True confession time: I was no mathlete in school. It wasn’t until college that I started to embrace my inner number cruncher and allowed myself to enjoy the numerical arts. That’s right, I said enjoy it. Somewhere, there is a high school version of myself standing in disbelief. Whether you are a math guru longing to share your passion for Pi with your children, or you are just curious about the missing “e” in my title, I hope to have you and your family partying Pi style this March 14th. Pi Day is the celebration of the mathematical constant, Pi. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Simply put, Pi is all about circles; and circles are so much fun. Here are some fun ways to celebrate the day with kids of all ages.
1) Eat Circles around the Clock. There are so many fun circle foods. The great thing about eating circles on Pi day is that slicing into those delicious treats is an opportunity to learn about diameter. At breakfast, consider melon balls, oranges, donut holes, biscuits, or bagels. When lunch rolls around, try out our favorite make individual pizzas. You could also make circle sandwiches. When you make it around to dinner, how about some Chicken Pot Pie with sides of little green peas, slices of cucumber, or round cheeses? OH … and don’t forget to make a pie dessert. However you slice it, dice it, measure it, munch it … it’s sure to be a tasty addition to your day.
2) Get Crafty with Circles. There are so many fun and adorable craft projects you can make with circles. One of my personal favorites is making circle faces. We made a frog face (pictured above) using one large green circle, two small green circles, two smaller white circles with small black circles drawn in, and one medium red semi-circle. Glue the pieces in the shape of a frog face. Explore all the different types of faces you could make with circles: bears, mice, dogs, smiley faces. If you are in the mood for painting fun, try using lids of varying sizes to stamp circles on paper using paint.
3) Have a Circle Scavenger Hunt. Circles are everywhere and looking for them in our practical world can help expose little ones to concepts like dimension and volume. Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt? Whoever finds the most circles gets the biggest piece of apple pie!
4) Celebrate Einstein. It just so happens that March 14th is Einstein’s Birthday. So, if you are not into apple or cherry pie, why not bake a circle birthday cake in honor of the scientific giant. I also highly recommend reading the book, I am Albert Einstein by Brad Meltzer. It is a terrific book from a series of books called, Ordinary People Change the World. The book does a beautiful and concise job of presenting some of the challenges Albert Einstein faced in childhood including his speech delay, social struggles, and school challenges. It’s a great book to inspire conversations about the beauty in our differences.
5) Have a Paper Plate Pi Drop or Pi Fight at 1:59. As the next three digits after 3.14, 159 deserves a little extra pomp and circumstance. Ring in Pi Day in glorious, messy style by filling a paper plate with whipped cream or shaving cream and dropping it like the ball on New Year’s Eve. If you are up for a fantastically messy time, make more than a few and have pi fight to celebrate Pi!
Pi day is a perfectly wonderful day to open your family up to the fun of math and the joy of curiosity. Show us how you will be celebrating Pi Day this year!
I had forgotten that tomorrow is the 14th; guess I need to plan some kind of pie for dinner. Oh … and, yes, the book is fantastic. I even used it as a read-aloud writing / critical thinking prompt for middle schoolers, gifted students as well as struggling readers.