100 Acts of Kindness Challenge for the 100th Day of School

A 100 acts of kindness challenge means a class, a family, or one kid completes 100 small, specific acts of kindness, usually to mark the 100th day of school. You can run it as a one-day sprint, where the whole class shares the 100 and tallies them on a wall, or as a slow version, one act a day from day 1 to day 100. Below are both formats, 100 acts grouped by where they happen, and a 10×10 tracker you can copy onto paper.

The 100th day of school usually lands somewhere between late January and mid-February in the US, depending on when your school started and how many snow days you have had. Most classes already count it with straws or a paper chain; kindness gives the number a job.

The rule for the whole list: every act has to be something a kid can do and then point to. “Be nice” cannot be ticked. “Push in three chairs that are not yours” can. Each act below also has an Easier swap for kindergarteners or anyone having a hard day, and the swap counts the same.

Two ways to run it

The one-day sprint

The whole class shares one goal: 100 acts between the morning bell and dismissal on the 100th day. With 20 students that is five acts each, which most kids hit before lunch.

Set up the wall. Cut 100 paper hearts (or squares, or stars; whatever your die-cut machine has) and put them in a tray by the door. Each time a student does an act, they write their initials and the act number on a heart and tape it up.

Count out loud. At recess, lunch, and the end of the day, count the wall together.

Let acts land outside the room. The best ones happen in the hallway and the cafeteria, where the teacher is not watching. Students report them on the honor system.

This version works best for grades 1 to 5. Kindergarten classes can do it with the teacher writing the hearts.

The slow version

One act a day, starting on day 1 of the school year (or whenever you find this post), with the 100th act on the 100th day. A teacher writes one act on the board each morning, or a family runs it at home.

Use the tracker. The 10×10 grid further down has a square for every act. Color one in each day.

Do not chase missed days. If the class misses a week, do two acts on a few days to catch up, or just finish late. A full grid in March still counts.

Start late on purpose. If it is already January, run 100 acts over the four weeks before the 100th day, about five a school day. That sits between the two formats and is the one most classes end up choosing.

For a shorter run to test the idea first, the 7-day kindness challenge is a good warm-up.

100 acts of kindness for kids, by where they happen

Grouped so you can pick by place: 30 in the classroom, 25 in the hallway, cafeteria, and playground, 25 at home, and 20 out in the community. Everything here is free unless it says otherwise.

In the classroom

1. Push in three chairs that are not yours. Easier: Push in your own and your neighbor’s.

2. Sharpen a cup of pencils for the class. Easier: Sharpen five.

3. Lend your best marker to someone for a whole lesson. Easier: Lend it for one drawing.

4. Tell a classmate one thing they did well today. Easier: Give a thumbs-up and say “nice job.”

5. Help someone find something they lost. Easier: Check under your own desk for it.

6. Pick up five scraps of paper from the floor. Easier: Pick up one.

7. Write a thank-you note to your teacher about one thing they taught you. Easier: Draw a picture of it.

8. Water the class plant. Easier: Ask the teacher if it needs water.

9. Help a classmate clean up their table. Easier: Hand them the wipes.

10. Explain a math problem to someone who is stuck. Easier: Sit next to them while they try.

11. Let someone else go first at the sink, the computer, or the reading corner. Easier: Let one person go ahead in line.

12. Learn a classmate’s middle name. Easier: Learn the name of someone in another table group.

13. Say good morning to the teacher by name. Easier: Wave at the door.

14. Tidy one shelf in the classroom library. Easier: Put back three books.

15. Put the caps back on ten markers. Easier: Five markers.

16. Hand out papers for the teacher. Easier: Hand them to your table.

17. Invite someone new into your group for a project. Easier: Ask them what they think.

18. Write a kind note and leave it in a classmate’s desk. Easier: A drawing with their name on it.

19. Clap for someone after they share. Easier: Smile at them.

20. Say “thank you” to a classroom helper or aide by name. Easier: Say “thank you.”

21. Help the substitute find where things are. Easier: Tell them the class routine for one thing.

22. Erase the whiteboard at the end of the day. Easier: Erase one section.

23. Make a get-well card for a classmate who is out sick. Easier: Sign the class card.

24. Share part of your snack, only if the teacher says food sharing is OK. Easier: Offer a napkin. Allergies first, always.

