Butterfly Paintings — Lessons in Symmetry
Like most 5 year old girls, Emily adores butterflies. Today we painted butterflies and I introduced the concept of symmetry. To make your own butterfly painting, start with a sheet of paper, and fold it in half.
Draw half of a butterfly, as shown. I used watercolor markers (just $2.50 for a pack of 8 at Blick Art Store!), but oil pastels work really well for this part. Fold the paper in half and press down firmly to make an imprint on the other side of the paper. Trace the outline, so you now have a full butterfly that is perfectly symmetrical.
Invite your child to paint on one side of the butterfly. A bingo marker works very well for this!
Fold again and press firmly one more time. The big reveal……..
I would have stopped here, but Emily asked to fill in the rest of the butterfly with watercolor markers. I didn’t stop her.
