20 Fun Ways to Practice Scissor Skills

Recently I’ve been helping out with a class of 5 and 6 year olds, and over the last few weeks we’ve been working a lot on cutting.

Learning to use scissors can be a really tricky thing for some kids. There are a lot of prerequisite skills that a child needs before they can be successful with scissors – hand strength, eye hand co-ordination, visual tracking skills and more, and it takes time to develop these skills.

There is some great information about developing scissor skills, what to expect at different ages, and how to get started with scissors here and here, but one of the most important aspects of developing scissors skills is practice.

Kids need to cut things, a lot of things, all different things, again and again.

Luckily there are lots and lots of fabulous and interesting cutting activities to choose from – here are 20 of the best, most fun ways to practice scissor skills

 

For Beginning Cutters

There are no lines or instructions to follow in these activities, just lots of cutting, snipping, and practicing for those who are just beginning to master scissors.

Cutting Play Dough – a great first cutting activity from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Simple Strip Collage – strips of paper for little hands to cut and paste.

Cutting Straws – a simple cutting activity from Frogs Snails and Puppy Dogs Tails

Cutting Straws and Play Dough – combine straws, dough and scissors for loads of fun – from Mom Inspired Life

Cutting Practice Tray – quick, low mess set up for scissor skills

Snipping Sammy Scissors – a fun snipping activity for little hands from Lalymom

Sticky Cutting Tray – a low mess invitation to cut and stick.

Easy Scissor Practice – a simple activity to snip streamers from Sugar Aunts

Cutting flowers and leaves – a fun cutting activity and a super tip for getting the scissors the right way up.

Cutting Yarn – a great way to practice cutting and snipping – from Preschool Daze.

 

For More Skillful Cutters

These cutting activities include cutting along lines, following directions, and refining skills for those kids who are starting to get pretty good with scissors.

Scissor Practice Cards – make your own simple cutting cards. From Playful Learning.

Cutting Catalogs for a Book – make your own book! – From Hands on As We Grow

Making snowflakes and star bursts – an easy activity for those who need some cutting practice.

Circle Art – cutting circles takes practice! From Nuture Store.

Paper cut out chains – more than just paper dolls for those who need a challenge!

Paper feather craft – fringing is great for refining control – from A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Cutting Hair Styles – Using some free printables – not cutting real hair! From Krokotac

Crazy photo collage – cut out photos to make crazy pictures (free printable to get you started)

Mini Snowflakes – really work on control with little cuts and snips – from Sugar Aunts

Name Snowflakes – for kids who are really up for a challenge! From Childhood101

 
Have your kids mastered scissors?

I’d love to hear about your tips, tricks and favourite activities for scissor skills and cutting practice. Leave a me a comment and let me know how you are going with teaching scissor skills.