My nine-year-old learned about fractions with pizza. That’s such a yummy idea.
But now that Thanksgiving is coming soon, I needed to come up with another – but equally yummy – idea for fractions.
I thought round and I thought delicious. I thought pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Pie Fractions.
Yum.
This Pumpkin Pie Fractions activity is so easy to create. Once you have it made, it will hold up for hours of hands-on math fun.
Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.
Supplies Needed:
4 paper plates
Orange craft paint
Light brown craft paint
Black permanent marker
Ruler
Scissors
How to make your pie fractions:
Start with the paint. Use your light brown paint to paint the ridged edges of your paper plates. This is your crust.
Next, paint the middle section of your paper plates with orange paint. Don’t worry about making sure your lines are straight. Remember, pies never look perfect!
Once your paint is dry, use your ruler to divide the pie into fractions. One pie will be divided into half. Divide the second pie into thirds, the third pie into fourths, and the fourth pie into eights. Trace your lines with your black permanent marker.
Label each of the pies with the corresponding fraction using your permanent marker.
Finally, cut each pie along the dividing lines.
Your pumpkin pies are ready!
How can you play with your Pumpkin Pie Fractions?
Use them as puzzles.
Give your kids a pile of mixed up pie pieces and have them put each pie together. They’ll have to match the type of fraction and then make a whole pie. This is a great way to easily see how many of each fraction makes a whole.
Make equal pie wedges (make equivalent fractions).
How many quarter pieces do you need to make a half piece. Use the bigger wedge as a guide to fill in with smaller pieces.
Make a mixed up fraction pie.
Can you make a whole pie using different sized fractions? Let you kids experiment to find different combinations.
Build other fractions with your pie pieces.
Make a 3/8 wedge by putting together three 1/8 wedges. Or make 3/4 with three of the quarter pieces. What other sizes can you make?
Let their homework be the guide.
What is your child working on in class? Use your pie as a hands-on tool to supplement their learning at home. If you need more pie sizes (maybe divided into fifths, sixths, or sevenths), just grab a few more paper plates.
Let your kids lead the way.
My girls set up a pie shop and sold all their different wedges. They had no idea how much they were learning along the way! I just sat back and let them have some fun.
How would you use these Pumpkin Pie Fractions?
More Thanksgiving Activities to Try:
12 Turkey Crafts for Thanksgiving
Printable Thanksgiving Word Searches for Kids
Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kids
Turkey Craft using Pattern Block Shapes at Buggy & Buddy
My Must-Have Math Resources:
Sometimes, as much as you want to prep a fun hands-on math activity, you just don’t have the time. That why I love having a few math games on hand.
Here are some great options. Your kids will have so much fun that they won’t realize how much they’re learning.
