Did you know Pi Day is March 14th (3/14)?  Normal people might not know that… but when your husband is a former Physics major/current engineer, you keep that date on your calendar.  And you might as well add it to yours — everyone needs a good excuse to eat pie!

Although pi is a rather advanced concept, there are ways to teach even the youngest preschoolers about it.   I’ve included a free printable at the end of this post, but I’ll walk you through it here.

You can begin by matching the word “pi” to the symbol for pi.  On the printable, allow your child to trace the letters and the symbol.

Next, do a mini lesson on circumference and diameter, since that is the definition of pi:  for any circle, the circumference divided by the diameter will always equal pi (3.14).  Have your child trace the dotted line of the circumference on the first circle and the diameter on the second circle.

Finally, identify and trace the numbers of the first six digits of pi.

For some Pi Day fun with children of all ages, bake a pie to eat for dessert!

We made an oreo pie for Pi Day last year, and this year we are planning on a chocolate pudding pie at L’s request.  And guess what — pies are circles!  For an easy extension after your child has finished tracing, show her the circumference and the diameter of your real pie.  For older children, you can measure those lengths and find out of if your pie equals pi!

 

***Get your free printable  Pi Day Tracing Activity here!***

Note:  When I tried to convert the printable to a PDF, it changed the font I was using to one that I was really not happy with.  So I kept it as a Word document.  When you try to open it, it will ask for a password — you don’t need one.  Just click the “Read Only” option and it will open right up to be printed.  Since this is a Word document, it looks all jumbled if you open it on your phone.  Print it from a computer.

Tip:  I slid mine into a page protector so L can trace over it many times with a dry erase marker!