Counting. ABCs. Coloring. Sharing. These are all objectives we know preschoolers need to learn. And I dare say that most parents have a vague idea about how to help their child learn each of these too. Maybe it’s a song or a show or just some time spent together.
But what about using scissors? Many parents seem filled with more questions about how to help their child. What fingers go where? How do you hold the paper and the scissors? How do you turn the paper? There’s not exactly a homeschool step-by-step scissor cutting curriculum out there!
It’s a skill we just know but when faced with the challenge of teaching a wiggly, eager three year old how to do it, well, it just seems closer to rocket science.
First Steps
The Right Kind of Scissors
The number one thing to remember is NO SHARP SCISSORS. Yes, it seems pretty obvious but it must be said. There are a variety of different types of safety scissors (a name for scissors with blunt edges) but not a right or wrong answer. Check out this article from Play Teach Repeat. She puts different types of safety scissors to the test!
Hand Position
Most scissors will have two holes – either two oval holes or one round and one oval hole. Have your preschooler place their thumb through the top hole and then their middle and index finger through the bottom hole.
Often times, a child will try and cut by flipping their hand upside down. When Liam was little, I liked to draw a smiley face or place a sticker on his cutting thumbnail to offer him a reminder to keep his hand in that position. And it worked like a charm!
Begin Cutting Anything…Kind Of
When Liam first became interested in scissors, I bought him the bluntest kind I could find (like these from Amazon) and then let him go to town cutting all different types of items.
Cutting these different types of materials enabled Liam to gain strength in his hand and begin practicing his hand-eye coordination. He was not focused on following a set line and becoming frustrated when he couldn’t turn the paper AND open and close the scissors.
He may not have realized that cutting all of his play dough into hundreds of pieces for me to clean up was a form of learning but it was!
Next Steps
Once Liam became bored (yes, that’s exactly what he told me one day), I knew he needed more of a challenge. He needed to learn to follow a set path, cut lines and different shapes. So I hunted for different types of activities and sheets that would help him.
I grew frustrated at printing a single sheet that he cut up in less than two minutes so I decided to buy a book. To my disappointment, though, the shapes in the book were much too small for his small hands to maneuver. And many of the activity sheets simply wanted him to cut a line – and let me just say that a black and white dotted line just did not hold his attention. I could tell he wanted MORE.
Not Just Any Workbook
This workbook takes the same types of worksheets that Liam was doing and gives them a “point”.
This book encourages the child to practice cutting straight lines by cutting hedgehog quills and tiger’s whiskers instead of simple straight lines on a page.
There are puzzles to be cut out and put together.
There are masks to be colored and cut out.
The book contains five sections each focusing on a more difficult scissor skill as well as other essential early-learning concepts.
This is a beginning activity to begin helping with your child’s hand-eye coordination.
This activity begins to hone in on the scissor cutting skills with small pieces and cuts while also reinforcing sorting skills.
This activity reinforces coloring skills, color names and one-to-one correspondence. Creative play is also encouraged by adding a stick and creating a mask!
This activity reinforces shapes and critical thinking skills.
You can print your own copies of these pages here!
Not Just for the Kids
Each section of this book has an introduction letting the parents know exactly what their preschooler will be learning in the following activities and how to best help them. While it is a workbook that could simply be handed to a child, it is best used with a parent and child working together.
And the Quick Tips though out the book are not to be missed!
Get Cutting!
This book is filled with 35 coloring, cutting and pasting activities. The challenges increase in difficulty and the engaging activities offer a great way to teach other essential early-learning skills such as animals, colors and shapes.
The puzzles, masks and picture creations offer an end goal for you little one to reach. When frustration sets in, simply remind them what is waiting for them if they finish the task!
Click the picture below to download three sample pages from the book. If you enjoy the activities, I encourage you to purchase your very own copy of this book!
Super cute cutting activities. My daughter is learning to cut now.
Yes! Both of my sons tried to flip their hand upside down. I thought it was something weird they only did lol. Great tip about the smiley face.
I am glad you found the tip helpful 🙂
I’ll have to download the sample pages of the book. Great activities!