This Saturday, nerds around the globe will rejoice as we celebrate what can only be called a once-in-a-lifetime event, “Pi Day of the Century.”

March 14th, or 3.14 is always called Pi Day. Over the past couple of years, I have written about Pi Day more than a couple of times, but this year, Pi Day is much more exciting.  Because we are in the year 2015, Pi Day is officially 3.14.15.  These are the first 5 digits of Pi. In addition, at 9:26 in the morning we can add 3 more numerals to our Pi, and 53 seconds later, we can add 2 more. That means that at 9:26 and 53 seconds this Saturday, March 14, 2015, we are taking Pi to 10 digits.

That’s right, it looks like this – 3.141592653.

It is unfortunate that this special day isn’t falling on a school day, but you can still celebrate this week or next.  The number Pi doesn’t mean anything to young children, and we shouldn’t assume that it should.  However, a lot of things that excite us as grown-ups can be cause for celebration even if they aren’t necessarily early childhood concepts.

You can explain to the children that Pi Day always comes in March on the 14th day.  If you work with a calendar with any regularity, this concept shouldn’t be completely foreign to your children. You can also explain that March is the 3rd month of the year – and count the months; January 1, February 2, March 3, and so on.  I would also explain that the number Pi sounds just like the pie we eat even though it is spelled differently.

For Pi Day, I would do a food activity where children can make their own mini-pies.  Use a cupcake pan for mini-pies, and let them fill them with different fruit fillings.  Read-made crusts can be rolled out and the children can use an upside-down glass to form the circular shapes needed for the bottom crust and the top.

It is as easy as Π.

I am celebrating this Saturday by going to a Pi Dinner Party.  I am bringing mini mushroom pies with the shape of Pi cut into the crust.  I imagine there are going to be a lot of creative Pi ideas, which I will photograph and share with you next week.

Until then, get excited, Pi Day is just around the corner.

Nerds love Pi Day!

Mathematicians love Pi Day! (holla Noah and Len)

Physicists love Pi Day!

I love Pi Day!

Today – the children in your program will come to love Pi Day as well.  Take a look at all of the Afternoon Snack Posts from this week to see how you can incorporate some simple and appropriate Pi Day activities and conversations into your day’s plans.  Let us know how it goes.

Enjoy the day.  Eat pie and celebrate pi.

]]> https://earlymathcounts.org/pi-day-is-finally-here/feed/ 0 2539 https://earlymathcounts.org/pi-day-idea-4/ https://earlymathcounts.org/pi-day-idea-4/#respond Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:00:18 +0000 http://www.mathathome.org/blog1/?p=2536 Pi Day wouldn’t be complete without PIE for lunch.  Mini chicken pot pies are a perfectly balanced and delicious lunch that most young children really like.  I often cook my own because I can make sure that they are super healthy by controlling the fat and the kind of chicken that is inside.  Many home based child care providers cook their own food so they too can ensure the highest quality of food their children eat.  If you don’t have time to make mini pot pies, there are several good brands on the market.  Pick up enough and be sure to then offer the children PIE in quantities of half or whole. 

Be sure to explain that the reason they are getting PIE for lunch is in celebration of Pi Day (refer to yesterday’s Afternoon Snack Post about numbered months and days).

There you have it – Pi Day Lunch!

January is the first month of the year – so we call it “1.”  February comes next, so we call it “2.”  Then comes March, and we call it “3.”  It is the 3rd month of the year.  Each day of the month is also numbered and Pi Day is on the 14th day of the month of March.

This very simple explanation includes dates, cardinal numbers, and ordinal numbers. Although I wouldn’t expect most of your youngest children to really make sense of this (dates and times are far too abstract for preschool-aged children) early exposure to these concepts is absolutely fine.

There you have it – Pi Day Group Time.

3 – 1 – 4

The older children can create their own and the younger children can extend some examples you have prepared.  Take long laces or strings and tape the ends to the table leaving the tails free for beading.  Place 3 red beads, 1 yellow bead, and 4 green beads on the strings and ask the children if they want to try and repeat the pattern.  There you have it.  Pi Day Beading!

Pi Day

Yeah!

So, each afternoon I am going to write a little something-something about ways you can explore Pi Day with your kids on March 14th.  Even the youngest children will explore this magical day! (I am actually kidding.  There is nothing magical about Pi Day except for mathematicians who love this kind of stuff.)

According to the Pi Day website

Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is a constant number, meaning that for all circles of any size, Pi will be the same.

The diameter of a circle is the distance from edge to edge, measuring straight through the center. The circumference of a circle is the distance around.

Since our children are far too young to have any concept of Pi, I wouldn’t spend too much time talking about it.  I may, however, serve some wonderful fruit pie for snack on Thursday- and smile to myself.