Cheers, creativity, and a dash of STEM energy filled the air as K-grade students at Hobbs Municipal Schools recently celebrated the 100th day of school with activities designed to bring math and science concepts to life. This milestone event, eagerly awaited by students and educators alike, showcased the fun and practical applications of foundational skills in STEM and math education.
100 days, 2400 hours, and 144,000 minutes. Why do we celebrate 100 days of school? This marks a point in the year where students are more than half-way through the 180 day school year. It is a time to reflect on all the learning that has taken place so far and our students at Hobbs Municipal Schools from day one of the year have been engaged in the classroom. For many young students, it is sometimes hard to grasp at the beginning of the school year how many days that really is. By marking time in the classroom, teachers begin to introduce and build upon the concept of time, and how each day gets them closer to a shared educational goal that they will be able to celebrate with their fellow students.
The history on school’s celebrating this milestone began by a Livermore, CA, where teacher Lynn Taylor in 1979 was trying to help her students understand the concrete lesson of the number 100 and teaching math through visuals. Taylor used popular puppet Count von Count from the PBS show “Sesame Street” to turn 100 pennies into a dollar. She also shared with the students a recipe called Hiyaku, which is named after the Japanese word for 100. Two years later, Taylor and two colleagues, David Cooper and Mary Hurdlow, wrote about the idea in an international newsletter for teachers called "Mathematics Their Way." This event quickly became a significant part of classroom culture, where now there are Pinterest boards across the globe sharing ideas on how to teach the place values of 100 to students in a creative way that will be memorable and fun.
In a "100 days celebration" in education, "place value" refers to using activities that focus on understanding the numerical value of each digit in the number 100, often incorporating math exercises that highlight the tens and ones place to reinforce the concept of large numbers and counting to 100. By using items they play with or use every day essentially is a way to actively engage students with the concepts through play and collaboration. We continue this tradition in Hobbs Municipal Schools every year by schools electing to dressing up as centurions, in addition to introducing a multitude of various counting activities in classrooms across the district, while reflectively thinking about the learning that has taken place so far with our students.
The festivities can include a range of activities that revolved around the number 100. From constructing towers with 100 cups to designing necklaces with 100 beads, to intricate projects, students engaged in hands-on learning that honed their counting, grouping, and pattern-making skills. Many classrooms also integrated science and technology by challenging students to create and commit these concepts to memory as building blocks to what comes next for the remainder of the year and for their next grade level in the fall.
“The 100th day of school is not just a fun marker in the academic calendar; it’s a powerful teaching moment,” said Marisol Forrister, a 4th grade teacher at Jefferson elementary. “It helps students connect abstract concepts like numbers and measurements with real-world applications, laying the foundation for future STEM success for the students. The 4 grade teachers here came up with building with 100 Legos as I see how popular Legos are with this age group. When the students saw what we were going to do, they just lit up and started talking about what they could build. I also put them in teams to create something together much like the school year, where we all work together, building our foundations for fifth grade, and to get through the rest of the year as a team. There are endless ways that we collaborate to teach math but also soft skills about the importance of why it matters to their everyday lives,” Forrister said. Another highlight in class was a collaborative project where students grouped items in tens and hundreds, stacking cups in different towers while learning the basics of multiplication and division.
Teachers all over the district joined the celebration by helping their children showcase creative “100-themed” projects at each school. Counting plays a significant role in the celebration, and many teachers ask children to bring 100 small items like pennies, buttons, beans, cereal, pieces or macaroni to use in math or arts and crafts activities. There are also books geared toward elementary school children filled with tales about fictional characters making it through 100 days of the school year. Many parents purchased t-shirts for their students with cute sayings and even some personalized them to join in the fun.
Educators and principals across the globe emphasize that the 100th day celebration also serves as a tool for fostering teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Araceli Armendariz, principal at Jefferson elementary, shared about “STEM learning begins with curiosity and exploration,” said Armendariz, “This event is a perfect example of how we can inspire young minds to see the value and excitement in math and science. I just love visiting the classrooms, hearing the students getting involved in their projects, and seeing the excitement and creativity of our teachers to inspire the students to engage in them. I am grateful that we have teachers we have, because their enthusiasm makes Hobbs Schools a great place to learn.”
With the 100th day of school behind them as they head towards spring, these young learners like all our students at Hobbs Municipal Schools are now poised to tackle the remaining days with enthusiasm and confidence, armed with a deeper appreciation for math, science, and creativity.