Christmas Symmetry Activities and Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets

This is Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities for Homeschoolers! You can check out the other posts in the series to find easy, hands-on math lesson ideas for your homeschool this month! Today I’m excited to be sharing some fun hands-on Christmas symmetry activities! This post also includes free Christmas symmetry worksheets to download so you can use these activities in your homeschool!

These activities were designed for kids in kindergarten, who are just being introduced to the idea of symmetry. They can be adapted for kids from preschool through 2nd grade using the suggestions included in this plan!

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What You Need:

• This Christmas symmetry free printable (Get it below!)

• Several rubber bands
• A small handheld mirror
• Some small objects that have at least one line of symmetry
• A package of candy canes or other small objects that can you can use to make symmetry designs

Optional Items to Make it More Fun:

• LEGOS: For a fun hands-on extension to the symmetry activities, consider using legos and a large lego baseplate to make symmetrical designs.

Prepare:

• Gather your supplies.
• Print the symmetry mat. You may want to print it on cardstock or laminate it to make it more sturdy.

How to Use the Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets:

Activity #1: Exploring Symmetry with a Mirror

In this activity, your child will be exploring the idea of symmetry and lines of symmetry. Explain to your child that when something is symmetrical, it has 2 halves that are a mirror image of each other. You can use the mirror to check if items are symmetrical by placing the mirror directly on top of the line of symmetry. Look in the mirror to see if the object looks the same. If it does, you have found a line of symmetry. Invite your child to explore objects around the house with the mirror, and to look for other objects that are symmetrical.

Activity #2: Finding Lines of Symmetry

This activity introduces the idea of the line of symmetry, which is the imaginary line down the middle of an object that divides it into two mirror image halves. You can help kids “see” the line of symmetry by wrapping a rubber band around the object at the line of symmetry. Give your child a few rubber bands and some symmetrical objects to practice this skill. Your child might enjoy exploring around the house to look for symmetrical objects and then using rubber bands to mark the line of symmetry on each.

Activity #3: Creating Symmetrical Designs

For this activity, your child will use the grid printable to create a design that is symmetrical on each side of the line of symmetry. For Christmastime, it is fun to make the designs out of candy canes- although just about any object will work. You could make a design on one side of the line and ask your child to complete the design with a symmetrical pattern on the other half. Or you could ask your child to create the whole design by themselves. A fun variation on this activity is to use Lego bricks. Get a large baseplate and use bricks to make a line down the middle of the baseplate- this will be the line of symmetry. Then, use bricks to create a design on one half of the baseplate, and a symmetrical pattern on the other half.

Adapt the Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets for Your Kids:

For Younger Kids:

Use more exploration and less vocabulary:

With the youngest kids, focus more on exploring symmetry with the mirror. It is ok to explore the concept without labeling it with all the vocabulary terms as well. You can introduce the concept of symmetry using the mirror, and then teach it again in a few months or next year with the correct vocabulary words.

Create simpler designs:

For younger kids, create more simple designs on the symmetry grid.

For Older Kids:

Create more challenging designs:

For older kids, create intricate designs on one half of the symmetry grid. Challenge your kids to create a symmetrical design on the other half!

Add an extra challenge:

Use tweezers or a spoon to place items on the symmetry grid to add a fine motor practice to this activity.

Create a 3-dimensional design:

Use Lego bricks to build a 3 dimensional design on one half of a baseplate. Challenge your child to build a symmetrical design on the other half.

Extensions: Other kinds of symmetry

This activity focuses on reflection symmetry, which is the kind most people think of when they think of symmetry. But there are other kinds: translation, rotation, and glide reflection. Introduce these other kinds of symmetry to your kids by looking for objects in your house that have each kind of symmetry.

What Your Kids Will Learn with these Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets

This activity is a fun hands-on way to introduce the idea of symmetry to your child. When introducing a new concept like symmetry, it is important to give kids a chance to explore it in a hands-on way. The mirror and rubber band activities will allow kids to look for lines of symmetry in familiar objects, which will help them connect this new idea to what they already know.

As you are exploring symmetry with your child, you can introduce the following vocabulary words:

• Asymmetrical- an object that can’t be divided into two mirror image halves
• Line of symmetry- the imaginary line through the middle of the object that divides it into two symmetrical halves
• Symmetrical- an object that can be divided into two mirror image halves

Get the Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets Printable!

Fill out the form below to get your copy of the Free Christmas Symmetry Worksheets printable. I’ll also send the other lessons in the Christmas Math games and activities series straight to your inbox. All your math plans for the month are done!

Get all the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities Lessons!

This huge 200+ page PDF is stuffed with hands-on activities and printables to complete 12 fun Christmas themed math lessons! Each day includes complete directions and printables, plus bonus tips, extension activities, and worksheets to reinforce the concepts your kids are learning. This huge bundle includes all the activities and printables you will need to complete the 12 Days of Christmas math games and activities, plus bonus worksheets and extension activities that won’t be included in the free downloads! Harness that Christmas excitement to make homeschooling fun this season with this easy-to-use resource!

These lessons were designed for kids in preschool through 1st grade. Each lesson includes adaptations to customize it for your child’s unique needs- or so that siblings can do the activities together!

Learn more about this amazing resource here!

Christmas STEM Bundle- Save 30%

Are you looking for hands-on science experiments for your homeschool too? I’ve combined my Christmas math and science resources into a huge STEM bundle! And when you purchase both resources together you can save 30%! Learn more here.

Check out the other posts in the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities series here to find more fun activity ideas for your homeschool!