Weekend Wandering

Weekend wandering downtown took us past The White House and around the grounds. The kiddos played in a fountain nearby as little sparrows took turns getting drinks and a bath. We headed to The Mall and the Math Alive exhibit. Several hours were spent playing (literally) with all the exhibits. Learning lots and remembering things we have done in the past. Metro ride home and a dinner out. Topped off with new library books and an evening of stories. How was your weekend?

Happy Pi Day

Today we celebrated Pi Day with our friends. For those not in the know, today's date corresponds to the first 3 digits in pi (March 14 = 3.14). We feasted on pizza pie, lemon pie and apple pie. We also had snacks to share in circular dishes.

For a little circle fun, I had each of the kiddos search for a stick. Our family did this a little over a year ago with another group of friends. The results were similar. Discovering how to make the final circle didn't take as long, since a few of the children caught on quickly or were told by those who had done it in the past. 

I shared a few books on circles and pi with everyone. Our family really enjoys the Sir Cumference series (for today we focused on Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi ) for its wit and creativity. Each story deals with mathematical principles and involves a quest. The characters enjoy names such as Sir Cumference, Radius and Lady Di of Ameter. Eamon has read them all several times, yet he picked one up again today to read. They really are enjoyable.

Books shared space with necklace and bracelet making. Each colored bead represented a number, With string in hand, several kiddos diligently strung beads corresponding to the digits in pi. They marveled at the random sequence. We talked briefly about non-repeating decimals and the unique characteristics of this "magic" number. (The colorful pi wheel shown here was crafted by one of our homeschooling friends. She created a visual for everyone that showed the equation circumference/diameter = pi).

Soon everyone scattered wearing their bead jewelry to enjoy the park, chalk and the beautiful weather. 

Circles

Today we contemplated the mysteries of circles at Math Club.  Initially the children were instructed to find a stick.  Much debate occurred over what type of stick would be appropriate, who had the biggest, which was longest, etc.  Next each child was given a piece of chalk and a string.  They enjoyed deciding how long their string would be.  Then the fun began.  The only instruction provided was to make a circle using all three things.

Amazing things occurred.  Most kids placed the objects on the ground and tried to create a circular shape.  One child arranged her stick and string perpendicular to one another and drew a circle around them with her chalk.  The following clues were given to help solve the puzzle:

1. Tie the string to one end of the stick
2. Tie the chalk to the other end
3. Place the stick perpendicular to the ground

Once the final clue was given, everyone was catching onto the task.  We then used everyone's circle making device to draw a basketball court full of circles.  We discussed why the circles were different if we used the same materials.  We also tried to figure out the circumference of the circles.  This led to a quick discussion of the constant pi.

We wrapped up the morning with a 36 point circle and some artwork on it.  The kids appeared to enjoy themselves.  It helps being at a park and running around to get the sillies out as needed.

The most amusing part of the exercise was noticing the school kids in the adjacent school playground standing at the fence watching what we were doing.