Happy Pi Day!

Today we celebrated

3-14,

otherwise known as

Pi Day.

I set the scene with a homemade

"Pi to the 100th Digit"

banner...

 You can download the banner

(which you need to cut and past together)

by clicking HERE.

The clip art that decorate the banner

can be found HERE.

***

After the kiddos looked at the banner and I explained

to them what an irrational number is...

...we watched THIS video I found on You Tube.

(Richard Bew does an EXCELLENT job of

ENTERTAININGLY explaining the basics of Pi!)

***

After the video,

we put Pi into practice with...

...THIS worksheet provided by

Educating Laytons.

Little Wild Man

(since he has not done much with multiplication or division)

was in charge of measuring the diameter

of different objects.

After relaying that info to his sisters,

they used their calculators to determine the

radius and circumference

of the objects.

(Not only was this a good lesson in using Pi,

it also allowed the kiddos to use their

measuring and calculator skills too!) 

***

After finishing the work sheet,

we just had to get crafty

with our "Pi"

and make a few of THESE

Bottle Cap Pies

I saw over on

WhimsyLove...

 You have to have your tough face on

when you use the sharp scissors...

They were easy to pull together

and SO super cute!

My kiddos don't mind getting a little

Pi all over their faces...

***

To end our Pi Day fun,

we had to EAT some pie, of course!

I went super simple on these and bought

mini graham cracker crusts

and filled them with either

ice cream or pudding

(because my kiddos are sadly not really big

fruit pie fans!).

***

Q: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern

by its diameter?

A: Pumpkin Pi!

Happy Pi Day everybody!!!

***

Linking up with Math Monday

Sochi Medal Count Folder (Practicing Tally Mark Math)

During the Sochi Winter Olympics,

I plan on having the kiddos keep tabs

on the medal count by using...

...this handy-dandy medal count folder.

It will be a great way for them to practice

tally marks,

which my younger two need review on.

(Folder cover can be found HERE or HERE)

To put the folder together,

download all of the pages by going either

HERE or HERE...

...stack 'em up in whatever continent order you prefer...

...and staple them to the top of a simple folder.

I also added Washi tape tabs

to separate the continents for easier use.

Of course,

you can use these printables however you choose-

it doesn't have to be in a folder.

It could be in a notebook.

Or on a wall chart.

Whatever floats your boat

and is easiest for you and your kiddos.

Then...

...start checking the medal count stats

over HERE,

and make some tally marks!

Currently,

America doesn't have the highest

gold medal count,

but don't forget...

...we got the FIRST gold medal

of these games!

Photo Source HERE

Way to go,

Sage Kotsenburg!

You did you country-

AND the homeschooling community-

proud!

(Read all about his fantastic finish

by going HERE...)

***

Linking up at

Olympic Activities and Crafts Linky Party

100th Day of School Celebration...in Our PJ's...

We
F-I-N-A-L-L-Y
reached our...

...100th day of school
on Friday,
so we had a casual celebration...

(Yes, it was Pajama Day
in our house.
Some of us have the sniffles,
and staying in on a
cold, wintery day seemed like
the right thing to do...)

*********************************

We began the day with...

...a simple breakfast,
which involved counting to 100 by 20's.

(You can read more about the
breakfast by clicking HERE.)

**********************************************

Later...

...we completed our Calendar Time,
which is always fun on this day,
since we get to add 100 to our
Calendar pages.

One activity we do during our Calendar Time...

...is the daily writing of the school days
on a roll of
register tape.

The kiddos enjoyed rolling out the tape to see
how long
100 days in school
looks like...

*********************************************

In the afternoon...

...the kiddos had a simple
"Cheese and Chips"
snack...

...while I read the 100th Psalm aloud.

I also read...

...a couple of other books to the younger kiddos
while Jungle Girl
conducted her novel reading.

*********************************************

I think the most fun we had
during the day involved...

..."Robot Races" down
the registrar tape number line.

