Happy Pi Day!

post by Janelle Barth

Today, March 14th (3.14) we celebrate Pi Day!
As a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Pi Day holds a special place in my heart. On campus as an undergrad, it was not uncommon to be wished a Happy Pi Day on 3.14 and to see the digit written out to thousandths of decimal places along campus sidewalks and pathways.

Pi is a mathematical constant – the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is most commonly used in geometry and trigonometry. As if Pi Day wasn’t enough to celebrate, it’s also Albert Einstein’s birthday. He would have been 134 years old today.

That’s a lot to celebrate!

Today is a great day to incorporate some math based activities into your child’s day. While taking a walk through your neighborhood ask your child to point out all the circles he or she sees. If you have a phone with a camera, take pictures of the objects to review when you get home. Play treasure hunt in your apartment and have your child collect circular objects. With older children, begin exploring the concept of fractions during a pizza lunch. Make personal pizza pies and cut yours into quarters and your child’s into eighths and show them how two of their pieces are the same size as one of yours.

In order to make your celebration a little sweeter (or more savory, if that’s your thing) here are some of my favorite places to enjoy pie in NYC:
• Hill Country Chicken – 1123 Broadway (and 25th St.) - Manhattan
• Buttercup Bake Shop - 973 2nd Ave (b/w 51st & 52nd) – Manhattan
• John’s Pizzeria - 278 Bleecker St - Manhattan
• Pies ‘n’ Thighs - 166 S 4th St - Brooklyn
• Four & Twenty Blackbirds - 439 3rd Ave Brooklyn – Brooklyn
• Roberta’s (pizza) - 261 Moore St – Brooklyn

Is homemade pie more your thing? Try our mini apple pie recipe from COOKing monsters.

apple pie (makes 1 mini pie)
ingredients:
• 1 pre-made crust
• 1 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon (per child)
• pinch of salt

equipment:
3 – 5” pie plate
knife (adult use only)
plastic knife
plastic zip top bag
plastic fork

prep:
• Cut pie crusts and place bottom crust into a mini pie plate
• Peel, core and slice apples.

directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Let your child cut their apple slices into smaller chunks and place them into the plastic bag.
3. One at a time, let your child smell, identify and scoop each ingredient and add it to the bag.
4. Close the bag and let your child shake the ingredients to mix them up. (Turn on some music and have fun with it!)
5. Open the bag and let your child carefully pour the mixture into the pie crust.
6. Cover the filling with the second pie crust and let your child pinch the edges together.
7. Using a plastic fork, let your child poke a couple of holes in the crust. This will let the steam out and keep the pie crust from cracking.
8. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
9. Let cool and enjoy!

Happy Pi Day but beware the Ides of March!