Scissor skills

Scissor skills is one of the skills that preschoolers need to have when beginning schooling, whether at school or home. It is part of their fine motor skills development and hand and eye coordination, so it is a very important skill to develop. What better way to practice these scissor skills than to do cut and paste and turn the cuttings into artworks?

Download the following activity sheets and let your child cut along the lines:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/scissor_skills.htm

http://www.kidslearningstation.com/fine-motor-skills/scissor-skills.asp

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/cutting_skills_printables.htm

http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/basic-skill/scissor-skills/

http://www.preschoolactivitybox.com/preschool-scissor-skills.html

http://www.tlsbooks.com/preschoolfinemotorskills.htm
http://www.aussiechildcarenetwork.com/cutting_skills.php
http://www.schoolsparks.com/kindergarten-worksheets/category/cutting-worksheets

Here are a few that I've made using Islamic themes for you to download free:
Muslim boys and girls
Masjid
Cut your way to the masjid
Trace and cut moon and star

Also, if you don't mind the mess then simply hand a pair of scissors to your child along with catalogues or scrap papers and let them do their own thing. 

There are two important things to remember when learning to develop scissor skills:

1. Children need to have hands on practice. Some parents are so afraid to hand over a pair of scissors to their child, either because of safety reasons or because of the mess that may result, that the child does not know how to use it at all. The only way they will learn is through practice and your supervision.
2. If your child is a beginner then s/he will not be able to cut straight. Do not worry or stress yourself out if it is not perfect. If they cut the head off a bear then sticky tape it back on or if they end up with a million bits of paper than have them help to tidy up. This is all part of the learning process.

Here are some books that you might like to use that contain more things for children to cut.