Pi Day activities for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary
TLDR:
Pi Day Video:
Maths of a Circle song by Tiny Tunes
Pi Day Book:
Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, written by Cindy Neuschwander, illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Pi Day crafts and activities:
Keep reading to learn more about making the most of Pi Day for kids!
“Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important.”
~ Lisa Hoffman
If you want to let your kids play with the magic mathematical number pi for Pi Day, then have I got some fun crafts and challenges for you!
But first, in case you need a refresher on the mathematical meaning of pi:
A circle’s circumference (how long its outside is) is always about 3.14 times longer than the circle’s diameter (the distance across the circle).
That ratio of about 3.14 is true for any size circle, big or small. The exact value is a number with infinite digits that goes on forever, so it's easier to just give it a nice short name with a cute Greek symbol: pi or (insert Greek).
So while you're baking up a pie this March 14, here are some fun math videos, books, and activities to get your kids in the Pi Day spirit!
(Just a reminder - I am never paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)
Pi Day Video
Maths of a Circle song
By Tiny Tunes
Warning, this song might be catchy enough to get stuck in your head. I catch my kindergartener singing this to himself all the time. I swear I didn’t mean to teach him how to calculate the area of a circle, but I guess he knows now!
Pi Day Book
by Cindy Neuschwander, illustrated by Wayne Geehan
This entire book is bursting with math puns! Join Radius as he learns about the meaning of pi from making pie crust, which allows him to solve the riddle that saves his father. What a fun way to demonstrate the mathematical meaning of pi!
If you liked this one, there’s a whole series of Sir Cumference books on different math topics, all full of groan-worthy math puns as well.
Pi Day Crafts and Activities
from me :)
Your bracelet fits just right when you multiply by pi! All you do is measure your wrist, fold your paper to “multiply” by pi, decorate, and tape it around your wrist!
from PBS Kids
This will work with any round snack - round crackers or an orange cut in half. Use a string to easily measure the diameter, fold the string to be 3 times as long as the diameter and cut it. When you wrap it around the snack, you’ll find the circumference is just a bit more than your string! This activity is meant to pair with the book Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi that I linked above. Perfect for snacking while reading!
from me again :)
This is a great one for older kids! They just need a calculator and a flexible sewing tape for measuring round things.
Once your kids are comfortable with measuring diameter and circumference (the paper bracelet and snack activities above are great practice for those skills!), challenge them to find a circle in the room that “breaks” this rule about pi.
Spoiler alert - they can't! Circumference divided by diameter is always pi for all perfect circles. If they find something that “breaks” pi, it’s probably not an actual circle but an oval!
from Ms Art Teacher
Play with different color combinations and give your kids an intuitive feel for how bigger and bigger circles have a much bigger area to color! Just draw along with this 6 minute video.
To learn more about Wassily Kandinsky, the inspiration behind this art project, this 1 minute video is a super fun kid-friendly introduction to Wassily Kandinsky, a pioneer in abstract art.
I hope you’re excited to celebrate Pi Day with yummy pies and playful math!
Amy Wung Tsao
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