Pie Pretend Play Ideas for Pi Day
I had a very bad blogging day and had to write this post twice. I'm going to attempt to do as well on the second draft as I did on the first, but I'm a bit disheartened. Ok, here we go again.
This Wednesday, March 14, is the nerdiest holiday of all- Pi Day! On 3.14, we celebrate circles, fractions, mathematical formulas, and all things geeky. Those are all fun, but the best part of Pi Day is eating pie! It's not always practical to make homemade pie in the middle of the week or in a school setting, which is why I'm dedicating my Pi Day blog post to pretend pies!
I've asked for help from some of the best bloggers on the net to bring you a fun collection of play dough, felt pies, and pretend bakery ideas for kids.
I made these felt pies two years ago for Christmas, and they're still my kids favorite thing for their play kitchen. They love to put the pies in the pie pan, bake them, and serve them. Eventually, I'd love to Grab the pattern on the blog post.
I know that pizza isn't pie, but it seemed to fit. I made this pizza to help my kids practice counting and recognizing numbers. Now that they're older, we can use it to practice fractions. Open a pizzeria and order fractions for dinner. Enjoy!
I made these circle fractions two years ago for Pi Day. At the time, we were exploring the concept of a circle and the idea of equivalent fractions (which colors can be put together to make a whole circle, etc). Now, they're ready for some explanation of fraction names and some more in-depth math talk. This week, I made some flash cards for matching with the shapes. You can download them for free.
I talked about the felt circle fractions earlier, but I wanted to highlight the printable cards as a separate picture. The cards cover all the pieces for halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, and tenths.
I was so inspired for all this pie fun that I had to make these pizza fractions. Kids can learn the fractions, then practice applying them with some Pizzeria pretend play. Order up a fraction of a pizza and count out the money to pay for it.
More Pie Ideas from The Kid Blogger Network
Pumpkin pie is so popular for pretend play and these felt pies are very cute. They would be great for a holiday dinner in a play kitchen or as a gift. Made from simple shapes, it should be a pretty quick sewing project.
I love the uniqueness of this idea. Mix up this scented cloud dough, throw it in a pie pan, and let the kids dig in! They can also use their fingers or a popsicle stick to practice writing their letters and numbers.
I love how the mom in this blog post added apple pie spices to scent the cotton balls for pretend apples. She also colored the ends of the felt to look like browned dough. Preschoolers and kindergartner will love to assemble these pies themselves for their bakery. The could even learn weaving as they make the fancy crust.
I've been a sucker for a beautiful apple since I was a kid, and I find this apple play dough picture so appealing. I love the rich red and the pipe cleaner stem. Cook some of this soft dough for your kids and watch them go crazy. They could shape balls, cut them into slices, and put them in a crust for easy dough pies. Stick some brown beads (seeds) in the dough for even more fine motor skills practice.
These pies would be perfect for a Fraction Cafe. Kids can paint it themselves and then have help dividing them and cutting them into slices. Serve up equivalent fractions or contrast fractions by asking kids "Would you rather have __ of a pie or __ of a pie?" Learning and pretend play- Yum!
These pies would be perfect for a Fraction Cafe. Kids can paint it themselves and then have help dividing them and cutting them into slices. Serve up equivalent fractions or contrast fractions by asking kids "Would you rather have __ of a pie or __ of a pie?" Learning and pretend play- Yum!
Real pumpkin and other food ingredients combine to make this yummy, fun sensory experience. If your kids like messy play, this recipe would be perfect for them.
If you're looking to make a pie bakery for a large group of kids, this printable set is just what you need. She has crusts, fillings, menus, signs, labels, and everything else you need for your kids. I really liked her idea of printing the crusts on fabric transfer sheets and ironing them onto the felt. It's a great combination of easy and DIY. You could even have the kids cut out the circles for extra practice.
If pizza pie is more your style, this set from PK Pages is amazing! Every time I run across one of their pretend play pictures on Pinterest, I want to have it and set it up for my own kids. Like the pie set previously, the pizza printables come with labels, menus, order forms, and job tags. Combine it with a pre-made pizza toy or make your own slices our to felt.
Pumpkin isn't really a March flavor, but this pumpkin play dough would be perfect for your Pi Day celebrations. Make pies like the one in the picture, cut them into fractions, and count the pieces. Open your own cafe, practice fractions, and serve us slices. I think the cotton ball whipped cream is adorable!
However you celebrate, I hope you have a happy Pi Day!
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