We began by taking a moment to talk about what it means for something to be symmetrical (one side being a mirror image of the other). Many things in nature are symmetrical, including butterflies!
Then the kids got out their materials (multi colored construction paper, scissors, pencils and white paint in elmers glue bottles) and began.
We folded paper in half, traced a half butterfly stencil and then cut the butterfly out. As the kids became more confident with the shapes of the butterflies and arranging the center line along the fold, they began drawing their own butterflies freehand.
After that the kids opened up their elmer's glue bottles (full with white washable paint) and squeezed lines and dots onto one half of the open butterfly. Then the butterfly was refolded, pressed and voila! When it was opened again, there was a beautiful, symmetrical butterfly with a surprising design.
This project is particularly fun because it contains such a strong element of surprise. No matter how we plan or what we try to make, when the butterfly is folded and pressed the qualities of the paint (how much was applied and where) takes on a life of it's own. Opening each one of these butterflies was a treat.
Here are a few particularly nice examples!
Ashley also had a chance to finish her "underwater scene" from last week. Great job, Ashley!
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