Kindergarten Pi-Day Activities

When I was telling my sister that I was getting Pi-Day activities ready to share with Firecracker's kindergarten class, she asked me, "What do you tell the kindergarteners about pi?"  (If you've never heard of Pi-Day, you can see my explanation here.)  The answer is not much...understanding the number pi is a bit too advanced for kindergarten.  (Which is probably why I didn't find many kindergarten Pi-Day Activities when I googled it.)  We'll tell them that pi is a number that will be important for circles when they're older...and we'll be celebrating circles and math more than the pi itself.  I figure that the more fun math seems to them now, the better attitude they'll have in the long run. 

So, as promised yesterday, I've got some kindergarten appropriate activities ready to share...and similar to my post yesterday...I've got a book to share for the Read-Along at the end of this post.  These are probably too late for many of you teachers...but maybe they can help some home-schooling and pre-schooling moms out there.

Since celebrating Pi-Day was my idea, I didn't want it to be extra work for Firecracker's teacher.  I brainstormed several ideas and sent them to Firecracker's teacher's, and then she choose the ones that would be most appropriate for her class.  We'll be dividing the class into 3 groups and having them rotate through activities, so there will be about 6 students doing each activity at one time.

Here's what we came up with:

Fraction Paper Plate Pies

I made up 6 different colored "pies" out of paper plates and contruction paper.  I decorated a couple of the tops, but you wouldn't need to.

I kept one pie whole and cut each of the other pies into a different size fraction.  So one pie is cut into halves, one into thirds, one into 4ths, one into 6th, and one into 8ths.  (If the kids were any older, I'd make a set of 12ths to round out the set so that they could always have a way to make a complete circle no matter what is mixed and matched...but 12ths just seemed too much for a kindergarten group activity.)

The plan is to have the kids put the different pies together like puzzles.  Firecracke had fun helping me test them out.

We can also have them do some simple comparisons (like how many 1/4 pieces does it take to make a 1/2 piece). 

Then we'll give each student their own paper plate to color and decorate with crayons.  Depending on how time is going, we may also have them choose a size fraction piece to trace onto their pie to "cut" their pie...but I don't think we'll have them actually cut their pies up.

Circle Patterns

Patterns are also a big topic in kindergarten as a math skill...and patterns are more fun with fun pictures.  I tried doing a google search for a circle pattern worksheet and didn't come up with anything.  Then I tried just searching for pictures to use to make my own...and still couldn't come up with anything.  I ended up drawing and scanning in my own...which I should have just done in the first place.  It only took about 10 minutes, and here it is in case you would like to use it.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE PDF with the Pi-Day Patterns Worksheet. 

(This is  picture of the worksheet, but it will likely print better if you click on the link above.)

Circle Collages and Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
For our last activity, we'll let the kids make circle collages.  I checked out Color I traced a bunch of circles of different sizes onto contruction paper.  (I used bowls, cans, quarters, etc to trace.)  Then we'll give them to the kids to design their own pictures.  These are a few examples that I came up with.

This activity was inspired by the illustrations in Color Farm and Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert.  (I mentioned before that we are Lois Ehlert fans.)  These books are not stories, but rather animals made from basic shapes that are transformed as you move through the book.  They're both great, but I especially recommend Color Zoo.

Snack - Muffin Tin Pies

And of course, to top things off, we'll be having the muffin tin pies that I posted about yesterday.

And finally, if you love math enough that you might actually celebrate Pi Day with your kids...then you've got to check out Boutique Academia.  She has a Pi necklace that's beautiful.

If you're just now joining us, be sure to visit our Read-Along Archives to see the books we've already read.

Please show my sponsors some love...

Southern Cross Necklace from Boutique Academia	Fibonacci Necklace from Boutique Academia	Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia