Materials:
Soda straws
Strips of construction paper, 1’ x 9”
Child-size scissors
Paper plate or small tray to catch snips
Directions: Cutting for preschoolers can be quite a daunting task. But you can lessen the awkwardness and frustration many children feel by breaking the task down into simple steps. The action required for cutting is an “open/shut” movement of the dominant hand. Show your child how to hold his hand with fingers straight out, perpendicular to his body. Practice opening and shutting the hand, bringing the thumb together with the pointer and middle finger. Saying “open-shut, open-shut” while doing the motion helps cement the action in thought. Next, help fit the scissors to your child’s hand. The thumb should be in the top hole; the index and middle finger should be in the bottom. I like to use children’s scissors I can purchase from a dollar store that have a spring action that helps force the scissors open after each snip.
Once your child is manipulating the scissors adequately, have him hold a soda straw in his other hand. Hold the straw in the middle. Now try the open-shut motion on the straw. Encourage him to keep his thumb up! Be aware that when your child snips the straw, the pieces will go flying! That makes it especially fun! Encourage your child to continue snipping the straw in little pieces, helping him move his hand down the straw as he snips. Your child might enjoy going around with a pipe cleaner, picking up the straw pieces and threading them!
If your child wants to try more, give him a strip of construction paper or card stock. You want to use a paper that’s somewhat stiff. Keeping his thumb up, snip the strip into little pieces. Make sure the strip goes into the scissor blades so the snip cuts clear through the paper. Sometimes, if the paper isn’t far enough in the scissors, the child snips a little and rips the rest. You want a clean cut!
Cutting with scissors is an acquired skill that takes practice! Be encouraging and keep the practice sessions short. Be patient! Cutting with scissors is something adults can do because we’ve had years of practice. Your child is just beginning! Gradually, you can increase the width of the paper strips so it takes multiple snips to cut through the strip. Before long, your child will be able to hold the paper and cut along a line. When learning to use scissors, persistence pays!
