Pi Day!

Nerd alert.

Pi Day is by far one of my favorite days of the year and it is an excellent day to get kids extra excited about a traditionally not so exciting subject- math. I happen to be one of those strange people who loves all things numbers so celebrating a day like today comes easy for a nerd like me. Even for those of you who are not lovers of math, take this day to connect with your inner nerd and celebrate numbers. Your kids will love you (and math) for it!

Below are a few projects I do with the kids. I always start by reading "Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi." I even read this to my 6th graders. :)

Pi Day Projects:
1. Pi Plates
2. Pi Bracelets
3. Calculating the Circumference of Yummy Things!
4. Pi Contest
5. Pi Mobiles.

I usually pick and chose which projects to do - not sure any teacher would have enough time to do all of them. :)

Pi Plates
​Measuring the circumference of actual pies using pi would be tough- and incredibly messy with 36 kids in a class. Instead, we create pi plates. We find the diameter and radius, label each, and then calculate the circumference of the plate using pi on the back. Students decorate their plates however they wish. Later, the plates are used to hold circular foods (cookies, usually) After measure the circumference of of food, we eat! 

Pi Bracelets
​Let me explain this one. This project obviously has less academic value but it really truly gets kids excited about math and numbers.

Each bead represents a digit of the number pi. The kids are given instructions, along with the number pi. With 4th grade, 18 digits will typically fill up the entire bracelet! Have kids tie a not, or use a smaller bead for the period. You can also use smaller beads to mark where pie begins on the bracelet and where it ends.
For this bracelet: Pink = 1; Orange = 2; Yellow =3; Green = 4; Blue = 5; Light Orange = 6; Light Blue = 7; Purple = 8; White = 9.

The Pi Contest and Pi Mobiles
In the past, I have had kids participate in a "Memorize Pi Contest." The winner wins a pie :)

Pi Mobiles is another art project that younger kids enjoy. I will post pics later.