Butterfly Symmetry with Crayon Resist

Butterflies make the perfect subject for learning about symmetry and they’re a great way to welcome the spring season. I love displaying them by putting a couple of staples through the body and pulling the wings out a little so they look like they’re in flight! It’s fun to let them “fly” off the bulletin board and onto the surrounding walls, or even right down the hall! Crayon resist butterflies are fun and easy to make:

1. Put up lots of examples of different shapes and colors of butterflies, then let your students “mix and match” to create their own.
2. Fold white paper (9×12 or 12×18) in half.
3. On the fold, draw half of your butterfly’s body and one set of wings with pencil. Add some interesting shapes on the wings to be painted later.
4. Trace over your pencil lines with black crayon, pressing hard.
5. Now fold the paper back over your drawing and rub with a spoon to transfer your drawing to the other side of the paper. The transferred image will be faint, so you’ll need to go over it with crayon to make it distinct.
6. Use scissors to cut out your butterfly. You can open up the paper to cut it out, or you can fold it back the opposite way, so that your drawing is on the outside, then cut on the fold to yield two perfectly symmetrical sides.
7. Next, use watercolors to paint your butterfly. The crayon will “resist” the paint. Make sure you use the same colors for the equivalent shapes on the opposite side. And don’t use black paint or there won’t be enough contrast for your crayon to show up!
8. Pipe cleaners make great antennae! After your painting has dried, fold one half of a pipe cleaner in half and use your pencil to curl the ends. Then attach it to your butterfly with a couple of staples.
9. A staple or two into your butterfly’s body is all you need to make it “light” on your wall and add a touch of springtime to your room. You can also attach a smaller version of this butterfly to the front of a folded card for a fun “3-D” effect!

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