Artwork with Hidden Butterflies

This is a wonderful craft for your fourth and fifth graders. It will test their fine motor skills, as well as their ability to follow directions.

Supplies You'll Need
- White construction paper
- Tempera paint (in complimentary colors and white)
- Paint brushes for kids
- Ruler
- Pencil In preparation for the craft, create different shades of each color in shallow dishes. For example, if using red and blue (which are two colors that mix very well), fill your dishes accordingly: 1) three parts red, 2) three parts blue, 3) two parts red + one part blue, 4) one part red + two parts blue, 5) two parts red + one part white, 6) two parts blue + one part white, and any other combination you can think of! This will provide many different complimentary shades for the project.

Craft Directions:

  1. Use a ruler to create a one centimeter border around the edge of the paper.
  2. Section off the remaining part of the paper, leaving a one centimeter gap between each individual segment.
  3. Paint each section, using the different color mixtures.
  4. Fold a piece of craft paper in half, drawing one or more butterflies along the crease and cutting them out. Paint them in the same colors as the background.
  5. When the background has dried, adhere the butterflies to the paper, folding their wings up for a three-dimensional effect.

Kids Artists: Hidden butterflies