The Ultimate Guide to Cutting Activities for Preschoolers
Learning to use scissors is an important skill for preschoolers to work on but that doesn't mean it can't be fun! Cutting Activities for Preschoolers can range from simply snipping a blank piece of paper, to finding unique materials to cut or creating really cool crafts! We started working on scissor cutting with my preschooler around a year ago and we have had so much fun coming up with ideas together. I'm adding some affiliate links for easy shopping.
Below you will find information and ideas that I have been stowing away for any day we need a quick, fun distraction. These activities make my daughter concentrate as much as they make her smile! They are all perfect for young children.
Start at the top for great information about why kids need to learn scissor skills and tips for helping them succeed! Next you will find collections of cutting activities that talk about a variety of materials. After that you have loads of playful cutting activities for preschoolers.
I hope you find a lot of helpful information!
RELATED: Got Preschoolers? Grab this amazing Homeschool Preschool Curriculum (Created by a former teacher who also knows the stresses of staying home!)
Tips for Teaching Cutting Skills for Preschoolers
- Why Scissor Skills Are Important and How to Learn Them from Makeovers and Motherhood
- Tips for Teaching Cutting from Stay at Home Educator
- Choosing Scissors for your Preschooler from Teach Preschool
- Fine Motor Activities to Help Develop Cutting Skills from Creative Connections for Kids
- Get an Occupational Therapists's Point of View and Tons of great Scissor Skills Activities from the O.T. Toolbox
- Also check out this Scissor Skills Crash Course article from the O.T. Toolbox for some of her best scissors secrets
Variety of Materials for Cutting Practice
Paper is great but why not branch out and offer your kids something new and different to cut next time you get the scissors out! Each of these posts offers ideas of materials that brings something new to the cutting board!
- Cutting Skills Tray from Little Bins for Little Hands
- Birthday Themed Cutting Practice from Lalymom
- Five Scissors Skills Activities from Frugal Fun for Boys
- Cutting Skills Tray from Mama. Papa. Bubba Blog
- Practice Cutting Outside from No Time for Flashcards
- Five Halloween Themed Cutting Activities from Lalymom
Playful Cutting Activities for Preschoolers and Beyond
Cutting wavy and straight lines is a must if your kids are going to master scissors, but who says you can't put a fun spin on it?!
- Sammy Scissors Haircut from Lalymom
- Cutting Practice Spider from Lalymom
- DIY Cutting Practice Princess Doll by Lalymom
- Simple But Fun Newspaper Cutting Activity on Makeovers and Motherhood
- Monsters Need Haircuts Activity on Royal Baloo
- Cutting Skills Sun Craft from De Tout et De Rien
- Create a Cardboard City with Free Printable from Learn with Play at Home
- The Cutting Pool from Fun-a-Day
- An Out-of-this-world Space Themed Cutting Practice Printable from Sugar, Spice and Glitter
More fun ideas below!
- Montessori Inspired Cutting Activities from Living Montessori Now. I like how this has a variety of straight and curved lines.
- Fall Themed Cut Punch Paste Projects from Lalymom
- Using Scissors in Artwork from Red Ted Art
- Making Roadways from Wallpaper Samples from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds
- Shape Rockets from Toddler Approved
- Collection of Scissors Skills Activities from The OT Toolbox (Such an amazing resource by the way!)
- Scissors Adventures: Cutting Printables from Delia Creates
- Crafts and Activities for Cutting from Hands On As We Grow
Have I missed your favorite tips, tricks or cutting activity? Or do you have a pinterest board that focuses on cutting? Please let me know so I can keep this guide up to date! You can leave a message below, share it on my facebook page or use the email button at the top right of this page to send me an email!
If you are a Fine Motor Fan like I am, check out these posts for more great ideas:
Fine Motor Fridays
As we do each week, we are joining forces with the Fine Motor Fridays bloggers to bring you a collection of playful fine motor activities for kids. Please click through to see what the other bloggers have for you this week!
Sensory Nest Building from Still Playing School
Threading Buttons from School Time Snippets
Painting with Carrot Shavings from House of Burke
Colorful PomPom Toothpicks from Stir the Wonder
Loose Parts Play for Toddlers from Powerful Mothering
Play Dough Fine Motor Skills & Proprioception Sensory Input from Little Bins For Little Hands
Thanks for including our scissor skill post!
Wow – such a great resource – pinning!
Wow! SO many great ideas and activities for cutting skills. 🙂 Thanks so much for including our cutting pool here! Pinning and sharing . . .
I love it! As a kindergarten teacher, I was shocked by how many kids walked into my classroom never having held scissors before! Thank you!
What a fantastic resource, Laura! And thanks so much for including some of our cutting posts! I will be sharing & pinning this!
What a great resource – I shall feature it on my Hand Development post for this weeks Kids Co-op
What an amazing resource! Pinned the moment I saw it!
Great post! I am now following your Fine Motor Fridays Pinterest Board!
Thought you might also be interested in my Paper Cutting articles:
http://teachingfromatacklebox.blogspot.com/2012/03/paper-cutting.html
http://teachingfromatacklebox.blogspot.com/2012/03/paper-cutting-extreme.html
~ Suzanne
Thank you so much for sharing! I’ll add those in! Have a great day!
thanks for including me:)