This post contains affiliate links
Thanks ever so much for your support!

My preschooler is going through an intense love affair with scissors.
Let us not speak of the time I found her under the dining table with a self-administered haircut.
Do you also have a scissor enthusiast at yours?
Here are 4 fun ways we have been building and practising scissor skills at our place.

Get into the Great Outdoors and gather some flora from the garden.
We also happen to have a rather prolific Basil plant, so we added a herby element to our experience.
I set all of the foraged beauties up on a tray, together with a variety of scissors, and Miss 4 snipped away happily.
An activity for the senses as well as the fine motor skills.

Miss 4 has also been known to sit in the backyard and trim the grass with her safety scissors. It’s like a labour-intense junior version of a lawnmower.

Spaghetti Haircuts

After the aforementioned haircut under the dining table, we had a serious discussion about how hairdressers are the only ones allowed to cut our hair.

To channel some of these hair-cutting desires, I boiled up a pot of spaghetti. Once the spaghetti had cooked, I added a few drops of food colouring into our pot of colourful “hair.”

Using a whiteboard, we drew different faces and created different hairstyles.
The rainbow beehive is so hot right now.

Scissor Box

No stray piece of paper is safe at our place.
To try and channel this enthusiasm (READ: to curb all the loose bits of paper cut up all over my house,) I created a go-to cutting box.
It’s actually a fishing tackle box from the hardware store. It’s filled with different kinds of paper, straws, and sponges. I also tore apart an old picture dictionary (because LOOK at those nice, thick black lines!)
When I get this box out for Miss 4, she is super-content to sit and cut and create.

Play Dough Snipping

Play dough is just the greatest, isn’t it?
Cutting play dough is a seriously fun experience.
Here are some great tips from Mama OT on using scissors with play dough.

Parental supervision is necessary when kids and scissors are working together. Obvs.

August KidArtLit Review

When we received our August KidArtLit box and discovered the process art projects were centred around scissor skills, we did a Happy Dance. (Obviously not with our scissors in our hands, because SAFETY FIRST, PEOPLE!)

We are KidArtLit affiliates. You can read about why we are so passionate about these subscription boxes here.

“I’m just cutting her clothes because her clothes are too big.” – Miss 4

The August box was centred around the exquisite tale of Grandmother Thorn by Katie Howes and Rebecca Hahn.
All boxes come with a Ready-Set-Go pack, allowing kids to dive straight into the making and creating. This month’s pack provided the materials to create a traditional Japanese bookmark doll or shiori ningyo.

The main art project centred around exploring the traditional Japanese art of ikebana, or flower arranging.
Using the detailed guide, I absolutely adored the multi-step process that the August box encouraged. Each art session provided so many rich opportunities for vocabulary development and dialogue.
We began by snipping the provided straws- plastic and paper and discussed how the paper straws were more difficult to cut. We laughed when the bits of straws catapulted across the table.

The next session involved tracing and cutting circles. Miss 4 is learning to cut along curved lines. Mr 2 is still practising how to hold scissors so I cut out circles for him, discussing what I was doing as I cut.

The final session pulled everything together. We used the provided styrofoam circles, chenille sticks and washi tape to create a “flower arrangement.”

I really loved how this month’s box provided a springboard into other forms of getting creative.
Miss 4 requested extra materials from the craft cupboard so that she could keep making.

Our ikebana session turned into an origami session as we explored another form of Japanese art.
We recently went to a Cherry Blossom festival. So we also discussed the act of hanami- or flower gazing. One box, so many discussions!

 

The KidArtLit team are having a giveaway AND a sale this September.

Until September 15th, families can purchase the 3 month KidArtLit subscription and receive $20 OFF. That’s 3 top-quality books and a multitude of awesome-sauce art experiences.

Families may also enter the KidArtLit giveaway for their chance to win a three month subscription to KidArtLit valued at $150.

When you sign up for the KidArtLit mailing list, you get access to the free KidArtLit online library, which includes tons of creative, bookish inspiration and the Clickable Resource Guide. This popular download spills the beans about all of the go-to spots for creative inspiration, including favorite websites, podcasts, supplies, and books for families.

Each month, subscribers have the chance to get their next box paid for! Enter to win by posting your family’s KidArtLit experience on Instagram with the hashtag #KidArtLitKids.