Cutting Work

A few posts back, I wrote about the Necklace Work that I have out on the art shelf in my Montessori classroom.  As I mentioned in that  post, the necklace activity will be out all year with seasonal variations for the items to be strung.  Another activity that will always be out on the art shelf is the Cutting Activity.  This activity is pictured below.

From left to right on the shelf are:  a basket with scissors, blue baskets to hold the materials (I am now thinking I will move those to the far left), a divided holder with the cutting strips, and a basket with small ziploc baggies.  When I had this work out in my previous Montessori school, we used envelopes instead of baggies to contain the pieces.  However, when I visited a Montessori school earlier this summer, I saw that the teacher had put out little baggies.  I found these at Hobby Lobby.  They are intended to hold jewelry and I was able to buy a few hundred for only a few dollars.

To do this activity, the child takes a blue basket and places scissors, cutting strips, and a baggie inside.  They then take this to a table.  As they cut the pieces, the basket can catch the cuttings.  When finished, the pieces are placed into the baggie which can be taken home.  The aim of this activity is to practice cutting.........period.  Therefore, the product of this activity is a lot of little pieces of paper.  For young children who have had limited experience with scissors, it is much easier to cut through a narrow strip than to cut out a shape from a larger piece of paper.  They can easily succeed at this activity because they need only to make one complete snip to cut through the paper. 

When I previously taught in a Montessori classroom my three-year-olds LOVE LOVE LOVED this work.  Many of them chose to do it first every day and spent quite a bit of time mastering their cutting skills.  I introduced this activity to my three-year-old son earlier this summer and was surprised at how long he worked on it.  His concentration was deep and intense as he tried to master a completely new skill.  How wonderful it is in a Montessori environment to be allowed to spend an extended amount of time perfecting skills and learning without being told it's time to stop and do the next thing!

   

An extension of this activity is to have children use their cuttings to make a collage on a piece of construction paper using glue.  I have also suggested to parents that they could save the cuttings to use as confetti when they send cards to family members.  I don't know if anyone ever did this.  However, I think it could be fun to receive a card with handmade confetti.  I  guess the fun factor depends on the recipient.  I assume that most grandparents would appreciate a card with confetti made by their grandchild; daddy's boss---------maybe not so much!  :0)

Comments

[Kathy Fagundes]

Love this idea with a 2 & 3 year old in the house.

[Alex Daley]

I have also made use of the old computer paper. You know the paper that has two sides that you need to tear off with all the holes in them. These make great cutting strips with the holes marking where to make the next cut. I love your blog. Thanks.

[Pecos Blue]

This is just what I am looking for. Thank you for the ideas.

[Ginnette]

I made this for my kids, a 2 and 4 year old. I barely had this on the shelf for 30 seconds! My 2 year old LOVE it! Once she cut up the strips we put them in a little bag and I have it on the art shelf for her to make a collage when she wishes to.
By the way, I had no idea about that special glue bottle or glue cap you mentioned in the gluing post. I am investing on that today!

[Michie]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and also enjoys cutting. A few months ago I made a "cutting box" for her, tossing in pieces of paper with different textures, colors, and patterns. I like the idea of having some strips ready to go for her - she loves to cut too and would probably enjoy this!

[Michie]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and also enjoys cutting. A few months ago I made a "cutting box" for her, tossing in pieces of paper with different textures, colors, and patterns. I like the idea of having some strips ready to go for her - she loves to cut too and would probably enjoy this!

[Michie]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and also enjoys cutting. A few months ago I made a "cutting box" for her, tossing in pieces of paper with different textures, colors, and patterns. I like the idea of having some strips ready to go for her - she loves to cut too and would probably enjoy this!

[Michie]

My daughter is 3 1/2 and also enjoys cutting. A few months ago I made a "cutting box" for her, tossing in pieces of paper with different textures, colors, and patterns. I like the idea of having some strips ready to go for her - she loves to cut too and would probably enjoy this!

[Wilma Kelly]

Hi Laura,

We just read your blog and enjoyed hearing about the things you
planned for the boys on your 'road trip' to Iowa City. What a great
job you did preparing the boys for their long ride. It's nice you
have some activities left for the trip to Des Moines.

We also enjoy hearing about the things you are making for your classroom. What lucky children will be there to enjoy all your efforts!! We'll talk to you later.

Love, Mom and Dad

[Michelle]

Very organized way to encourage cutting! Do you happen to have a copy of the cutting sheet available to download or do you draw the lines and copy/cut them?

[Amber]

Hi! I have just recently subscribed to your blog :) I loved this post! In fact I immediately grabbed my materials and made us a set of this cutting strips! My little man is 2 1/2 and has just graduated to "real" scissors (kid safe ones of course) and is loving it. I had observed that he was snipping all the way around a piece of paper so I had started giving him smaller bits but I think these will be *perfect* - thanks!

[Sarah]

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your blog. I am a homeschooler with a new interest in Montessori and I love to read about others and their ideas. We have this activity a lot for my new cutter (aka 2 yr old), reminds me I should get it all out again for him to see/use

[Lindart]

Any suggestions on how to keep the little ones who are just cutting snippets away from the pieces with lines and zig zags that they also cut into snippets? A never ending problem in my class, and I spend so much time making the ones with lines and zig zags just to see them in snippets. I think this year I will put each different set into a drawer, and the child will know which drawer/s he can choose from. Perhaps if the other ones are out of sight, they won't choose them.