Are you looking for a fun way to teach your kids how to use scissors? Here’s what we use in our homeschool…
Beginning at age three or so, we begin using cutouts to practice scissor skills.
In our house, cutouts are coloring pages that have been cut out. The characters can then be played with.
You see, several years ago, our oldest daughter Jayme began cutting some things out. She printed off various Pokemon coloring pages, colored them and cut them out. During quiet time, she used these to act out Pokemon battles.
Jeffrey saw her playing and wanted his own. Except he wanted Mario cutouts. So we printed a bunch for him.
I discovered that these pages were perfect for cutting practice! If they cut through the picture, we could just print and color another one. Except, they really were motivated not to cut an arm or a leg off. It wasn’t just a worksheet for cutting practice, it was a cutout to play with!
Teaching Scissor Skills Without a Battle
So the scissor skills were eagerly practiced. We use the non-dominate hand as the “driving hand” to steer the paper. The kids have all enjoyed that. My younger kids are learning how to use scissors, and then they have lots of play time with them.
As the little guys get older, they watch the bigger kids playing with cutouts, and they want their own. We happily print them off and set them at the table with a pair of blunt scissors.
It’s amazing how fast they learn, if they’re given the opportunity to practice.
Like everything else in life, scissor skills just take practice. Let your kids practice a lot, and don’t worry about them messing up. Teach clean up right along with scissor skills to keep the house from being overrun with scraps.
Cutting is a great way to encourage fine motor skills as well!
What They Do with the Cutouts
Once these pages are cutout, my kids use them in several ways. They play act with different characters, build them houses, combine worlds, and sort them in all kinds of fun ways.
They’ve spread them across the living room before during Quiet Time. And they will play with them for hours. It is incredible!
How to Store Cutouts
My kids use file folders to keep their cutouts in. Some have multiple folders, for each type of character they cut.
Then they store the cutouts in their school drawers. When it’s time to play they pull them out.
Again, the nice thing is if they get ruined, I just print them another page and they color it. And get more cutting practice!
When your kids are learning how to use scissors, keep it fun. And low-key. Definitely don’t stress about mistakes. They have time to master this skill.
Are you going to print some coloring pages for your kids to practice cutting with? Do you think they’d enjoy them?
This post was first published on Aug 28, 2015. It’s been updated.
