photo credit: Claire O' Neil, NPR
Pi is a number. But we will never know exactly how big it is. More deliciously, pie is a food that we know all too well. The fact that pi can be used to calculate the area of a pie is pretty sweet. And this year Pi Day starts tomorrow (3/14/15), at 9:26am to be exact. 3.1415926 is pi carried out to seven decimal places, making this exact celebratory time a once in a lifetime experience.
Pi describes the relationship of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and is used to measure certain aspects of a circle. Kids can get a glimpse of one million digits of pi, and see how many they can memorize!
Since pi and pie are homonyms, it makes sense to celebrate with kids on Pi Day, while educating them at the same time. Just eating pie would be fine, but there is much more that can be done too!
Here are two fun books to teach kids about pi.
Any activities involving rings and circles would be appropriate as well. Kids can play frisbee and hula hoop. Games involving circles, such as Rig Around the Rosies and Duck Duck Goose work well. They can make paper ring chains as decorations. And everyone can eat pizza, quiche and pie!
Any kind of pizza pie making, or fruity pie baking is fun to do with kids. Topping and fillings can be put out in bowls for them to choose from. Mini pies made in cupcake tins are cute too. Making sugar cookies with a circle cookie cutter is tasty and educational. Slicing pizza and pie creates a good opportunity to teach about fractions, as they relate to circles.
In the end, any party that involves pie is always a good idea!
Rachel Teichman is the founder of OOGIAH, an online resource for Jewish families who are moving or traveling throughout the US. The site includes a blog full of creative ways for families to cook, craft and play together. Rachel has edited the SF Bay Area family events calendar for Red Tricycle, along with writing about family-friendly restaurants. She also managed the online shopping channel for the Austin American-Statesman. She is a mother of two, and she loves to bake scones! You can find out more about her here.
