Three Helpful Tips for New Scissor Users
July 22, 2009 by Loretta
Filed under Kids Crafting
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For adults, scissors are just simple tools used to cut things. But to a small child, they represent infinite possibilities. Cutting is one skill that most children are willing to practice with little or no encouragement!
Parents are often apprehensive about letting little ones use scissors. They worry about the safety of the child, as well as the safety of their books, magazines and draperies. And who hasn’t heard (or experienced) a horror story about a toddler giving himself or the dog a unique new haircut? But learning to use scissors is important, and it doesn’t have to be scary.
Here are three tips that will help you make the most of your child’s cutting experiments.
Keep in mind that small hands need small scissors. Large handles are harder for them to hold on to, and big blades are more difficult for them to control. Scissors made just for kids are essential until they get the hang of things. (My older 2 boys have graduated into sharper pairs, but they still have “kid” handles.) Another thing to keep in mind is if your child is right or left handed. I’ve got 2 right handers, a leftie, and an ambidextrous kid in my house, so I always make sure I buy the kind that are for either hand. I bought Dylan, my leftie, scissors that were specifically for a leftie and he hated them. LOL)
2. Find appropriate materials for kids to cut. Newspapers and magazines might seem like a good choice, but they are rather thin for new scissor users. Construction paper and old greeting cards or note cards are much easier for children to cut.
You don’t have to stop with paper, though. There are plenty of other things kids can cut. Thin cardboard boxes are great for scissor practice. Even play dough will work. If you sew, try giving your child some thick fabric scraps to cut.
3. Don’t expect too much too fast. When kids first start out with scissors, it’s important to let them do their own thing for a while. It will get messy, and it’s unlikely that they will cut in straight lines. But giving kids time to learn how to properly hold scissors and see how they work before moving on to the finer points is crucial.
Once your child is cutting fairly well, you can move on to bigger and better things. Let him try his hand at cutting thinner types of paper, and draw some straight lines for him to cut. When he has mastered that, he can start cutting simple shapes.
Learning to use scissors is a big step for a child. It helps develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and cutting in itself is something we all need to know how to do. By providing the right tools and materials and close supervision, we can help our kids learn this important skill and have fun doing it.
| Nature’s Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere. Grade 4-8-Martin contends that nature provides us with an abundance of art supplies and she invites readers to make use of these bounties in these 65 projects. She classifies the activities according to the material required: vines, twigs, cones, and moss; gourds, pods, husks, and seeds; clay, stones, sand, and shells; paints, inks, and dyes; flowers and leaves; and stamps, stencils, molds, and seals. Each chapter includes information about historical and ethnic uses for the natural substances. Projects range from baskets, picture frames, wreaths, necklaces, and gift wrap to body paint, amulet bags, and painted stones; from a chess set to shell buttons to an okra pod canoe and people. The projects display a respect for nature and art, and a simple, subtle beauty; they are not the cutesy, stylized projects described in so many contemporary books. |
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