(I purchased these little wind-up toys
at Wal-Mart
in the novelty section of the Toy aisle
for about $1.50 a piece.)

The kiddos wound up their toys...

...lined them up at the number one...

...and let 'em go!

They kept winding them up and letting them go
until they reached the number 100...

I think their fingers were a little tired by the end of the race...
(Hee! Hee!)

******************************************

Before I close,
please take a close look at...

 ...these pictures of my kiddos.

Notice what they are trying to make?

 If you said the number 100
with their finger and eyes,
you would be correct!

Aren't they creative?

(And a little kooky?)  ;0)

************************************

Check out all the fun math links at
Math Monday
and below...

100th Day Breakfast

 To begin our simple

"100th Day of School Celebration"...

...we had a sweet breakfast treat.

 I set out the 

"Berry Crunch" cereal

and asked the kiddos to count how many

different kinds of pieces there

are in the cereal.

After dividing the cereal pieces

into their muffin tins,

Jungle Girl surmised that the kiddos would need

20 of each piece in order to

have 100 pieces of cereal.

So the kiddos counted out 20

of each kind...

...until their muffin tins were full.

After dumping the cereal pieces into a bowl...

 ...and adding 100 milliliters of milk...

...the kiddos had a berry-tastic breakfast treat!

 Well, Baby Girl and Little Wild Man did...

...but Jungle Girl did not.

Her delicate 

(picky-*ahem*)

taste buds

did not like the fruity pieces of the cereal.

She preferred the plain pieces...

**SIGH**

******************************************

I will be linking this up at

Muffin Tin Monday...

TOS Review: Master Clock

As i continue on my journey with the
TOS Review Crew this year,
I am just more and more amazes by all the wonderful
teaching resources that are out in the world.

When I received the Master Clock resource set from...

...Master Innovations, LLC,
I literally did a little jig.

Master Innovations takes the concepts of measurement
(such as rulers, clocks, fractions, and angles)
and makes them concretely understandable for kiddos.

The resources I received included...

...the Marvels of Measure Poster,
a student version of the Master Clock.
and the Master Clock Workbook.

Now, these resources are geared for students in grades K-5,
but since Baby Girl is beginning time exploration
in her math lessons,
I focused using the resources with her.
(She is on a 1st grade level.)

***********************************************************

First, we looked at the poster and discussed
what makes up a gallon, inch, pound, etc.

The poster does a beautiful job on
illustrating these concepts
and how they interconnect with each other.

It also included visual examples kiddos can relate to...

Here Baby Girl is seeing how the size of a flea
relates to an inch.

************************************************

As we began exploring the workbook,
i noticed it began with some hands-on experiments,
so I HAD to let the other kiddos join in
on the fun...

We chose to build...

...a Water Clock.

First, we filled a large pot with water.

Next, I took an old margarine tub...

...and poked a small hole in the bottom.

We then put the tub in the pot and waited to see how long
it took for the tub to fill with water.

We used our timer for this part,
and had to keep adding minutes
until it filled up after about 12 minutes.

(My kiddos handled the waiting part quite well,
don't ya think?)

******************************************************

After the experiment, Baby Girl and I got to "work" on
playing with the...

...Master Clock.

The website has a very useful video explaining
how the clock operates,
which I HIGHLY recommend watching.
(Click HERE to view it.)

This clock is analog and digital,
helping children to relate the two concepts.

The clock is geared and has removable hands,
letting a student focus on just minutes or hours,
or how they interconnect.

We have much more to do with the workbook,
and when Jungle Girl gets to time in her math lesson,
I am certain I will be using the Master Clock resources
to work with her also,
since the book contains many, many well planned lessons.

*******************************************

Pricing for theses products is as follows:

Marvels of Measure Poster: $10.00
Master Clock (student version): $14.95
Master Clock Workbook: $15.95

******************************************

Please check out Master Innovations and all that is
has to offer by clicking HERE...

Hurry- before time....

...runs out!