The twins saw how their jiejie enjoys doing craft and cuts paper all day long. They bugged me for her scissor for some cutting experience and I managed to find some toddler-safe scissors from Daiso for their use.
Their passion for cutting was ignited after they picked up the scissors to try cutting up some leftover air-dried clay that their sister had long forgotten.
Importance of Cutting with Scissors for Young Kids
It is a prelude to writing. The motion of cutting builds the muscles on their little fingers by separating their thumb from their 4 other fingers, and subsequently pressing it down to cut.
Cutting is hard work for them. They have to hold the scissors on one hand and the material on the other hand. And if they don’t hold the scissors in an upright position, they probably cannot snip the material into two.
From my own experience with my older kids, training up the tiny finger muscles is paramount for building their stamina for artwork and writing for long periods.
A lot of focus is involved in cutting too. Eyes and hands are to coordinate, and as they proceed to cut longer lines, they will be training to control the movement of their eyeballs as they track the lines for cutting. This is another essential skills to build before they can start to read.
Today, my toddlers cut as a form of quiet play before sleep. Snipping pieces of old magazine papers into tiny geometrical shapes soothe them and prepare them for bedtime.
Our Toddler Scissors Work
First Step – Clay
We started off with using blunt scissors from Daiso to snip air-dried clays. However, similar to paper, these clays are no longer usable after the toddlers snip them into small pieces.
I went on experimenting using different types of clay and discovered Crayola Model Magic is perfect for cutting. This clay may be air-dried if left in the open for a couple of days. So for the first couple of days, we focus our play on kneading the dough. Thereafter, we would store it in a ziplock bag to maintain its softness.
As the clay gradually dries up, it has a texture similar to foam paper when we flatten it with a rolling pin. This texture is perfect for toddlers to hone their cutting skills.
And unlike paper, there is no mess to bin. We simply roll back the snipped pieces into a ball. As the Crayola Model Magic does not stain the furniture and their little fingers like other clays, I leave the toddlers to play independently using toddler-safe scissors without worrying whether they will cut themselves or mess up the house. Click onto this link for my review of the Crayola Magic Model. You can get hold of some from this link to try out.
Next … Toddler Crafts
We got bored of cutting clay after a while. Since we were on the animal theme for the second month of our homeschooling, we naturally moved on to cutting easy shapes for the toddlers’ animal crafts.
Our first craft was a paper plate lion. We kept the shapes simple. The toddlers cut and pieced their animal crafts together. With so much satisfaction gained from their craft work, the toddlers went on and on making more animal crafts for the next couple of weeks.
They either cut strips for whiskers or the lion mane, or irregular patches for the giraffes, or part of the animal bodies. We avoided curves at this stage. It was reserved for mummy to handle.
Moving on to Curves and Shapes
I learned from the cutting activities book that we should gradually introduce cutting curved lines to the little ones. So our curves went from gentle to steep and undulate in different degrees. We are still practising our curves as it is really tough for the toddlers. Moreover, the straight lines are work-in-progress too.
We like to use Let’s Cut Paper from Kumon*. Every picture is so adorable, and we can use the cut pieces to form an artwork. The indication line is thick, giving the little ones a lot of room to practice independently and with pride.
Melissa and Doug’s Scissor Skill Activity Book* is superb too. The cut pieces can be used to make a snowman, play a matching game, etc.
On days when I am too lethargic to do much, I merely draw some shapes on some recycled papers for some simple toddler scissors work. It is almost effortless.
Choosing the Right Scissors
We started from the red pair of scissors on the left. It is from Daiso and does not cut fingers at all. The orange pair comes along with the Melissa and Doug Scissor Skill Book. I find it sharper than the Daiso pair but still safe for the toddlers to play with cutting independently.
Then I got the pink pair from Amazon*. It is not something that I will leave the toddlers alone to play with independently, though this is the pair that works really well all the time. The toddlers get frustrated with the orange pair at times as the scissor won’t cut if held slanted.
Hoped I have shared something useful here. Does your child play with scissors too? Feel free to share your experience in the comment box below.
If you wish, you can get some of the mentioned supplies from the links below.
Round Tip Metal Scissors*; Let’s Cut Paper from Kumon*; Melissa and Doug’s Scissor Skill Activity Book*
Don’t want to miss my posts? Subscribe here to get updates from me.
*Contains affiliate links
Other posts that you may like:
Discovering Playground: Science Centre KidsSTOP
Homeschooling the Twins – 25 months old
