DIY Cardboard 100s Board Ideas
Our DIY cardboard 100s board idea has been very popular and we are so excited to see people enthusiastic about our learning through play ideas. We are a bit obsessed with making things from cardboard. For one, it is free because we collect it from packaging and appliances when purchased but also we can recycle it when we are finished with it. However, we are very pleased we made our 100s board out of the most durable cardboard we could find in the garage (a box from a washing machine) because it is our favourite creation to date!
Making our 100s board
We have received a lot of questions about this creation so here are a few details about the making process.
The 100s board is made from two identical-sized square pieces of cardboard
One of the two pieces of cardboard is the base and the other has the cut out squares
The top piece with the cut outs has 10 rows of 10 squares to make 100 total
Each square is about 4cm x 4cm and has a 1cm gap on the top and bottom
We left a wider border around the square grid to make it durable - approx 8cm wide
You can simply lay the top grid on the baseboard to use it or secure it with bulldog clips
Make your own number grids, letter grids, games and other ideas by placing a sheet (or two) of paper or cardboard between the base board and the grid
Use bottle lids, counters, stones or any loose parts with the hundreds board
Ideas when using a 100s board
Making this cardboard hundreds board was one of our best ideas because it can be used in so many different ways. We made a couple of videos showing these ideas in action. There are many more ways you can use it too!
If you haven’t already seen the videos, click the pictures below to view them.
Here are the ideas shown in the videos:
Counting
Place a sheet of paper under the grid with numbers 1 - 100. Children can place a counter, bottle top or loose part of your choice and say the number out loud as they place the item
Showing 10s in the hundreds board
Show the organisation of 100 by placing a different colour over each group of 10. Children can then count in 10 or explore this concept by seeing the pattern of 100 visually.
Making shapes
Use bottle lids or loose parts to make different shapes in the grid. Children can count how many bottle lids make their shape to explore area and perimeter.
Making pictures
Use loose parts or bottle lids to make pictures in the grid.
Patterning
Make patterns on a 100s board
Make patterns using different coloured loose parts or bottle lids.
Free play
Children will enjoy placing loose parts in the grid with no plan or objective. They can explore it freely in play as well as use it for the concepts above.
First to 50 dice game
For this game you need to divide the board in half. Each player needs 50 loose parts. Players take turns to roll the dice and place the amount of loose parts on their side of the board that is shown on the dice. The first player to fill their side of the board is the winner.
Speed race
Each player will need 50 loose parts. This is a race to fill the board! Players race to place each item in a square on their side of the board. Once they have an item in all of their 50 squares they are finished. First to finish is the winner.
Maze
Use bottle lids or loose parts to make a maze with an entry and an exit. Children will have to guide their counter from entry to exit the maze. Older children can make the maze themselves.
Wordsearch
Place a sheet of paper under the grid and place the grid back on top. Write the words in the word search first. Fill up the rest of the board with random letters. Give children the list of words and have them find them in the grid. To keep track of the found words, they could place a small loose part like a pom pom on the letters in the words found.
Board game
Place a sheet of paper under the grid and place the grid back on top. Make your own board game. For ours we made a snakes and ladders type game with numbers to 100 and arrows to boost you up or send you down when you land on them. Use a counter for each player and a dice to move through the board game.
We hope you have fun with all these ideas!
