How-To Tips for New Scissors Users
Written By Teri Keough
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Children learning to master scissors are cutting for cutting's sake. You can help by loosely taping a large piece of paper to the wall or tabletop to ensure that one variable remains constant.
To keep a younger sibling's curls intact, offer up alternative victims. Play-Doh and pizza dough are excellent starter materials. Foam board is thick and easy to hold. Construction paper may be the standard, but don't forget those old magazines, phone books, and bills.
To minimize frustration, use high-quality scissors. Many teachers favor the Fiskars brand, available at office-supply stores. Blunt-tipped scissors are generally ambidextrous; children ages 5 and up may be ready for pointed tips and a left-handed option, but be sure to supervise.
Encourage your little one to practice with Wondertime's colorful cutting pages.
A Fascination with Scissors
Hannah (above left), age 3, is enthralled with scissors. In fact, her mother says that Hannah becomes so engrossed with snipping that she tunes out other kids and toys, her mouth opening and closing in sync with the blunt-tipped blades.
Hannah is not a compulsive Edward Scissorhands in the making. According to Keira Durrett, preschool director at Williston/Northampton Children's Center in Easthampton, MA, it's common for young kids to fixate on using scissors, and to mimic them with their mouths. "At 3 years old," Durrett says, "kids are really into control, power, and independence. So the feeling of cutting up something with scissors equals, 'I did that. I changed this object.'"
