Activities to Promote Scissor Skills

Here are some activities to promote pre-scissors and scissor skills at home (adult supervision required for safety):

Introduce how to use scissors safely

• Which end is dangerous/sharp and point away from the body

• How to hold them properly

  • Where to put thumb and fingers

• No running with scissors

If using scissors is too challenging, try to promote increased hand strength and coordination and visual-motor skills by:

• Tearing paper and making small balls

• Playing with playdough

• Playing catch with a ball

• Doing simple puzzles

• Pegs in a pegboard

• Playing with blocks

• Any toys required fine motor movements

***These activities may also be good supplemental activities to complete while learning to use scissors to promote continued hand strength and coordination development.

Progression for Developing Scissor Skills:

1. Start with snipping paper

   1. May require support for having an appropriate thumb-up grasp while holding the paper and the scissors

   2. Thicker paper is easier to cut than standard paper when learning how to cut

2. Move to cutting straight lines

3. Move to cutting wavy lines and zig-zag lines

4. Start cutting simple shapes

   1. Square

   2. Triangle

   3. Circle

5. Move to more complex designs

   1. Cutting out hands

   2. Feet

   3. Overlapping circles

      
      

      **** It is important to ensure mastery with each progression before moving on to promote continued tolerance with this activity. If there is a lot of resistance with any of these activities, backtrack to the previous level and move forward from there slowly.