Back to School Scissor Skills Activities
As the back-to-school season approaches, it’s the perfect time to focus essential skills for preschoolers. One key area to work on is developing fine motor skills, and what better way to do that than with engaging cutting activities for preschoolers like these back to school scissor cutting strips?
Our latest post features a fantastic free printable of back-to-school themed scissor cutting strips, designed to get preschoolers excited abut also to give teachers a way to informally assess the scissor skills right at the start.
Scissor Cutting Practice for Back to Preschool
Cutting activities are a wonderful way to help young children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and concentration.
Our back-to-school themed scissor cutting strips are designed with fun and engaging patterns that capture children’s interest while providing the perfect practice for their scissor skills. These cutting strips feature familiar school-related images, making the activities relatable and exciting for preschoolers.
Incorporating these cutting activities into your daily routine during the first week of school can be incredibly beneficial. I like to use these as a fun way to assess the scissor skills my preschoolers already have at the beginning of the school year.
For most preschoolers, going “back to school” means starting preschool. However, for preschool teachers, that means getting back into the swing of things in their classroom.
The first days of school are an important time for teachers to see how their preschoolers do with various fine motor skills, including cutting with scissors. Knowing right away how skilled your preschoolers are will help you be more effective in the classroom.
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
How to Cut With Scissors for Kindergarten
Learning how to cut with scissors is a fundamental skill for kindergarten children, fostering their fine motor development and hand-eye coordination.
To begin, ensure the child holds the scissors correctly, with their thumb in the smaller hole and fingers in the larger one. Encourage them to practice opening and closing the scissors without paper to get comfortable with the motion.
Start with simple, straight lines on sturdy paper to build confidence before moving on to more complex shapes and patterns. Supervision is key to ensuring safety and proper technique, and offering plenty of encouragement helps build their skills and confidence.
For an in-depth view of how to teach scissor cutting skills, read our Ultimate Guide on Scissor Cutting Skills.
Cutting Project for Preschoolers
These cutting strips are simple, featuring only straight and slightly curved lines so that preschool teachers can gauge how skilled their students are in scissor cutting during the first week of preschool.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.
What’s Included
These free scissor cutting strips include two full pages of cutting strips, each one featuring a different line to cut. These can also be used for rainbow writing activities or coloring activities.
Materials
- free printable cutting skills sheets
- kid-safe scissors (below are some of our favorites)
- SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR KIDS 4+: Fiskars SoftGrip Blunt-Tip Kids Scissors for cutting through all kinds…
- SAFE FOR KIDS: A safer blade angle and a blunt tip make these innovative safety scissors a reliable…
- LONG LASTING AND RELIABLE: A dependable classroom essential and great addition to school supplies…
- What You Get – 4 Pairs of Cartoon Style Training Scissors for Kids
- Cute & Lovely – Our training scissors measure 5.3 x 3inches, compact and lightweight, duo-colored…
- Safe Quality – Our scissors are all made of plastic, no steel blades, arc edges, smooth finish,…
- Zicolu Kids Scissors Set of 3
Cutting Activities for the First weeks of School
In my first week of school preschool lesson plans, I add some scissor activities so I can gauge how well my incoming preschoolers can handle them. I not only consider how well a preschooler can cut on the line, but also how easily they handle the cutting paper, and how safe they are.
When I offer these to my preschoolers, I try to keep it a fun activity. I only ask that my preschoolers try to cut the lines, but I don’t correct the students if they don’t. This is a valuable time for me to assess my preschoolers, including their ability to follow directions.
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
This set of cutting strips offer straight and curved lines. I did not include zig zag lines because typically most children entering preschool don’t have the cutting experience or hand eye coordination to cut zig zags.
This preschooler carefully cut his way all the way up the practice strip. At one point, he even stopped to recut a part because he had gone too far off the line. This tells me a lot about his personality.
These cutting skills practice strips stay in our fine motor center all September long. The preschoolers love them because they love using scissors!
But if you supply some crayons, preschoolers can also trace the lines for some added prewriting practice.
Preschool Cutting Skills
Scissor cutting skills falls under the umbrella of developing fine motor skills. Specifically, here is a list of skills needed for children to be able to cut with scissors:
~ finger strength
~ hand strength
~ independent finger movement
~ functional grasp
~ bilateral coordination
~ hand eye coordination
Cutting with scissors is one of the more difficult skills preschoolers need before entering kindergarten. To help your preschoolers develop scissor skills, keep these things in mind.
Ensure that your preschooler has her fingers through the right scissor holes. Keep the thumb upright and the elbow in close to the body. This will ensure your preschooler is cutting away from their body. Encourage your preschooler to hold the paper up off the table, using their other hand.
And finally, provide ample opportunity for your preschooler to practice cutting with scissors! For more tips and tricks, see my Ultimate Guide for Teaching Scissor Cutting.
Practicing scissor cutting isn’t limited to cutting paper! Try these alternatives as a way to change things up.
~ playdough snakes
~ tape
~ yarn
~ leaves
~ grass planters
~ cutting lines
~ thin cardboard
~ cotton balls
~ straws
Get Your Back to School Scissor Skills Activity Sheets Here
These cutting strips are perfect for back to preschool season, but they can be used all year. Grab your free download below.
Back to Preschool Activities
Looking for more back to school activities or first week of school activities? Check out these ideas.
- How to Create a Daily Preschool Schedule
- How to Write Weekly Lesson Plans
- Back to School Scavenger Hunt
- Alphabet Puzzles for Back to School
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.