Scissor Skills: Snipping Flowers and Leaves

Noah is four, and he wants to cut everything!

I remember a certain other small child with the same passion, and she ended up cutting her hair on several occasions!

I am kinda keen for Noah to be so busy cutting appropriate things that he won’t have the urge to cut anything he shouldn’t be cutting! So with that in mind I’ve been offering him lots and lots of opportunities to practice his scissor skills.

Today’s cutting practice involved a big tub of flowers, leaves and grass!

I simply collected some flowers and foliage from our overgrown garden, whatever I could find growing in abundance. I filled the big container (we use this plastic under-bed storage container for lots of sensory and small world play) with stems of grass, mint, clover, calendula, and daisies.

I added a few small bowls for the snippings and a jar for flower arranging, and of course some scissors.

You might have noticed that our scissors have eye balls!

I hot glued some googly eyes onto a pair of child sized scissors a while a go to help Noah remember to put his thumb through the ‘eye hole’ and hold the eyes (and his thumb) up. It’s helped him co-ordinate and control his cutting without reminders so he feels more confident and capable.

This is the sort of activity that I leave out for a couple of days, that way Noah can revisit it when he has a moment or when he thinks of a new way to play.

I imagine we’ll add some fresh flowers and other items to snip during the week. Perhaps some paper strips, straws, or junk mail.

When Noah is a little more skilled with the scissors we might try this simply cutting activity – Making Snowflakes and Sunbursts.

Have you got a child who is learning to master scissors?
Have you got any great tips or cutting activities to share?