Milestones are fun to celebrate in preschool. And being in school for 100 days is a great time for celebration! We recently celebrated our 100 days of school with some fun hands-on activities.

100 Days Of School

How Much Is 100?

Preschoolers are developing their understanding of numbers and quantity. They can begin to conceptualize smaller quantities because of their experiences. But larger quantities are confusing. Often you will hear preschoolers use “hundred” and “million” as comparable quantities. Both of these are difficult for a preschooler to grasp.

To begin to understand 100, we used groups of items and objects. As preschoolers count groups of 10 or use 100 items, they can gain experience with this larger quantity.

Celebrating 100 Days of Preschool

Here are some of the ways we explored 100 to celebrate one hundred days of preschool.

We made a collection of 100 stickers. Divide paper into 10 sections. Place 10 stickers in each section. Now we have 100 stickers! Breaking down 100 into smaller groups helps preschoolers succeed (because they can more easily count quantities of 10).

And it also builds an important mathematical concept – the beginnings of the decimal system and place value. These concepts will be important to higher math understanding when celebrating 100 days of school.

We built with 100 cups. We stacked pyramids.

We also created lines with the cups. By using the same quantity of cups to create different configurations, preschoolers learn that the amount stays the same (it’s always 100) no matter what arrangement of the cups.

We made necklaces by stringing 100 pieces of cereal. First the child counted out 10 pieces of of the same color. After stringing these on the yarn, he counted 10 pieces of another color. When finished the necklace has 10 groups of 10. (Building those groups of 10 concepts again!)

Counting to 100 may be easy. But understanding how many 100 really is can be much more difficult. Use these and other hands-on activities with 10s and 100 to build those foundational math skills.

And celebrate learning together for 100 days of school!

BIO: Kristy Pulcher is currently a Pre-K Teacher in Plano, Texas. She has worked in the early childhood education field for 23 years. Kristy was a recipient of the Teacher of the Year award from CCAEYC. She is very passionate about working with young children and they delight her daily as they explore and learn about the world around them.

More Math Resources:
Preschool Math Exploration with The Doorbell Rang
Counting Games and Activities for Preschoolers
Homemade Counting Game
Penguin Counting Game

Follow my 100th Day of School board on Pinterest for more great ideas!