Pi Hot Pads for Pi-Day

Math geeks all over the world celebrate Pi-Day on March 14th.  (You know...3.1415926 and all that.)  You'll be able to really geek-out your friends with these Pi Hot Pads.

(Disclaimer: Fairfield World and RJR Fabrics sent me some of the supplies to make these projects and Fairfield World compensated me for this post.  All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are 100% my own.)

You can go for the Pi Puns and grab your favorite pie filling in fabric form.  We had fun with this Cherry Pie.  (White fabric is Encyclopedia Galactica by Andover Fabrics.)

Or you can go for completely math-themed fabrics.  We loved the Geekery line by Sue Marsh for RJR Fabrics.  This uses Scientifically Speaking in White and Black as well as Graph paper in green.

Or you can go for classic black and white.  (Check out my favorite Coconut Cream Pie recipe here.)

You can find my complete step-by-step pattern and tutorial for making these Pi-Hot Pads on the Fairfield World site here.

You might also like my recent MATH paper-pieced quilt here.

If you're looking for additional inspiration, you can see my full collection of Pi-inspired projects here.

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Pi-rate (pirate) Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil Pattern

Katie needed a new Pi shirt this year since she'd outgrown the one I made her two years ago.  I had a couple ideas and was about to go for just a plain Pi symbol when I did a quick google search for "pi puns."

Happy Pi-Day 2013!

I'd meant to get this post up yesterday, but we were so busy celebrating Pi-Day that I didn't have much time to blog about Pi-Day...which is really as it should be.  We snapped this picture at the end of a long day.  Becca didn't want to be out in the wind and was trying to run back in the house.  Seth was being goofy...but this proves we are nerdy enough that we all were wearing Pi-shirts for the big day.

We made round Pi cookies this year instead of the mini-pudding pies.  The mini-pudding pies are a little more fun...but I didn't feel up to making enough for two classrooms of students.  We celebrated with Katie's second grade class and then went straight down the hall to Seth's kindergarten class for some marathon math parties.

The kids (mine and their classmates) had a lot of fun, and Becca always enjoys getting to go to school for an hour or so whenever I got help in their classrooms.

The second graders played with fractions of pies to make whole pies, measured round objects to calculate pi, and did a clock worksheet that ultimately gave them the decimals of pi when they decoded their answers.

The kindergarteners did pretty much the same activities that Katie's class did two years ago.  I have to say that this years circle pictures turned out extra awesome.  I need to go back to school in the next day or so and take some pictures of the circle pictures out in the hall.

Cow Pi T-shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil

We're getting ready for Pi Day around here.  I've been wanting to make a Cow Pi shirt for a couple years and finally got around to it.

Time for Pi - Second Grade Math Worksheet for Pi-Day

I've been getting some activities ready to help celebrate Pi-Day with my kids classes at school.  Since we celebrated it when Katie was in Kindergarten, I've already got materials and ideas for Seth's class (like our Pi Patterns Worksheet here).  Now that Katie is in second grade, though, we need something new.  I talked to Katie's math teacher about the skills they're working on already.  That way we can have fun celebrating Pi-Day and still keep the kids focused on the standards they're working on.  They'll be going to several different stations or "centers" as they call them.  This will be probably be the least "fun," but we needed something for one of the centers the kids can do independently.

They've been working on telling time for quite a while, so this is review.  I came up with a worksheet where after they fill in the times, they copy some of the numbers from their answers down to the bottom of the worksheet and they get the first 14 digits of Pi.

If you'd like to print off a copy of this worksheet, you can download the PDF version of the Time for Pi Worksheet here.

If you're looking for additional inspiration, you can see my full collection of Pi-inspired projects here.

And be sure to enter my current giveaway for a Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia.  The giveaway is open until March 18th at 12:00am.

Fresh Baked Pi Onesie (Cutting Files for Silhouette Now Available)

Pi Day is just a couple days away.

Here's Anson's little onesie he wore last year when he was just over a week old.

I LOVE freezer paper stencil for making near professional quality personalized T-shirts...but cutting out the designs by hand can be a pain.  Still I haven't been lucky enough to get my hands on a Silhouette yet, so I keep cutting my designs out with a razor blade.

New Pi Necklace Giveaway from Boutique Academia

It's that time of year again.  Pi-Day (as in 3.14...March 14th) is right around the corner.  Maile from Boutique Academia has come out with a new Pi Necklace just in time.  Love this!  And it comes in your choice of a gold or rhodium plated.

She also still offers her other Pi pieces as well, like Pi to 35 Digits...

...or her Pi Tie Bar.

All of Maile's pieces are classy enough that you can celebrate your geeky side anytime...not just on Pi-Day.  You can dress them up or go casual.

If you're not familiar with Boutique Academia, Maile sells all sorts of unique math, science, engineering, and geek culture jewelry designed with style in mind.

Mocking Jay Necklace, Onyx Big Dipper Necklace, and Doctor Who TARDIS Necklace

It's stuff for geeks with taste, and there are all sorts of pieces to show off your love for math as the biggest math holiday of the year approaches.

The Infinity Bracelet

Black and White Fibonacci Necklace

Q.E.D. Necklace

Maile is giving away one of her new Pi Necklaces to one lucky Helping Little Hands reader.  The winner can choose between gold and rhodium plated.

And we're going to try out using Rafflecopter for the first time to keep track of entries and give you a few more options to enter in ways that work for you.  This giveaway will close March 18, 2013 at 12 am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I'm linking to:

14+ Creative Ways to Celebrate Pi-Day

Pi-Day is coming up in less than two weeks!  I'm not sure exactly how we'll be celebrating this year, although I've been talking to Katie's and Seth's teachers about doing something fun with their classes.  Last year, we managed to do a little celebrating, even though Anson was only a week or so old.  He's changed a bit since then, huh?

If you haven't heard of Pi-Day, it's March 14th...as in 3.14159...  It's a day to let your inner geek shine as you celebrate all things Pi, math, and circles.

 I figured it was time to update my collection of Pi inspired ideas.  Click here for 14+ fun ideas to make your Pi-Day fun and nerdy, updated with all the Pi inspired fun that's show up on Helping Little Hands this year.

Also, be sure to enter my current giveaway for a Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia.  The giveaway is open until March 18th at 12:00am.

Please show my sponsors some love...

Southern Cross Necklace from Boutique Academia

Fibonacci Necklace from Boutique Academia

Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia

Pumpkin Pi Onesie (Free Pattern)

With Pi-Day coming up here in a few weeks, I thought I'd update my list of Pi themed crafts and creative fun.  (Never heard of Pi Day...google it.  It's a day when you get to celebrate all things math and circles.  It's on March 14th of every year because 3-14 are the first three digits in the never ending number Pi 3.141519....

I shared Anson's Pumpkin Pi onesie several months ago at Everyday Art as part of their Pumpkin Palooza celebration!  I realized that I never got around to reposting it here.  So here goes...

I'm a former math and chemistry teacher and I married an even nerdier high school science teacher, so we're turning our kids into super nerds and they don't even know it.

Here's Anson, sporting his new Pumpkin Pi Onesie.  (Amazing how fast they grow.  This is him a couple months ago and he already looks totally different.)

He's outgrown his other Pi themed onesies, and this was a perfect one for Halloween and Thanksgiving...because what's more Thanksgiving than Pumpkin Pi?!?  (Hahahaha...5 months later he can still wear it, although it's considerably more snug on him now.)