100 Days of Happiness!

There's just something about the 100th day of school that makes everyone happy. 

Even those upper grade teachers, who don't technically celebrate, are smiling on the inside because they know that it means we've all reached a milestone. 

100 days. 

More than half the year is over, and warmer weather will soon return. 

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, my school, and my kids, but we all understand the magic of summer. 

Just typing that word makes me happy. :) 

I've been wearing this shirt every year since my first year of teaching when my sweet friend (whose room I went to every morning to cry mentally prepare for the day ahead) made this for me and the rest of our team. I even found a picture from that year in my 100th day file and had to take a selfie with it. It's hard to believe that this was my eighth 100th day! Oh how things have changed! 

My goal this year for our 100th day was not only to celebrate the day with my kids and make them happy, but also to help them focus on other people's happiness. 

At this point in the year, they've been together a while and can become critical of each other. Tattling, arguing, "you're not my friend anymore," we all know the behaviors. So I wanted to take some time to remind them of the importance of making other people happy. 

We started our day making happy sentences and happy equations for morning work. I forgot to take a picture while I was taking attendance/lunch count/marking dismissal changes, but here is what the pages look like: 

I also issued them a challenge to collectively read 100 books in one day, which they eagerly accepted! 

It doesn't hurt that I let them use my Scentos to record their titles. :) 

I don't think we quite made it to 100, but they were proud nonetheless. 

I helped by reading 100th Day Worries, The 100th Day of School, and 100 School Days to them, which are all fabulous read alouds for your 100th day!

I also challenged them to write 100 words they could spell correctly if they visited Word Work that day.  They did a great job! 

One of my little STARS made her own 100th day crown and wore it to school. I may have to borrow her design for next year. :) 

If they chose Work on Writing, they wrote about what makes them happy now, and what they thought would make them happy in 100 years. 

"When I'm young, I play on the swings. When I'm old I will sit on a rocking chair." 

"I will be happy because I have nice friends. I will be happy because I will have good grandkids."

After Daily Five and a brain break, we brainstormed a list of things that make us happy and what makes other people happy. 

I'm in LOVE with their list. We talked about how the things that make us happy may also make other people happy, so it may be as simple as just sharing our favorite things with others. 

Then we used our list and discussion to write "How to Make Someone Happy." We are working on informational writing this quarter, so this fit in perfectly. 

And writing is always more fun when it's accompanied by a little craft. 

I decided to let them decorate their own glasses/masks, and I love how they turned out! 

It was also their idea to blacken the teeth that they have lost. :) 

Boy: "Here is how I make my parents happy. First, I will put my clothes away when I come home from school. Next, I will help Mom cook once I am done. Then, I will put the dishes away when they are clean. Last, I will give my mom and dad a big hug when I go to sleep." 

Girl: "I love to make my friends happy. First I would say, 'Would you like to be my friend?' Next I would say, 'You are an awesome friend!' Then I would say, 'Do you want to sit with me at lunch?' Last  'It was a good day to have a friend like you.'"

So. Stinkin. Sweet.

During math we reviewed place value, ten more/ten less, one more/one less, and addition with this 100th Day Happiness Mystery Picture. 

I love how she decided to color the numbers she didn't use black, which makes the smiley face really stand out! This was an awesome review of these skills for my kids. 

And of course, no 100th day would be complete without a snack. 

Teacher confession: I completely forgot about a snack until the day of, but thankfully I had GoGurts and pretzels leftover and came up with this! 

It may not be the fanciest, but they loved it, and that's what matters. :) 

I had hoped to fit in these Happy 100th Day cards to their friends, but we ran out of time. 

It's too bad the 100th day can't last the whole week! :) 

You can find all of these activities and more in my 100th Day Happiness pack on TPT! 

It's on sale all week! 

Happy 100th Day, Friends! How are you celebrating?