Pi Day!

 I originally intended to just have one post about March, but it turns out there was just too much awesome in the month for a single blog post to contain.  So, let's start with the main event in my mind: Pi Day! (Thanks to Mitzi for sending the perfect bag to headline this post)

 I have gained a little bit of a reputation for being a Pi Day freak over the years.  However, the holiday has grown in popularity over the years and now many people find some way to mark the occasion...most likely posting on my facebook wall.  But, I love that people at least acknowledge it.  And the kids are very happy to go along with my ideas.  Especially as we eat a lot of pie.

 Depending on my mood, we do a lot of Pi related activities...or not that many.  This year we did several.  Including Pi Art.  I didn't really explain to the kids ahead of time what the end result would be.  I just told them to cover a sheet of paper with water colors.  Then I had them make a bar graph with the digits of Pi.

 They just went with it.  I did eventually show them the pictures from a post where I got the idea.  I'm thinking Will is itching to re-do his, but he did go with the skyscraper idea.  He just colored the entire sheet of graph paper and insisted I put it on his backdrop.  Dom's looks more like a stormy night. #Art

Molly was particularly eager to try a mini-pie...30 minutes prior to dinner (A Cottage Pie).  As happy as I was that she wanted to celebrate, I had to put the kibosh on it.  But, as it was a holiday, she got to eat Pie despite her refusal to eat a meal that was other than chicken nuggets, spaghetti, or salad.

 Earlier in the day, I set up the usual experiment in which the boys measure the diameter and circumference of various circular objects and then we find the ratio.  This year, they did the majority of the measurements on their own and they came pretty close.  At least all were in the 3 range.  I got the closest (natch) with a 3.25.  This is far better then when I initially attempted this activity when Dom was...ahem...5 and I lost patience with his inability to get an accurate measurement or even to care.  Turns out I was a little off on my expectations for a pre-schooler.  Luckily, it hasn't seemed to harm him too much.

 Plus, I've added chocolate pie to the mix, so the boys are willing to put up with a lot.  John was pretty hilarious eating the chocolate pie (store bought....I actually did not bake a dessert pie this year #PuttingMathbackinPiDay), he would just take a bite and solemnly say: 'I love chocolate pie' as he proceeded to shovel another spoonful in. 

 Molly did not opt to wear her "I love Math" t-shirt on this particular day, but she did a few weeks later.  Just as I was wearing my Pi shirt again.  Naturally, this warranted a picture.  Oh! Notice the braids!  I did that!

 Over the years, I have acquired quite the collection of Sir Cumference books.  William and Dom really enjoy these to my delight.  Molly, too! (Note: She was reading over my shoulder as I typed that and was a little outraged I had not included her as a fan)  Will, though, in particular, will study these and then bring them up as we cover various geometric topics.  After reading one about the area of a circle, he grabbed our measurements from earlier in the day and proceeded to calculate all of the areas of the circles.  Just for fun (he is so like me). The rest of us were watching K-State beat Wake Forest in the First Four.  Also a Pi related event.  Well, John was literally running in circles due to the amount of sugar he had consumed a short time earlier.  Definitely a Pi related event.

 

All in all, it was a great day.  I am very happy that my family goes along with the ridiculous (and that many of my friends play along, too) and I hope that I can continue these traditions for years to come.  If you missed this particular day, may I offer July 22 (22/7 is a good approximation of π) or, as a friend posted Pi(e) day might be a bit more accurate on August 5th, for those who simply wish to eat pie.  I'll just let you mull that over for a bit.

I wanted to end with Will's journal entry for Pi Day:

Pi Day was awesome!  We did some crafts.  The crafts were measuring circles and making a skyline.  We had cottage pie for dinner and chocolate pie for dessert.

Huh...he summed it up in 28 words pretty accurately.

Next: You thought that was Mad...here comes March Madness