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8-28-00 Question 41
Dear Preschool Teacher,
When should you start teaching a child to use scissors? I
see some activities using scissors and am not sure if that would be age
appropriate. Someone told me a good first step would be to have them cut
play dough first. I have always cut the patterns out for them and just had
them paste them.
Signed,
Are scissors appropriate?
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
We just let the children explore this on their own.
We leave scissors out once a week and if they want to use them we let them..
Even the twos use them. With close adult supervision of course!
Jenny
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
I feel kids as low as 3 can explore scissors.
Free activity with supervision.
Maureen
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
I feel children should start cutting as soon as the
parents have the time to sit down and work with them. It is amazing at
our school in the 3's class how many of the children do not know even how to
hold the scissors. We use the fiskars. I try to buy round for the younger
class and pointed for the older class. They seem to work best and can be
used by a left or right handed child. Play dough is a good thing to start
out with especially if the child is just learning. I also like to use
the packing peanuts. The children can use the scissors to cut
the peanuts in two. We put these in out sand/ water table and the children
can use this as one of their centers. When I have a child who can not cut
well, I encourage the parent to let them cut out the coupons in the Sunday
newspaper. Practice and practice is the most important thing. I
have a cutting project everyday.
Brenda
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Just as an aside... it
has been found that Styrofoam packing peanuts are not safe for young
children and we no longer use them in our center. Evidently, if
ingested, they do not show up in X-Rays and can cause blockages and
serious health problems for the child. I'm sorry, I cannot quote the
source, but it is information that was circulated through our Provincial
Licensing Ministry some time ago.
Regards,
Shelley
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
I use scissors with my 21/2 year olds. I
just don't expect great results. I also use a cutting pool. My
kids sit in a wading pool and cut scrap paper into tiny pieces , I dump the
pool once a month. My daughter started using scissors at home at 22
months with close supervision.
Sherri
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
I teach 3-4-5's and we do a lot of work with
scissors. I have the younger ones start out cutting strips (sometimes
we pretend we are cutting wood for a fire and we pile it up and sit around
the "campfire".) We cut up paper and envelopes and move on
to shapes. I have found that within a very short time, all the
different ages are cutting side-by-side. I have had really good
success with scissor skills. I think it is because they are exposed to
cutting everyday.
Jan
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
I think that by 3 years old they are able to learn to
cut with scissors. You could draw either straight lines or curvy lines on a
piece of paper and they can practice cutting by following the lines.
Lisa
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
In my Daycare Center, we have very blunt safety
scissors which the toddlers play with. Yes, mostly with play dough,
but some try to cut paper too! Unfortunately, they also like to put them in
their mouths or poke their friend with them too, so scissor times are
closely supervised!!!
Generally, by age 3, many kids begin snipping and cutting
randomly.
Our 4's enjoy more structured cutting activities.
We prepare sheets for them with thick black lines for them to cut along.
We begin with straight lines and then progress to waves, curves, zig zags
and shapes as their eye-hand co-ordination is perfected. Cutting out
magazine pictures and catalogues is always popular too.
Like everything in child development, some younger kids
become proficient with scissors at a young age, while older kids take longer
to refine their skills!
Regards,
Shelley
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Are scissors
appropriate?
Cutting play dough is a good first step to learning
to use scissors, and playing with play dough itself is good for small muscle
development. Another excellent activity is to tear paper in small
pieces -- this is usually easier than using the scissors and works those
small muscles.
I try to have the children do quite a bit of cutting in
my 4 year old class, starting with straight lines and progressing.
I've found that many 3's are not ready for cutting on a line, but may be
ready to cut pieces or fringe.
Since you will want to closely supervise the cutting
anyway, I would recommend getting good quality sharp scissors -- like
Fiskars. It is frustrating to try to cut with scissors that won't!
:-)
Kris
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
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