My girls love cutting #allthethings. They are constantly asking for scissors. My 2 year old is still trying to figure out how to hold them and get them to cut but she loves making little snips in any piece of paper she can find. Because of their obsession with cutting, I decided to make them a cutting box to practice their
fine motor skills.
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To set up the box, I grabbed our long sensory bin. This is the type that is designed for wrapping paper I think - long and flat. Then I grabbed a bunch of different sized plastic bins from my collection and two wicker baskets. While I wanted them to cut and have fun, I also want them to cut into the basket so we didn't have little scraps all around.
Then I grabbed a few different pairs of scissors. We have plain kid scissors and two different pairs of
training scissors that help to automatically release the scissors. I also grabbed a few pairs of
scrapbook scissors with fun edges.
Then, I went through the house and grabbed different textures for them to practice cutting. I included construction paper, foam, paint strips, playing cards and cardboard. I also designed some cutting strips that I printed on cardstock. I've made these a freebie for you down below.
I showed the girls the different materials and how to cut and put the scraps in their basket and then I let them explore the bin. They loved being able to cut but got frustrated when the kid scissors wouldn't cut the foam very easily. They also wanted to make crafts and projects with the supplies instead of just cutting. I had them practice cutting so I knew they got in some fine motor practice and exercised those little hands and then I let them create with the supplies in the box.
Print these on any type of paper you'd like (we used card stock) and then cut into strips. Have your child cut on the thin lines to practice straight and curved lines.
