Learning to use Scissors the FUN Way!

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Recently, my three year old daughter has had a strong interest in using scissors.  This occurred after she observed older girls using scissors independently,  "Let me do it mama" is what she said.

Using the scissors is a very complex fine motor skill.  I remember, when I taught kindergarten, many students having a difficult time using the scissors.  This was my motivation to begin teaching her scissor skills.  I figured, if I start when she's three, then maybe by kindergarten she'll have it!  Plus, she was self motivated to try, which is always helpful too!

Here is how we got started learning scissors the FUN way!!

The first pair of "scissors" we used were these very fun bunny spoon-like scissors (pictured above).  I was so thrilled to find these around Easter time for a dollar!  Although the purpose for this tool was to pick up hard boiled Easter eggs from their coloring mix, we used them in a different way (see picture below).

With a simple plastic shoe box filled with rice, I hid objects (such as numbers), then my daughter scooped them out!  This allowed her to practice finger placement and proper hand motion of opening and closing!  She was learning scissor basics while have lots of FUN!  Unfortunately it's not Easter so you may not be able to find this particular tool although check out these very fun handy scoopers below!  These would defiantly give you the same idea!  Use them in rice, noodles, sand, or water!

After we had time to play with the mechanics of scissors we moved into actually cutting something.  My daughter LOVES play dough!  So using safe plastic play dough scissors seemed to be a great next step!  What is wonderful about these plastic scissors is they cut play dough but NOTHING else!  This is a very safe option for young children!

Next we were ready to try REAL scissors.  One of the difficulties of using scissors is having the hand strength and coordination to OPEN them once they have been closed.  To help this action there is a VERY fun tool available called spring action scissors (also sometimes referred to as preschool scissors).  These scissors gently spring OPEN each time the closing action occurs.  This REALLY teaches the child the proper coordination of using scissors (open, close, open, close, etc.).  I found these very beneficial to the scissor learning process!  She was also thrilled to cut paper by herself!  How fun!!!

Once she had the motion, strength, and coordination figured out we moved on to classic blunt scissors.  She LOVES to cut!  I have taught her that scissors are ONLY for cutting paper.  She practices independently cutting notebook paper, construction paper, wrapping paper, junk mail, or news/sales ads!

There are many helpful tools and beginner scissors available to make this skill FUN and enjoyable.  I hope some of these tips and tools will be helpful for your little one!

"It's Working!" Our NEW System for Home School

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I hope will be helpful for you!

Don't you just love when you find a system that WORKS!!  With much thinking and consideration we have finally found a system for our home school!  I've been waiting to share this with you after our trial period which was this past summer.  It's simple, visual, and expandable!  Let me explain...

First, we purchased a Melissa & Doug magnetic calendar.  This calender comes with lots of magnets!!  We are using the month, year, numbered dates, and some of the picture magnets that represent special events or activities (see photo above).  The top half includes the calender and the bottom half is a magnetic white board!  (The calendar magnets contain very small pieces so I wouldn't recommend this for very young children.)

One of our daily activities is placing the numbered date on our calender each morning.  We "build" our calender throughout the month by adding each number for the day!  I like using this activity for number recognition and of course calender learning skills.  There are many calender learning activities that we can EXPAND into as we progress but for now it's simple, add the number then say the date (today is Monday, September 1st, 2014).

The magnetic white board space, below the calendar, is where I keep my daily home school activities The picture above displays four activities; ABC's, Math, Calendar, and Story Time.  My correlating lesson plan may have looked like this...

ABC's: Playdoh Mat for the letter Aa
Math:  Number puzzle 0-10
Calendar: Place today's number on the board
Story Time: Read, "Back to School"

During our home school time my child chooses an activity stick, we complete the activity, then she places the activity stick into the bucket (see picture above).  It's that simple!

I like this system for several reasons...

1. It provides accountability.  Each day we have a set of simple, age-appropriate, displayed tasks to complete and it's fun to accomplish each one, then put them in the bucket for DONE!
2. It's flexible.  I choose how many activities to display and which ones.  This creates flexibility to maintain our daily home school schedule yet adjust the length based on the needs of the day.  For example, if I have a busy day I am able to limit the amount of tasks yet still maintain our daily home school routine.
3. It creates choice.  Even though I choose how many tasks and which ones to display, my child still has a choice to pick which one is first, next, and last.
4. It's working for us! 

Above is a picture of how I made my activity sticks.  I used wood craft sticks (jumbo sized) for my activity stick and mod podge to adhere a paper with the activity name and correlating clip art to the stick.  Then I added a self-adhesive magnet. (To simplify this process just write the activity name with a permanent marker directly onto the craft stick!)

Pictured above is how I organize my daily home school activities.  Inside each daily folder are the activities I desire to complete for the day.  Of course some items do not fit in the folders like puzzles, stamps, or paints but it is nice to have a place for the paper items or books (see picture below).

I'm looking forward to sharing with you the many activities we complete with our new system officially tested and approved! Thanks for reading!!

Simple (Printable) Letter of the Week Curriculum

 This post contains affilate links that I hope you will find helpful!!

I've been doing a very simple "letter a week" curriculum with my daughter!  She just turned three and it is my desire to give her letter awareness.  I enjoy "letter a week" for organization but I strongly feel that it is just one way to introduce letters to your child.  On Saturdays (and occasionally through the week) we complete activities that include learning ALL the letters!!  These are the current FREE online resources we have been using.  ENJOY!

Click each link below to be directed to the free printable resource...

• Monday- Alphabet Itsy-Bitsy Books  A fun mini book for each letter of the alphabet (does NOT include the vowels).  We keep each completed book in a special box to look back at and review (see picture above)!

• Tuesday- A-Z Play Dough Mats  I place the mat inside a clear plastic page protector then we roll out our play dough and form the letters!

• Wednesday- Uppercase Alphabet Color & Trace Pages First we use a marker and trace the three letters, then we decorate or color the picture, last we glue cheerios, noodles, pom poms, or other small objects to the letter.

• Thursday- Lowercase Alphabet Color & Trace Pages First we use a marker and trace the three letters, then we decorate or color the picture, last we glue cheerios, noodles, pom poms, or other small objects to the letter.

• Friday- Cut and Glue Letter Pictures (locate each letter on the right side of the web page then find the activity sheet that has "words that begin with the letter")  I've recently purchased Fiskars Pre-School Spring Action Scissorsto teach beginning scissor skills and she LOVES it!  Then I allow her to use the glue to glue the pictures!

• Saturday- ALL Letters Review: We read alphabet books, complete alphabet puzzles, sing a-z learning songs, etc. (a FEW of my favorites can be found on Amazon below)

Once our letter is completed for the week I staple the letter pages together for her to look through like a book (see picture below)!

This has been a very simple and fun way to introduce and begin letter awareness with my child!  Happy Learning!