What better way to get your students interested in reading than to dress as their favorite book character? Whether it’s for Halloween or you need ideas for a Book Character Spirit Day, we’ve got you covered with these fantastic book character costume ideas for individuals and groups!
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Individual Book Character Costume Ideas for Teachers
Courtesy of Amy B., PreK-6 Librarian
1. Mo Willems’ Pigeon
Dressing like this beloved mischievous bird is easy with a clever knit cap. Attach the sign to a yardstick and stick it in your back pocket, and you’ll have a “caption” all day long!
We love the idea of being the coconut tree from this adored alphabet book! Add letters to a brown tunic and make yourself a headdress from construction paper.
Courtesy of Presley, 2nd Grade Teacher
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Want to make this costume even funnier? Spend the day constantly eating some of the items from the book!
Add big colorful buttons to a yellow shirt, add some cat ears, and you’ve got a Pete the Cat costume! If you can do the different-colored sneakers, even better.
Those fly eyes made from paper plates are totally cute and easy enough for any teacher to make. You can also make your own wings, or buy a pair to make the costume even easier.
If you really love putting effort into your costumes, take inspiration from this incredible Around the World in 80 Days costume! A giant beach ball balanced in a Hula-Hoop forms the “balloon,” and a pair of steampunk goggles adds an authentic touch.
This adorable penguin onesie costume is practically like wearing jammies to school. Just attach some question mark cutouts to transform it into the beloved book character.
Here’s another movie favorite that actually got his start in a book. Fortunately, you can pick up an easy all-in-one costume for the lovable green guy.
Spread an environmental message with your teacher Halloween costume! “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
This is an amazing costume idea for two teacher besties. They’re friends forever, just like Frog and Toad!
Courtesy of Brittany G., 3rd Grade Teacher
25. Charlotte’s Web
Want something the entire school can get in on? Try the farm animals and other characters from Charlotte’s Web!
Courtesy of Stephanie Gable
26. Laura Numeroff Characters
If you give a teacher a Laura Numeroff book, they’ll turn it into a Halloween costume! Each teacher can pick their own favorite.
Courtesy of Gabriella S.
27. The Magic School Bus
Where would Ms. Frizzle be without the rest of the gang? Extra points if you can convince someone to dress up as the bus itself.
Courtesy of Gabriella S.
28. Junie B. Jones
This childhood favorite has been through dozens of adventures and looks a little different each time. That makes this a fantastic group costume, with each teacher dressing as their own version of Junie.
Courtesy of Brooke B., 4th grade Teacher
29. Winnie-the-Pooh
You can go all out with Pooh-themed costumes, but you don’t need to. These simple T-shirts and headbands get the idea across perfectly and are much more practical.
Pick up some big sheets of poster board and create your own costumes for the characters from the popular picture book series. These kids made their teacher dress up as the Bad Seed!
Courtesy of Hilary Statum
32. Room on the Broom
This book is absolutely perfect for group teacher Halloween costumes. We especially love the teacher dressed as the broom itself!
Courtesy of Stephanie Gable
33. The Avengers
We all know teachers are superheroes, so this group comic book costume seems especially appropriate.
Courtesy of Brooke B., 4th Grade Teacher
Courtesy of Amy, PreK-6 Librarian
35. Seuss Characters
Every kid knows their Dr. Seuss characters, and the huge array of books gives you so many to choose from.
As the back-to-school season kicks into high gear, it’s not just the students who are gearing up—teachers, you deserve some fresh flair too! Between planning for the first days, classroom decorating, and getting used to that super-early alarm, it’s easy to forget about treating yourself. That’s why we were so excited to see that retailers like Target and Walmart are offering some adorable teacher accessories this year!
Plus, right now, if you subscribe to our daily newsletter by filling out the form on this page, you’ll be entered to win one of two huge teacher accessory baskets with all of our favorite picks shown below!
We Are Teachers
Already a subscriber? Don’t worry—you can enter too!
Ready to upgrade your teacher wardrobe with some new teacher accessories? Let’s dive in!
Walmart
1. Color Outside the Lines Earrings
These topsy-turvy crayon earrings will remind your students (and you!) to color outside the lines this year.
Target
2. Beaded Teach Hoop Earrings
How fun are these colorful beaded earrings?
Walmart
3. Teacher’s Pet Earrings
We love the pearl detail on these bold and bright earrings.
Target
4. Pencil Hair Claw Clip
Did you gasp like we did when we saw this? Add to cart!
Walmart
5. Teacher’s Pet Earring Set
Coffee, paper clips, pencils—this earring set has it all!
Walmart
6. Pencils Down Earrings
We love these for Back-to-School Night, Meet the Teacher, or even just a Tuesday!
Target
7. Pencil Top Knot Headband
The pencil knot on this headband totally amps up the fun factor.
Target
8. Back-to-School Icon Hair Twister Set
All three are darling, but we’re pretty obsessed with the tiny charms on the denim scrunchie. ’90s teacher vests, anyone?
Target
9. Rainbow Pencil Drop Earrings
Show your commitment to color, glitter, and school supplies with these dangly rainbow earrings!
