2nd grade Symmetrical Butterfly Paintings

2nd graders at Valerius, Olmsted and Jensen recently wrapped up their Symmetrical Butterflies Paintings. During the first two days of this unit, students learned about symmetry and how to draw the basic parts of a butterfly. Next, they folded a piece of drawing paper in half and drew only half of a butterfly, complete with a thorax, abdomen, head, wings and antennae. Once the body parts were completed and in proportion, 2nd graders drew creative and detailed designs in their butterfly's wings. Students then traced their drawings on the back side using natural light through a windowpane to help them see their original designs. Once they were finished, they had completely symmetrical butterflies! On days 3 - 5, we learned how to draw garden backgrounds with overlapping flowers, painted our butterflies, used crayon and watercolor on our floral backgrounds, and put it all together by cutting and gluing our butterflies to our crayon resist backgrounds.