Pi Day celebrates Pi, the mathematical constant that describes the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Pi's digits stretch infinitely long, never repeat, and seem to be random. I really wanted to share my love for math with my 3 year old. So here are 5 Preschool Pi Day Activities that are fun, easy to set up, and great opportunities for some hands on learning!
5 Preschool Pi Day Activities
When coming up with these ideas, here are the things that I wanted to introduce about Pi
- The Pi Symbol (I wanted Chuck to be exposed to the symbol)
- Pi is all about circles (You'll see most of the activities relate to circles)
- The idea of Circumference (I used this word and described it as the circles "edge." Again, I just wanted to get him exposed to the word.)
- Pi's digits
And here are the 5 ways we'll celebrate Pi day this year!
1. Trace and Cut out Circles
Pi Day is all about circles right? So why not have children trace circular objects (ah, the circumference!) and then have them practice their scissor skills too! (Our circles didn't really look like circles and our cutting skills are still developing. But it's ok. Everything improves with practice.)
2. Eat a Pizza Pie!
Who doesn't love pizza? Pizza is perfect for Pi Day because pies are usually round. Plus, you typically cut along the the circle's diameter to cut out slices! (We're going to have pizza on Saturday. Don't you just love how math can be tasty too?)
3. Race around the circle game
I came up with this activity to really emphasize the digits of Pi and the idea of circumference. First, I wrote out the digits of Pi.
Then, I drew a big circle in our backyard and placed numbers on it in (semi) evenly spaced intervals. (Ok. Totally forgot about the 0 till the end, so it's a bit squished.)
Then, I told Chuck that we had a list of numbers (Pi's digits) which he called our "map." We took turns reading the digits to each other as the other one ran around the circle's "edge" to the right number.
Then, after we played this game a couple of times, we pulled out our trucks and did the same thing with the trucks. He really loved the idea of using a number "map" to tell us where to go.
4. Ring around the Rosie
We really like this song. I included it in our Pi Day Activities because it indirectly relates to Pi. When you hold hands with children, your arms form the circumference of a circle!
5. Circle Painting
We didn't do this activity yet, but I totally want to. I saw some great instructions for circle painting at One Inch World. She shares some great tips for painting a collaborative circle painting with preschoolers . So definitely check out her blog for a fun way to combine Pi day with artwork.
What do you think? Will you celebrate Pi day this year with your kids?
Looking for more Pi Day Activities for older kids?
Check out the links below for some great and easy ideas!