Target
10. Bus and Apple Claw Hair Clip Set
These clips are so fun, and they’re perfect for keeping stray hair out of your eyes during attendance.
Target
11. Apple Pencil Icon Tinsel Headband
One word: yes.
Target
12. Teach and Mini Icon Lanyard
The charms and beading on this will give your normal lanyard an upgrade!
Don’t forget—right now we’re giving away two baskets full of these fun accessories when you subscribe to our daily newsletter!
We Are Teachers
Just fill out the form on this page to enter. We’ll close the giveaway on August 24, 2024, at 12 p.m. Eastern time and post our winners then. Good luck!
Reaching the 100th day of school is a milestone that should be celebrated! Although dressing as a 100-year-old is a popular way to celebrate, so is designing or donning a shirt for this special occasion. Regardless of whether you’re a crafty do-it-yourself type or an add-to-cart type, we have you covered. While DIY options can be intricate enough to break out the old Cricut, some can be as simple as adhering stickers on an old T-shirt. The store-bought options are great too since they come in a huge range of styles and sizes. Check out our list below of the best 100 days of school shirt ideas!
Easy DIY 100 Days Shirt Ideas
1. 100 Hearts for 100 Days
Nanny to Mommy
This shirt is so simple to create. Just grab some foam heart stickers, a permanent marker, and your favorite-color tee. Once your stickers are in place, just swap out kindergarten for any grade or keep it simple and just say “Loved 100 days of school”!
Grab a package of bright-colored buttons or just grab some from a button jar at home. Then get to work gluing them all over a simple white tee. The design for the text on this funny shirt is available in the “school days printables” section on the Just Add Confetti site.
Kids will get a kick out of helping you select and count 100 pom-poms for this adorable 100th day of school shirt.
4. Fly Away With This Cute Idea
Glued to My Crafts
100th day of school shirt ideas should be equally clever and affordable like this one! All you will need to re-create this shirt are some foam stickers, feathers, and, of course, your trusty glue gun.
If the little one in your life is a music lover, this is the shirt for them. Glue a bunch of fun guitar picks to a tee, then get as fancy or as simple as you want with the lettering.
This shirt is for the craftiest among us since you will need a Cricut and some vinyl to create the superhero logos. We definitely think the end result is worth the effort!
Just draw a monster outline with puffy paint, then count out 100 googly eyes of your choosing (they come in fun sizes and colors) to glue onto the shirt.
Generally, we think 100th day of school shirt ideas should include things kids love, like LEGO! Grab some spare LEGO bricks and your glue gun, then get to work re-creating this quirky shirt!
Use a paper plate to trace the circle, then let your little one use finger paint to create the 100 gumballs. Finally, cut and glue some felt onto the shirt to create the base of the machine.
If you have a budding entomologist in your life, this shirt is sure to make them smile. Bring them to your local dollar store and let them pick out some plastic bugs to adhere to an old shirt. We think the punny play on words will also bring a smile to your favorite teacher’s face!
Making this 100 days of school shirt isn’t for the faint of heart, but the results are well worth it. Your kiddo will get a kick out of seeing their face on their shirt. We especially love the multi-colored pom-pom hair!
This unique idea is perfect for the little gamer in your life. We love the way Mario is popping out of the number one. Have your little one help you count out 100 gold coins so they are involved in the crafting too!
17. Sprinkle a Little Fun on Your 100th Day Celebration
Etsy
This undeniably sweet 100 days of school shirt celebrates 100 days with a tasty treat. We also love that it comes in sizes ranging from toddler to adult double XL.
This play on the word “crayon” was too cute to leave off this list of the best 100th day of school shirt ideas. We especially love that it comes in a variety of styles including tank tops, T-shirts, and sweatshirts.
Bubble-popper fidget toys are all the rage so why not include them on your 100th day shirts? We also love the eye-catching rainbow colors on this shirt.
Teach your students to count by fives while delighting them with this cool T-rex shirt! There is an option for every taste since it comes in more than 10 different color combinations. Best of all? It’s under $20!
While some 100th day of school shirt ideas focus on punny or quippy messages, we love the sweet sentiment of this shirt. This very well-rated shirt is affordable and also comes in a variety of styles.
The funny play on the word “homies” coupled with the adorable gnomes on this 100 days of school shirt make for a sweet option for the 100th day of school. Also, the price is right and the sizes go all the way from newborn to 4XL.
Any list of 100th day of school shirt ideas should include some that can be personalized. Your student will be excited to wear their very own Army-themed shirt with their name emblazoned on it!
Need a shirt for the 100th day of school but don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on it? Grab this one from Amazon for the sports lover in your life!
If you’re a Swiftie (or you just want to prove you’re hip by using some of the latest slang), then this is the sweatshirt for you! Regardless of whether you buy it for yourself or your child (it comes in kids and adult sizes), you’ll be in your cool era in this shirt.
Let kids show off the math skills they’ve worked so hard to acquire in the last 100 days with this fun shirt. If you’re a math teacher, you can give out bonus points to the first student to figure out the equation.