25. Fix the classroom calendar or job chart for tomorrow. Easier: Change the date.

26. Stack your table’s chairs at the end of the day. Easier: Stack your own.

27. Return a borrowed book on time with a thank-you. Easier: Return it.

28. Teach a friend a game you know. Easier: Show them one rule.

29. Write one sentence for the class kindness wall about someone else. Easier: Tell the teacher and they write it.

30. Ask a quiet classmate a question and listen to the answer. Easier: Ask what their favorite animal is.

The classroom kindness ideas page has more for teachers who want a longer pool.

In the hallway, cafeteria, and playground

31. Hold the door until the whole line is through. Easier: Hold it for the person behind you.

32. Thank the custodian by name. Easier: Say “thank you” when you pass them.

33. Thank the cafeteria staff for lunch. Easier: Say “thank you” when you get your tray.

34. Sit with someone who is eating alone. Easier: Wave them over to your table.

35. Clean up your lunch spot and one spot next to it. Easier: Clean up your own and throw away one extra wrapper.

36. Pick up five pieces of litter on the playground. Easier: Pick up two. Wear gloves or wash hands after.

37. Ask someone new to play. Easier: Ask someone you already know who is standing alone.

38. Let someone else have the first turn on the swing. Easier: Let them go ahead in the slide line.

39. Return balls and equipment to the bin at the end of recess. Easier: Bring back the one you used.

40. Thank the crossing guard by name. Easier: Wave and say “thanks.”

41. Thank the bus driver when you get off. Easier: Say “good morning” when you get on.

42. Help a younger kid open their milk or snack. Easier: Hand them a straw.

43. Hold the door for the cafeteria cart. Easier: Step aside so it can pass.

44. Say something kind to the office staff on your way past. Easier: Smile and wave.

45. Make a thank-you card for the school nurse. Easier: Sign one the class makes.

46. Help someone who fell get up and ask if they are OK. Easier: Go tell a grown-up.

47. Walk quietly past a class that is working. Easier: Keep your voice down for the whole hallway.

48. Cheer for the other team at the end of a game. Easier: Say “good game” to one player.

49. Pick up a dropped backpack or coat and hang it back up. Easier: Hand it to a grown-up.

50. Make a “thank you” sign for the library and give it to the librarian. Easier: Thank the librarian at checkout.

51. Share the four-square ball or jump rope. Easier: Offer one turn.

52. Tell a recess monitor thank you. Easier: Wave.

53. Help a classmate carry a big project to the bus. Easier: Hold the door for them.

54. Learn the name of one adult at school you do not know yet. Easier: Ask a teacher who they are.

55. Let someone cut ahead in the water fountain line. Easier: Hold the button for them.

At home

56. Make your bed without being asked. Easier: Pull up the blanket.

57. Set the table for dinner. Easier: Put out the forks.

58. Clear your plate and one other plate. Easier: Clear your own.

59. Put away your shoes and someone else’s. Easier: Line up the shoes by the door.

60. Draw a picture for a grandparent and mail it. Easier: Hold it up on a video call.

61. Call or video chat a relative who lives far away. Easier: Send them a voice message.

62. Read a book to a younger brother, sister, or cousin. Easier: Read them one page.

63. Help fold one load of laundry. Easier: Match the socks.

64. Feed the pet or fill its water bowl. Easier: Ask if the pet has been fed.

65. Leave a kind note in a family member’s lunch or bag. Easier: Leave it on their pillow.

66. Tell a parent one thing you are thankful they did this week. Easier: Say “thanks for dinner.”

67. Pick up toys you did not get out. Easier: Pick up five.

68. Let someone else pick the show or the game tonight. Easier: Let them pick the snack.

69. Help carry the groceries in. Easier: Carry one light bag.

70. Give a family member a turn to talk without interrupting. Easier: Ask them how their day was.

71. Put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder. Easier: Tell a grown-up it is empty.

72. Wipe the bathroom sink after you brush your teeth. Easier: Rinse out the toothpaste.

73. Make a card for no reason and give it to someone at home. Easier: A sticky note with a heart.

74. Sort old toys or clothes into a “give away” bag. Easier: Choose one thing to give.

75. Help make lunch for tomorrow. Easier: Pick a piece of fruit for everyone.

76. Water the plants at home. Easier: Water one.

77. Say sorry for something without being told to. Easier: Give a hug instead.

78. Make breakfast for a parent on the weekend, with a grown-up for the stove. Easier: Pour the cereal.

79. Tidy the car before getting out. Easier: Take your own trash out.

80. Write down three things your family did together this week and read them at dinner. Easier: Say one out loud.

For more family ones, see the acts of kindness for kids page.

