Scissor Skills

These are some possible difficulties a child might encounter when he/she is learning to use scissors, as well as some tips to help facilitate development.

1. Trouble holding scissors with one hand

• Model holding the correct way to hold scissors: thumb on top in small hole, index and middle fingers in bottom hole

2. Trouble snipping into paper

• Try using materials that are more stable such as index cards, paper plates, business cards, oak tag, file folders, thinner pieces of objects, playdoh, and straws (they can make a necklace with the straw bits!)

3. Trouble cutting across a whole piece of paper

• Teacher/peer can stabilize paper while student cuts across. Can hold paper up a little vertically to encourage maintaining a "thumbs up" lead.
• Student can stabilize paper while teacher/peer cuts
• Modify length of paper

4. If child desires to cut along a line, and requests your assistance, here are a few suggestions:

• Make the lines thicker
• Brighten the lines with a highlighter
• Make the line shorter
• Use stickers placed along the line to cut across

5. If student desires to cut out an object:

• Student can cut around an object to make it easier
• Student can cut while the teacher/peer rotates paper
• Teacher/peer can cut while the student rotates the paper
• It is easier for right-handed students to cut out objects in a counterclockwise direction and for left-handed students to cut in a clockwise direction, so they can see where they are going.

Activities to develop the small muscles in the hand for easier cutting:

• Squeeze tongs, salad tongs, tweezers to pick up objects such as spiny balls, cotton balls, pom-poms, pegs, dry beans, animal figures
• Use animal squirts, spray bottle or water gun to shoot at target
• Squeeze animal squirt or turker baster to blow cotton ball
• Clothes pins or squeeze clips
• Spin tops
• Games involving the use of tongs such as Bed Bugs, Crazy Crab, Avalanche
• Hole puncher
• Puppet play to open and close their hands

When doing fine motor activities with children it will be important to encourage the use of the thumb, index and middle fingers to manipulate while the ring and pinky fingers are curled or flexed into the palm. If they have difficulty keeping these fingers flexed ask them to hold a cotton ball or makeup wedge with these fingers as a reminder as they perform the activities.

Activities to encourage bimanual (2-handed) coordination skills:

• Lacing cards
• Stringing beads
• Making lines with a ruler
• Stencil art
• Tearing paper
• Snap beads
• Hanging clothes/ papers from a clothes line
• Hole punching