Butterfly Painting

A butterfly painting is easy for kids of all ages to do. Very young children will be surprised when they see how the same paint pattern "magically" appears on the other side of the page.

Materials Needed:

  • White construction paper
  • Many colors of paint
  • Paint brushes (optional)

Preparation
None needed.

In Class

  • Pass out the white paper and have the students fold it in half, and then open it back up.
  • Tell the kids that they can only paint on one side of the paper. Let them paint.
  • When they are finished painting, have them fold the paper in half again and press down all over the paper. This will make a mirror image of what they have painted.
Make sure that they do this while the paint is still wet. Otherwise, it won't copy onto the other side.
  • If desired, add glitter.
  • When paint is dry, fold the paper in half again and cut it into the shape of a butterfly. If you want, you can cut out a butterfly body from green construction paper to put in the middle.

Note: With very young children, I find that it comes out "prettier" if you make sure to take it away before they have a chance to add too much paint and make it brown. Just give them a clean sheet of paper if they want to keep painting.

Love,
Shannon Sensei

Click here to go from the Butterfly Painting Page to the Main Craft Page.