Activities for Pi Day That Make Math Fun
Use these activities for Pi Day in your homeschool this year, and your kids might have so much fun that they will ask to do them year after year. Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 in classrooms and pizza parlors across the nation. Homeschooling is about making memories. Why not incorporate this fun holiday into your homeschool routine? If you are stuck indoors due to winter weather in your area, add a slice of fun into your homeschool by implementing a few activities for Pi Day. Pi, 3.14, is the ratio of the distance around a circle to the circle’s diameter. If this is your first time introducing pi to your child, watch out. He might be amazed.
The origin of the use of pi dates back almost 4000 years. From the Babylonians to the Egyptians, calculating the area of a circle has been worked out on tablets, papyrus, and the like for years.
Archimedes, one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, found one of the closest approximations of pi in his time. The use of the Greek letter π was introduced in the early 1700s. It received its name from Welsh mathematician William Jones since pi is the first letter in the Greek word perimitros, which means “perimeter.”
Pi Day was founded in 1988 by a physicist named Larry Show. He chose March 14 because its date, 3/14, is the same as the first three digits of pi. It was also Albert Einstein’s birthday.
To celebrate Pi Day in your homeschool, explain the basic concept of pi to your child and then introduce him to the playlist below. Pick and choose which videos would best teach him and save them to watch on Pi Day.
Pi Day Videos
The Pi Song from the movie Wonder Park
Pi Digits song
The Pi song (to 20 digits)
10 Fun Facts about National Pi Day
Using art activities for Pi Day will help make math fun in your homeschool. For those looking for a hands-on approach to teaching math, try these art projects to drive the theme home. From free printables to creative activities, you have a plethora of options for teaching pi.
Pi Day Art
Pi Day Grid Art (free printable)
Pi Day Bracelets (free download)
Pi Skyline Activity (with video tutorial)
If you want to break up the winter doldrums, take this day off from your traditional school and only implement these activities for Pi Day. Teach history, science, art, reading, and math all at the same time. Your kids will have so much fun learning about this concept they might even forget that they are learning at all, especially if you let them “take off” some of their other subjects for the day.
Pi Day Worksheets
Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi Lessons (free worksheets)
Pi Day Logic Activities (free worksheets for the older grades)
Preschool Pi Printable (free printable)
Pi Day Crown for Littles (free printable)
Pi Puzzle (Teach Beside Me subscriber freebie)
Pi Day Graphing (free printable)
Pi Day Activities
You still have some time to prepare for Pi Day. Take a look at the activities presented here and see which would be the best fit for your family members. Worksheets are perfect for a variety of ages as are the hands-on activities. The recipes are perfect for the entire family! The printables are free which means with minimal prep-work except for some printing and gathering of a few household items, you are good as gold for a fun day of math, pie, and family bonding.
Celebrate Pi Like a NASA Scientist
Pi Day Recipes
From breakfast to dinner, Pi Day recipes abound. Choose from one or several of these recipes to keep your kids active, learning, and entertained.
Take a break from the norm this March by switching things up for Pi Day. With little prep, you can surprise your kids with some fun activities that will get them thinking, learning, and having fun. Are there any activities that you have done with your kids to celebrate Pi Day that I have missed? If so, leave them in the comments below so our readers can try them out!
