Learning Activity : Cutting Straws
As a learning activity to help Henry learn to use a scissors better,
I set out the above items on his play table during his nap.
It includes straws, Magic Loops [plastic strings], and a pair of child scissors.
I really didn't expect Henry to be as excited as he was when he woke from his nap to find this bowl.
He began snipping right away.
He struggles quite a bit with the scissors, but did manage to cut up quite a few straws!
I'm not sure what kind of cutting skills to expect of a three year old.
[The day care he goes to one morning of the week kind of gave me the impression he needed to work on it. Any thoughts?]
I know his main problem is how to hold the scissors.
He always holds it upside down.
I usually try one time to show him how to hold it correctly.
He refuses to do it that way and goes on the way always does.
He still snipped a lot of straws and really enjoyed doing it though!
I intended for Henry to practice threading the cut straws onto the Magic Loops. That never did happen.
Instead, Henry had his own plans for the Magic Loops.
I don't think an activity would be complete without adding a machine to the mix.
Over the two days of cutting straws, Henry 'decorated' his combine [his words, not mine] with the Magic Loops and combined the straws his snipped!
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Henry is 3 years. George is 10 months. | |
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Labels: Activities, Activities for Preschoolers, Educational, Play Based Learning, preschool, Preschool Activities, sahm, teachpreschool
13 Comments:
I think he did great for his age.. Sammy is just now starting to really get the hang out of scissors (he is 4). One thing Sammy really liked to do is cut out stickers. I would put stickers on to strips cardstock (so it wasn't so bendy when trying to hold it) then he would cut between two stickers thus making little pieces of paper with stickers on them. Then he could glue them onto another paper. He felt like he was really do a whole art project by doing this!
My 4-yr-old is just now getting the hang of scissors. She used to always hold them upside down too. She likes cutting strips (strips of paper with sticker or pictures & she has to cut between them). She also like it when I give her scrap paper and scissors that she can cut however she wants.
Cutting is a skill kids work on in Pre-K a lot. It's developmental. My 3 1/2 year olds are at about the same level as Henry here. I think they'll be a lot better at it by the end of Pre-K though. :)
Thanks for sharing the activity! I want to try this too!
Haha, perfect with the machine- that's how everything around here is too: not complete unless a digger is involved somehow. Cutting straws is very popular here.
Didn't he start cutting up the magic loop stuff too? I can just see that being snipped into teeny tiny bits.
I remind my little man that the thumb goes on top with scissors- great activity that shows how the simple focus of a tasks is enjoyable for children this age - thanks for sharing
C has always did very well with cutting. It it great to roll out play dough snakes and let children cut those! (or they can roll out the snakes) C always enjoyed the Kumon and Gakken cutting workbooks too! Put out some strips of paper for henry to cut and create with too! You could have Henry pretend the scissors are creating a road for his vehicles too. Many times children with start cutting by using two hands so at least he is using one hand.
I did a post on cutting with scissors a while back:
http://www.thechocolatemuffintree.com/2011/03/when-did-you-introduce-your-little-one.html
My daughter does the same thing w/ the scissors upside down. If you learn any tricks for helping with that, I'm all ears!! :)
put a small sticker on the child's thumb to remind him/her that the thumb goes on top.
My daughter is 3 years old and she holds the scissors the same way as your son Henry :-)
My 3 year old holds them upside down, too. I think it is quite common. I'm going to have to try that sticker idea one from your above comment...
I love the idea of cutting straws. Never thought of that one, but she loves playing with straws...
Great activity! I think your son is doing fine developmentally with cutting. For that age, I typically demonstrated often how to hold the scissors and made sure there were lots of interesting cutting activities available. It's wonderful that you found a cutting activity he enjoys ... and it's awesome that you let him extend it into his play! Visiting from Mom Loop. Deb @ LivingMontessoriNow.com
I wouldn't worry about your son holding the scissors upside down; most 3 years do that because otherwise they can't seem to cut paper properly, i.e. they somehow always get the dull side of the scissors.
You might have some luck showing him how to hold the paper in his other hand...but it's better to just let him work on cutting accurately- while having fun of course!
In the link below is a post I wrote (with pix) on how to help the child who has trouble cutting with scissors.
As a plus, you can use different colors of paper to make it more exciting, if you like.
We've been working on cutting skills here too. I have a non-cutting related question though. Where did you get Henry's combine, and does it come with a regular header (as opposed to the corn header)?
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