Quick Celebration of Pi Day

Pi Day is a holiday in our house.  My son was born on March 13, seven years ago, just a few hours shy of the big day.  We celebrated in the hospital with a pie as big as he was.  It was a last minute decision by my mom to purchase it and have the person at the bakery write "Happy Pi Day!" on it.

Each year, I also like to celebrate the day with my students.  I have done a variety of activities in the past, but this year's are my favorite so far.  As the students came in, they were given a half circle to decorate in any way they choose.  When they were completed, they hung them on the wall creating full circle after full circle.  It was a pretty informal activity, but the conversation about the relationship between Pi and circles was quite rich and engaging.  I found the entire activity relaxing for the students giving us pause in the middle of a rather rigorous unit, Ratios and Rates.  The whole activity took approximately 10 minutes.

I think the art has a bit of a Kandinsky feel, don't you?

Next, I had the students count off from 1 to 9 and broke them up in groups of 2-3 students.  Each group was tasked with coming up with a unique sound in one minute.  Then I explained that we were going to conduct a Pi Symphony.  I listed the following digits of Pi on the board and when I pointed to the digit numbered the same as each group, they made their sound, with 0 being a rest.  The students had a fantastic time and everyone was engaged in this activity.  Making strange sounds as loud as possible is every 6th grader's dream, right?  Here are my two favorites:

How did you celebrate Pi Day with your students?  Please share in the comment section.