Parents Confess

Every year, a week or two into the semester parents begin to slowly pull me aside and the confessions begin, “my child can’t cut with scissors”. Of course just to fuel their fears there is always one student in the room with incredible fine motor skills carefully choosing to cut out an octopus. First, relax your child is not alone. Second, realize mastering some of these skills will make entering kindergarten easier. Invest in a good pair of child friendly scissors. Next choose the right paper. Construction paper is a great thickness, not too flimsy and not too stiff. Always have a fun end product for the child. Cutting to just practice cutting is drudgery at any age. Draw a simple shape on the paper like a triangle, big flower or bug that takes up most of the paper. Precut colored construction paper into inch wide strips. Help your child hold the scissors correctly and have them cut the strips into any shapes. If they appear to be frustrated after a few minutes it is a good time for a gluing break. Every child loves to glue. The child can glue the cuttings anywhere in the drawn shape, do not worry when they glue over the line. Most children will want to glue more so this is a good incentive to cut more shapes. Know when to quit, exasperating your child will not help. The shape does not need to be filled in during one session. There are more advanced scissors skills found at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/tracing/