Colorful 100th Day Of School Craft: Fingerprint Gumball Machine

Today we are sharing a colorful 100th Day of School craft for kids, a fingerprint gumball machine that reinforces counting to 100!

Being that my daughter is young and this is her first year in school, I had never heard of 100th Day of School. Well, that's not true. I had heard of it but didn't understand why people were dressing up with 100 safety pins stuck to their shirts, dressing up like their grandma or grandpa, or this adorable snail count to 100 craft! I honestly thought it was just a normal spirit day, like pajama day or school pride day.

But now I get it!

Yes, it's been 100 days of school but it also signifies the kids being able to count to 100, count by 10's or even counting by 5's. How fun is that?

I now realize how amazing this is, that it's way more than a school spirit day, it's a major learning milestone. It's a celebration, as it should be! I remember the first time my daughter counted to 100 with very little guidance and I was ecstatic! School is full of milestone celebrations and we love to craft about them like this Back To School Countdown Chain, so 100th Day of School is clearly no different!

100th Day Of School Craft Idea

Since this is a celebratory day, I told my daughter that I thought our craft should be something fun, colorful, and something that could incorporate 100. She said "well I started counting my gumballs from the gumball machine I got for Christmas and I have almost 100. How about a gumball machine, Mom?". She comes up with the greatest ideas!

So our Gumball Machine idea was born.

How To Make The Fingerprint Gumball Machine

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Supplies Used:

• Card Stock or Construction Paper (We used light blue & red)
• Kids Washable Paint or Finger Paint
• Glue Stick
• Scissors 
• Silver Marker

Instructions:

1. We first started by tracing out the outline of the gumball machine. I just did this freehand.
2. Next we cut out the different pieces including the glass bowl, the base, the red top, the turny handle, and the opening for the gumball to come out.
3. The fun part came next. My daughter dipped her finger into a jar of paint and started creating dots. We made sure to count out loud every gumball she created.
4. Once she got to about 15 of one color, she would wipe her finger off and start again with a new color..
5. We repeated these steps until we had all of the colors she wanted and more importantly until we had 100 gumballs!
6. We let the paint dry for about 30 minutes, glued the pieces together and then hung our fun, colorful craft up!

Need Activity Ideas To Help Kids Practice Counting? Try this Monster Truck Counting Printable or Frog Skip Counting Activity 

Displaying Our 100th Day Of School Fingerprint Craft

We hung up this craft on the fridge gallery. It really did not take much time at all and it's a fun reminder of just how much my daughter has grown and learned! And yes, this is how a gumball machine can make me teary eyed!

Besides our gumball machine being fun to look at, it is a reminder to my daughter to practice counting. When she sees it, she always starts counting in one form or another. She can get loud, but I love hearing her practice!

Thanks for joining us for this fun 100th Day of School Craft idea!

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