There was a time when I would have panicked at the sight of a 2-year-old holding a pair of scissors. Can you believe I was the kind of person (naive and inexperienced) that thought children under the age of 5 had no reason to be using scissors? Silly, I know. My fear was always that a finger would get sliced or a child would go home from school with a new haircut (which has happened before), or worse that they would run with scissors, so why bother, right? Lucky for my daughter I learned A LONG time ago that isn't always the case.
The key to a good cutting exercise is NEVER LEAVE YOUR KIDS ALONE! With children accidents happen in a matter of seconds. Sometimes in a fraction of a second. One time I had a sub in my class and she was sitting at the table with a small group of children. A few of them were using scissors while the others were glueing I think. Well, she turned to her right to help the child next to her and the child on the left decided to give her friend next to her a new haircut (whom by the way happened to be my bosses daughter). All I could think of was "O.M.G how am I going to explain this to my boss!" Being a former teacher himself, he understood and told me one of his stories :)
The point of this post.....don't take your eyes off those scissors!! Do however, allow your kiddos the opportunity to practice "fine-tuning" their fine motor skills with the occasional use of age-appropriate scissors. And remember to be patient and show them how to use scissors by modeling, rather than focusing on direction. Allow them time to explore this oddly shaped tool but be there to help them if they start to get frustrated. Frustration only leads to loss of motivation and interest so try not to force them either.
Here are some good samples that I found at Discount School Supply
Here are some good samples that I found at Discount School Supply
For the Pre-K kids (and some preschoolers)......
For the Preschooler...
Toddlers.....
And for the absolute beginner....
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