Pi day activities for preschoolers can be tricky to come by. Most of what is online is for older children, so I have a couple of printables and other ideas to help you celebrate this fun math holiday.
Every March, social media is flooded with posts by people celebrating Pi Day. Lots of delicious golden pies with the π symbol baked into the top, and classrooms showing interesting math themed projects. Preschoolers can get in on the fun too with these circle themed activities.
What is Pi Day?
Pi Day celebrates the math symbol π (pi). Since the first 3 digits of Pi are 3.14, Pi Day is held every March 14, or 3/14.
Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
According to NASA, “in 1988, a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium held what is thought to be the first official Pi Day celebration, which smartly included the consumption of fruit pies. Math teachers quickly realized the potential benefits of teaching students about pi while they ate pie, and it all caught on so much that in 2009, the U.S. Congress officially declared March 14 National Pi Day.”
Pi Day activities for preschoolers
All of these are circle themed and perfect for younger kids
- Make paper chains – cut strips of colorful construction paper into 1×8″ strips. Staple/ tape/ or glue the short ends of one strip together to form a loop. Place a second strip through the loop and fasten its short ends together so the two loops are linked together. Add additional loops until the chain is the length you desire.
- Bake a pie (or pizza) – bake or buy your favorite pie (or pizza) and add a Pi symbol to the top with this cookie cutter (or pepperoni)
- Read Happy Pi Day to You by Bonnie Worth, a fun Cat in the Hat book that teaches kids (K-3) about drawing and measuring circles and calculating Pi.
- Practice scissor skills by cutting out circles -this is one of our free printables you can download below
- Color a Pi Day coloring page – the other free printable you can download below, features the Pi symbol, a pie, and lots of circles.
Click here to download the Pi Day free printables
(The free printables are for personal, non-commercial use only. You may use them at home or in your classroom, and are not for resale. Thanks!)
Do you have some favorite Pi Day activities? We’d love to hear about them – drop them in the comments below. Happy Pi Day!
