Symmetry Butterflies

Sometimes it’s the simplest activities, the ones we did as children, that we carry with us and do with our own children. There’s a sweet joy in remembering an activity that we did as a child and sharing it with our little ones, don’t you think?

Well I remember doing this activity many times! Did you do it?

Simply fold the paper in half. Paint one side of the paper with half a butterfly, you’ll need to be generous with the paint. Fold the paper over so that the blank side sticks to the wet paint. Give it a gentle pat and open out to reveal the whole butterfly. 

Make a Butterfly Mobile or One that Hangs from a Stick

There’s something magical about mobiles, or things that hang and sway. It can be so calming to watch them. Have fun making a handful of little butterflies in different colours. You can use tissue paper scraps from presents. Fold a strip of tissue paper in a concertina style. Use a piece of thread to tie around the middle and then open up your ‘wings’. The thread could be tied to a painted stick for your little one to play with, or hang a handful of butterflies to a larger stick or hoop which can become a mobile above a table or bed. 

Make a Butterfly Wall

I’ve seen lots of photos of butterfly walls. It’s such a beautiful way of capturing the magic and awe of migrating butterflies. You can use the butterflies that are included in Field Guide to Butterflies or you can draw and cut out your own. Make lots of butterflies. Slightly fold them in half so that they begin to look like butterflies, rather than flat paper. Use tac to stick their body to the wall or window and keep going! Soon you’ll have a whole migration of butterflies flying across the room. 

Butterfly Matching Game From Field Guide

Butterflies are such a lovely way to grasp symmetry. There are examples of symmetry everywhere but butterflies are surely the most beautiful example. I created a butterfly matching game, but you can create your own if you don’t have Field Guide to Butterflies. Simply print out pictures of butterflies (or make your own). Cut out the butterfly, either around the wings or as a card, then cut down the middle of each body. You will have a set of different butterflies and your child will have fun mixing and matching the wings. 

You could take it a step further and play it as a matching memory game by laying the cards down and picking them up to see if they match the butterfly you have in your hand. 

Make Butterfly Wings

Use an old sheet (light fabrics work best) and cut out the shape of your butterfly wings. You could do this by having your child lay on the fabric and roughly drawing where the wings would go, or by measuring your child’s ‘wing span’ from wrist to wrist. 

Now decorate your wings you could do this by hammering plants onto fabric, painting the fabric, dying it with natural dye, or using crayons to draw onto it. 

Afterward add ribbons or elastic to each tip to go around your child’s wrists. The centre can be attached to your child’s neckline with a peg. Or you can create extra ties to go around their shoulders.