Tag: coffee filter

Starburst Symmetry

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Starburst SYmmetry (10)

This quick project was a fantastic way to show Travis circular symmetry, slightly different from symmetry with two halves as we’ve explored late in symmetrical socks and paper doll projects. There was a lot of need for precision with this activity, so I was proud of Travis’s concentration level.

To start, fold a coffee filter in half. Then in half again, then in half again! Travis took the task of folding and making a good crease each time quite seriously. At the end, your filter will be the shape of an ice cream cone.

Starburst Symmetry (1)

Next he spritzed the filters with water until damp on each side, but not soaking.

Starburst Symmetry (2)

Use marker to make dots all over the filter, counting to three for each dot. This was a great little lesson in patience and also not scribbling (as he’d done recently for a different type of coffee filter project).

Starburst Symmetry (3)

Flip the filter over – wow! His pattern was waiting there on the other side.

Starburst Symmetry (4)

I showed him how to go over his dots again – slowly and carefully – to make the final result a little more clear.

Starburst Symmetry (5)

Now he opened it up for a big reveal. “Wow!”

Starburst Symmetry (6)

He wanted to know how the pattern had gotten there, but understood once I explained that the marker went through all 6 layers of the filter, resulting in perfect symmetry in all 6 segments.

Starburst Symmetry (8)

I loved how his pattern made a purple diamond, unintentinoally.

Starburst Symmetry (11)

These are beautiful hung on the wall or fridge once they dry!

Starburst Symmetry (9)

Coffee Filter Globes

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Coffee Globes (6)

Earth Day is tomorrow, April 22! I wanted to help Travis start to understand what protecting our planet is all about, so we made this craft today in anticipation of the holiday. You’ll celebrate Earth Day while teaching your little ones how they can help!

First, make your Earth. We scribbled in green and blue marker on a plain coffee filter, and as Travis worked I talked about how the Earth contained more water than land, so we needed more blue.

Coffee Globes (2)

Then came his favorite part – spritzing his globe with water to bleed the colors! From there we left it to dry overnight.

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The next morning, I traced Travis’s hands on black construction paper.

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We glued the coffee filter to a piece of paper, leaving half of it above the sheet. Glue the hands below, and now your child is helping to “hold up the Earth.”

Coffee Globes (5)

As a final touch, you can talk about simple gestures even kids can do (not wasting water, helping to pick up trash…) and brainstorm a sentence to add to the blank part of your paper.