the center name for the link.

7. What Can You Make With 100?– For this one, you cut out the number 100 from a die-cut machine or Cricut. Make sure you cut enough for each student to be able to make the number 100. Then, students will create a picture by gluing the 100 onto their paper and adding drawings with markers or crayons. I have seen some really cute and creative ones over the years!

9. What Can You Build With 100?– This center can be used with whatever building material you want and have available. Just make sure you only put out 100! Here are some ideas: plastic cups, unifix cubes, Legos, Magna-Tiles, blocks etc. If you want to add accountability, have the students draw their structure on a piece of paper. They could, even, give it a title.

10. Pattern Block 100– This is the only one I haven’t personally used, but looks fun! It comes free from Ms. Moran’s Kindergarten, you know the drill, click the center name to access it!

Well, that’s my collection of 100s Day Centers! Obviously, I did not do all of these at one time. I couldn’t imagine the chaos running 10 centers would create. Feel free to pick and choose the ones you think would be best for your learners! And if you’re starting to think about Valentine’s Day, be sure to read my post, ” 8 Valentine’s Books Your Students Will LOVE!“