Valentine’s Day Symmetry that They’ll Never, Ever Forget!

Symmetry isn’t really all that difficult of a concept, that is, until my kids get to a test and mix it up with the word “congruent.” For
the last few years, I have been doing this lesson with my kids during Valentine’s Day week and they have a ton of fun.

First, you’ll need some bottles of paint. Usually I buy the big bottles of red, a few different pinks, white, and some of my kids like to add a little black to their hearts, too. The colors don’t really matter, but it makes things a bit more fun.

1. Using construction paper, have the students fold it in half and cut the heart out.
2.  Once students open the heart, have them splatter some paint on only one side. I always have the students put their heart on a paper towel.
3. Close up the heart and place another paper towel on the heart, squishing the paint towards the edges of the heart. Once fully squished, open up the heart. 99.999% of the time, you have a great looking symmetrical heart.

Let the paint dry and you have some great works of art. My kids always have a blast and never forget what symmetry is EVER AGAIN (at least for the rest of the school year)!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-Dan M.