Children need to learn how to use scissors before starting kindergarten. At our CEFA Early Learning schools, we introduce our young students to scissors by first offering material other than paper to cut, as cutting paper is more difficult. Once your child is comfortable using scissors, introduce this scissors practice sheet, which will challenge their fine motor skills. This sheet is designed to teach your child to work adeptly with scissors and move beyond just snipping or cutting in a straight line. Tip: if you print it on cardstock, it is easier than plain paper.
Best Ages for This Activity
Three to five
How to Make It
You will need
- A colour printer
- Cardstock paper (you can use regular paper too)
- Scissors that are safe for your child
- The free printable game I made for you: print me
Let’s get started
- Print one copy of the game on cardstock paper
- Cut the hearts individually
- Place the hearts and the scissors in a bright space where your child can work
- Invite your child to “break” the hearts! Notice together that there are lines across each heart to indicate where to cut exactly.
Learning Opportunities
Children learn a lot by practicing cutting with scissors. They develop fine motor skills, which are essential for your child to learn to write. They also develop hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body at the same time while each hand (or side) is performing a different task). All of these skills are a fundamental part of our CEFA Early Learning writing curriculum, as well as our physical education curriculum.
Extended Learning Opportunities
- Once your child has cut all the hearts, you can mix up all the pieces and put the puzzles back together! Use tape to tape them back together – most children love using tape, and it is an excellent fine motor activity as well! Learning to match the hearts and to understand that two halves make a whole will also teach them math and problem-solving Plus, it’s always good to know how to fix a broken heart
- For added scissor skills practice, invite your child to cut the heart into more pieces and make an even more complex puzzle to solve (or several). Count the pieces and put them back together for added math and problem-solving
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