About the Wrapping Paper Activity The Activity The Wrapping Paper activity which goes with this module, rather than the module, is the main focus. The activity is creating wrapping paper with symmetric designs using sponges and poster paints in frames. (Photo). The frames are in shapes which tile (those shown are squares and triangles). The frames provide a means of keeping the picture spacing uniform, allowing uniform rotation angles, and allowing accurate reflections (turning the sponge and frame upside-down). A less messy alternative would be to use a set of two-sided stamps and some stamp pads. You will need to create your own set of stamps because those commercially available don't come with two sides to allow reflections. In either case children can experiment with flips, slides, and turns without any tedious measuring. Materials paper poster paints plates to hold the paint sponges in frames paper towels and water for cleaning up kids OR paper two-sided stamps stamp pads Option 1: making the sponges in frames I made the sponges in frames by taking heavy cardboard (medium matte from a craft and hobby store or the cardboard which backs pads of paper), cutting 1" wide strips, and folding the strips into squares and equilateral triangles. I covered the cardboard strips with clear packaging tape and then taped the ends together. The packaging tape protects the cardboard from water so that you can wash and reuse the sponges. I used a heavy needle and quilting thread to suspend the sponges in the center of the shape. There is enough slack in the thread that the sponge touches the paper. I taped the thread in place to keep the sponge from shifting, and covered the holes left by the needle with packaging tape. The diagram shows how the sponge is suspended in the frame. The blue lines are the thread and the green disk is the sponge. I made one empty square and one empty triangle for the children to mark a grid on the page before stamping pictures with the sponges. I made 14 frames, half triangles and half squares, with four different sponge shapes. Duplicate sponge frames made it possible to stamp the same pattern in different colors. The sponges are inexpensive and can be found at a typical craft and hobby store for about 20 cents each. The main cost is in the time and energy to assemble the frames. Option 2: making the two-sided stamps The materials you will need for this are some thin sheets of foam (1/8" thick) and some thick sheets of foam to serve as the backing for the stamp. Cut the thick foam into a number of 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" squares and a number of 1 1/2" equilateral triangles. Cut a pair of identical shapes from thin foam for each of the thick foam pieces. Glue one of them to one side of the foam square or triangle and glue the other to the other side of the foam square or triangle. The two sides should be mirror images of each other. The Module The middle panel of the module requires some cutting and rearranging of the printed material. Some of the figures don't fit on 8 1/2 by 11 paper. Written by Janet A. Dixon 12-7-01 Revised 1/10/06