This butterfly painting craft is a perfect activity to explore colour mixing, shape, symmetry, reflection and pattern. All you need to make this craft is A4 plain paper, coloured poster paint and a paint brush, this small resource list makes it accessible for everyone to join in with.
Begin by folding an A4 piece of paper in half and cutting out an outline of half a butterfly. The reason for folding the paper in half before cutting out the butterfly shape is that when you open up the folded paper the butterfly will be symmetrical which helps with the focus of this activity and also saves time. Alternatively, you can also complete this craft activity with a plain piece of paper folded in half if you do not want to add the butterfly shape element.
Maybe before completing this activity you could have a look in some books or online at different butterfly patterns and explore how they are symmetrical and the design is reflected on both sides of the wings. Provide the children with different colours of poster paint and a paint brush and encourage them to paint different shapes and patterns on one half of the butterfly promoting maths learning and development. For younger children maybe use an old magazine or another piece of paper to cover over one half of the butterfly so that they do not get confused or carried away and paint both sides.
To continue to promote maths learning and development ask the children to name the different colours of paint they are using, challenge them to paint shapes such as a circle and also experiment with colour mixing. I created purple by mixing red and blue. Once the child is happy with their design carefully fold the butterfly in half and smooth the paper over to transfer the paint on to the other half of the butterfly. Do this quickly after applying the paint as the paint can dry making the transfer less effective, as you can see in the picture my paint was starting to dry before I folded over the paper making the pattern less clear. Open up the folded paper to see your finished butterfly! Examine how the pattern is the same on both sides and explore the concept of symmetry as displayed on butterflies wings.
I hope you enjoy making this butterfly craft and exploring the concept of symmetry through art!
If you are interested in more butterfly craft ideas take a look at my previous butterfly themed blogs: Coffee Filter Butterflies and Handprint Butterflies
I would love to see pictures of your art and craft, share them with me on Instagram
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