January 19th marked the 100th day of the 2011-2012 school year, and in Thong Lor’s grade 2 classes, we celebrated the day with a party and activities tied to the lower primary learning standards. Since the very first day of school, the calendar has been an integral part of our morning routine. Using straws, we have kept track of the number of days we have been at school, and each day we place a new straw into a container. Once we have ten straws in this container, a student bundles them with an elastic band, and it becomes a bundle. We had ten bundles of ten straws, making a total of one hundred, on January 19th. This daily activity of counting by hundreds, tens, and ones helps strengthen knowledge of numeracy and place values.
To mark the occasion of the 100th day of school, we focused on cultural celebrations, and the students had the opportunity to represent their own countries. We each dressed in our native cultural attire and brought cultural dishes to share with the class. Each student prepared a short presentation related to the region of the world where the dish originated, and described the ingredients and how it is traditionally prepared. The children took great pride in sharing their diverse cultures in a fun and delicious way.
The day also included a variety of fun and educational activities related to the number one hundred. Students applied their skills of skip counting by ten by choosing and gluing ten groups of ten different items onto their own 100th day crown. Students individually estimated how long we thought it would take a student to do one hundred jumping jacks and completed one hundred math problems. Tying into the social studies and language arts curricula, we made predictions of what we thought Earth would be like in one hundred years and what new inventions would exist, and also tried to find as many words as we could unscramble and make from the words, “One Hundred Days.”
While the students certainly enjoyed the many games, activities and food, they also had the opportunity to apply the skills they’ve gained in the classroom. More importantly, they continue to develop a love for learning that will last as they progress further in school. Thanks to all the parents and students for their enthusiasm and support!
