Cutting Work

If you have a child in my classroom, chances are you have recently been gifted with some teeny tiny ziploc baggies full of teeny tiny pieces of colored paper.  That's because I introduced cutting work this week.  This is an immensely popular work that will remain on the art shelf all year.  I wrote a detailed post about this work last summer.  You can click here to read it.  Then you will understand what your child is bringing home.

Many times, the Montessori preschool classroom is the first place where young children are allowed to use scissors.  Herein lies the popularity of this activity.  You can easily set up a cutting activity for your young children at home.  Keep in mind that it is best to have a good pair of child-sized scissors.  I prefer the Fiskars brand.  Also keep your cutting strips about 1 inch wide.  This allows children who are just learning to use scissors to successfully cut through the strip in one "bite".  Cutting larger pieces of paper requires that children cut and then slide the scissors forward to make the next cut.  This is a much more difficult skill.  Also be sure your child has their thumb in the smaller hole and that they cut with the blade edge of the scissors pointing away from them and their thumb on top.  It is amazing the interesting contortions they will try to use when they first start to cut.  And it's important to step in and gently help them learn the "right' way so they will more quickly experience success with cutting.  So.........closely supervise your child when they are learning to use scissors.  Experiment with different weights of paper.  Lightweight cardstock strips often provide some nice stability for beginning scissors users.  Construction paper is often too flimsy and can be frustrating.  I use colored copy paper and it works pretty well. You could also try having your child roll a playdough snake and have them cut through it with their scissors.  If you click on the link provided above you can see how to set up a cutting activity in your home or classroom setting.

I snapped a few photos of children using scissors in my classroom today.  In the photo below, the child is holding the scissors in the correct position for cutting.  You can see that she is getting pretty close to the fingers on her "holding" hand.  Sometimes they are so focused on opening and closing the scissors in their cutting hand that they don't think to move their holding hand along the strip as they cut closer to it.  This child is also holding the strip at the top.  When I assist children, I usually help them hold the strip with their hand on the bottom of the strip. 

Comments

[Laura]

Thanks, Cathy! Ill hop over and check out your post.
Take care,
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Cathy aka The Attached Mama]

This was a great article. I found it very helpful. I linked to it from my blog. http://theattachedmama.blogspot.com/2010/07/pom-pom-sorting-and-cutting-activity.html

[Swapna]

As a parent, I am always jittery about letting my son cut. It gets me so cranky but I think your post has helped me see how it can actually help him grow his motor skills and creativity. The pics were useful too.

[Anne]

There was a lot of cutting snips going on in my classroom this week, too! Our lined snip paper looks the same as yours - color and everything!

[Kerry]

Yet another tip for things to do at home! Thank you! I will be running out and buying a kid sized pair of scissors this weekend for my little munchkin to cut with.

I like how your strips have different kinds of cutting practice (straight lines on the yellow, diagonal on the purple, etc.) Another important piece of the puzzle for those of us who are unimaginitive!

[Anna]

Thanks for this! DS started school yesterday and refused the colouring/cutting activity. I'm going to try this with him.

[Stacey Crease]

Thanks for the tips! My son just started preschool in Denver and this information is most welcome. I'll set up a cutting station at home for him.