Cutting Activities for Preschool

7/10/2022

Cutting activities for preschool builds fine motor skills and hand strength, but there is also a developmental progression to scissor skills. When setting up a preschool cutting activity think about the 7 levels of cutting.

Rip
Snip
Fringe
Straight Lines
Zig Zag Lines
Curved Lines
Right Angles

By providing children with a variety of activities and the opportunity to use scissors children will develop those much-needed fine motor skills. Setting up a cutting station is a great way to ensure that children get to practice cutting skills daily. Start by adding it to your daily routine during morning work time, quiet time or table activities.

Ripping
Children use their pinching grasp as they use both hands to pinch and rip paper. Paper strips or tape is the perfect activity for this.

Snipping
Snipping lets children practice opening and closing scissors and make a cut with just one motion. Cutting Activities for this could be cutting spaghetti. Straws or just strips of paper.

Fringing
Fringing activities are scissor skills that require the children to snip paper rapitivelly without cutting through the paper.

Straight Lines and Zig Zag Lines
Straight lines require children to open and close the scissors multiple times per cut. Zig zag lines are more difficult because it requires children to turn the paper as they cut.

Curved Lines and Shapes
This is the last skill children will master. When cutting out shapes it requires children to use both hands at the same time. This is known as bilateral coordination.