4th Grade Hosts Pi Day Math Carnival for PK–5 Students
Students across the school had the chance to celebrate math in a joyful, hands-on way during the annual Pi Day Math Carnival, hosted by our 4th Grade class. Mrs. Ensminger, our Middle School Assistant Principal and Math Specialist, partners each year with the fourth graders to transform the lunchroom into a lively carnival of learning. This March, students in PK through 5th Grade explored math through games, building challenges, and creative problem-solving, while middle school students joined in to help run stations and support younger learners—making the afternoon a true community event.
Each student arrived with a carnival ticket and visited four to six interactive stations, earning a stamp after completing each challenge. The stations were designed and organized by the 4th Graders, who practiced leadership and collaboration as they guided younger students through the activities.
Throughout the carnival, students engaged with math concepts in playful and meaningful ways. At the LEGO station, participants used their imagination to build shapes like cubes and spheres and estimate the number of bricks in a bucket. At the nail board station, students created geometric patterns by wrapping yarn around pegs to form shapes such as squares, pentagons, and hexagons. The Suspend station encouraged teamwork as students carefully added pieces to a balancing structure, working together to keep it from falling.
Other stations combined movement and number sense. In the bean bag toss, students tossed bean bags onto numbered spaces and practiced identifying numbers, sequencing, and basic operations. At the Over the Hill dice game, students rolled dice and used addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division to reach target numbers, building both fluency and strategic thinking.
While the carnival celebrated the joy of mathematics, it also reflected our school’s commitment to forming the whole child. By designing and running the stations, 4th Graders developed leadership, communication, and service skills, guiding younger students with patience and encouragement. Mrs. Ensminger shared, “Since our fourth graders are preparing to transition to the upper school, I want to give them opportunities to build their leadership skills. They create signs for their stations, practice running activities, promote their stations with photos for the slideshow, and learn how to guide middle school students who help run each station. The younger students look up to them, and this experience helps build confidence in our fourth graders.” The presence of middle school helpers further strengthened the sense of community and mentorship across grade levels.
Fourth-grade teacher Ms. Nelson reflected, “One thing that really impressed me during the Math Carnival was seeing my students rise to the occasion as leaders. The event can only run if the 4th Graders are ready to lead students from all grade levels, and watching this class meet that challenge with excitement and creativity was incredibly encouraging. These are the skills that will serve them well in the future, and the Math Carnival provides a perfect opportunity to develop them.”
The afternoon was filled with laughter, curiosity, and problem-solving—proving that when students learn together, math truly becomes something to celebrate.