In the community

Kids should do these with a parent or teacher right there. None of them need a kid to approach a stranger alone.

81. Make a thank-you card for the mail carrier and tape it to the mailbox. Easier: Wave at the mail truck.

82. Leave a note for the trash and recycling crew on the bin. Easier: Wave when the truck comes.

83. Pick up litter in a park with a grown-up and a bag. Easier: Pick up three pieces near your house.

84. Draw cards for a nursing home and drop them off with an adult. Easier: Draw one. Call ahead to ask what the home accepts.

85. Bring a neighbor’s trash cans up the driveway with a parent. Easier: Stand a fallen one back up.

86. Write a thank-you note to the local fire station. Easier: Draw a fire truck with “thank you” on it.

87. Hold the door at a store for a family with a stroller. Easier: Hold it for the next person.

88. Thank a librarian at the public library. Easier: Return your books on time.

89. Put a cart back for someone at the grocery store. Easier: Return your family’s cart.

90. Leave a kind chalk message on your own sidewalk. Easier: Draw a smiley face.

91. Donate a canned food item to a food drive. (Costs a little.) Easier: Help carry the family’s donation to the bin.

92. Donate a book you have outgrown to a little free library or the school. Easier: Choose which book to give.

93. Say thank you to the doctor or dentist at your next visit. Easier: Say thank you to the person at the front desk.

94. Help a grown-up shovel or rake a neighbor’s walk. Easier: Carry the salt or the leaf bag.

95. Give your seat to an older person on the bus or in a waiting room. Easier: Move your bag off the seat.

96. Make a bird feeder from a pinecone and seeds. (Costs a little.) Easier: Fill an existing feeder.

97. Let a younger kid go first at the playground. Easier: Help them up the ladder.

98. Write a thank-you note to a coach or club leader. Easier: Say thanks at the end of practice.

99. Bring a drawing to a neighbor who lives alone, with a parent. Easier: Wave at them from the window.

100. Write down your favorite act from the 99 before this and tell someone why. Easier: Say it out loud.

The 10×10 tracker

Copy this grid onto paper or print the page. Color or cross out a square each time an act is done. For the sprint, the class fills one grid together; for the slow version, each student or family gets their own.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90
91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	100

The squares count acts done, not which act: a kid who does act 34 on day 5 colors square 5.

If your class likes a grid with a pattern to it, the kindness bingo card uses the same tally idea in a 5×5 with a free square.

Common mistakes

Turning it into a competition between kids. A leaderboard of who did the most acts pushes the quiet kids out and rewards the loud reporters. Count the class total, not individual totals.

Acts that cost money. A canned good or a bird feeder is fine for families who can, but do not build the challenge around buying things. Every family should be able to finish for free.

Food in the classroom without checking. Sharing snacks sounds kind until it meets a nut allergy. Check school policy before any food-based act.

Kids approaching strangers alone. Community acts are for doing with an adult. Thank-you cards and notes left on mailboxes are safer than knocking on a door.

Stopping at 100. The 100th day is a good finish line, but the best classes keep a small version going. Five acts a week for the rest of the year keeps the wall alive. The kindness week at school post has a format for a single focused week later in the year.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 100th day of school?

It depends on your school’s start date and calendar. For most US schools that start in late August or early September, the 100th day falls between late January and mid-February. Count forward from your first day on the school calendar, skipping holidays and closures, or ask the office.

How do you do 100 acts of kindness in one day?

Share the goal across the class. With 20 to 25 students, each child needs four or five acts. Put paper hearts by the door, let students write their initials and the act on each one, and count the wall at recess, lunch, and the end of the day.

Is there a printable version?

Copy the 10×10 tracker above onto paper, or print this page. For a shorter checklist to stick on the fridge or a classroom wall, use the printable kindness checklist.

Keep it going after day 100

When the wall hits 100, take a photo, count it one last time, and pick one act to keep doing every day. If you want that act chosen for you, the free daily kindness challenge gives one small act a day, the same for everyone, with no account needed.

Get one small act a day

Reading a guide is easy; changing your habits is hard. The free daily kindness challengesends one small act at a time so kindness becomes a practice, not a bookmark.

Start the daily challenge