fine motor activity

Fall Scissor Skills Activities

November 12, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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One of the things preschoolers are most excited about when starting school in the fall is using scissors. It’s an activity many early learners have not yet had exposure to, so they are delighted to have permission to cut. Offering beautiful materials with unique textures enhances fall scissor skills activities.

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Fall Scissor Skills Supplies

Collect art supplies in yellow, orange, red, and brown hues, and sort them into a tray with compartments.

Fall scissor skills tray with red, yellow, orange, and brown craft supplies. Invitation to cut materials for collage or a sensory base.

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Gathered for this tray are:

feathers (yellow, orange, red, and brown)
fluffy yarn
yellow and orange foam pieces
brown tissue paper
red straws
fade-resistant construction paper in fall colors
orange crepe paper
red thin ribbon
gold thick ribbon
orange and yellow pom poms

Round up fall-colored craft supplies you have available for your little learners to cut. Leftover scraps from other crafts are perfect for this activity.

After your charges have had a blissful session of cutting craft supplies into bits, store them in a resealable plastic bag or covered container to use as a base in sensory trays.

Snipped craft supplies for a fall sensory tray base.

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Forest Sensory Tray

The cuttings make a rich base for a fall forest-themed sensory tray. Rocks, pine cone trees, and forest animals round out this inviting tray for your little ones to explore.

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Related: Scissor Skill Snow Cutting

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Fall Scissor Skills Party Tray

Change things up by arranging supplies to cut in a party tray. Fall craft leaves and card cut-outs are the highlights of the tray below.

Scissor skills party tray with fall-themed craft supplies. Invitation to cut materials for collage.

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Pumpkin Collage

Energize the offerings with black and green craft scraps. Encourage your early learners to cut shapes and glue them onto a paper pumpkin. The completed collage projects will be striking.

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Craft supplies to cut and glue for a pumpkin collage craft.

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Pumpkin collage craft with textured green, yellow, orange, and black supplies.

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Note: For tips on teaching children to use scissors, view my post “Santa’s Beard Scissor Activity.”

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Scissor Skill Snow Cutting Activities

January 30, 2020 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Invitation to cut craft supplies to make fake snow. The snow is featured in small world and sensory activities. Scissor skill practice for early learners.

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A scissor skill snow cutting activity snipping craft supplies is sure to attract your child’s attention. A rich base will be created for small world and sensory activities. A bonus is that this snow will never melt or be too cold to play with.

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Supplies To Collect

Go on the hunt for white, neutral, and silver craft supplies:

strips of cardstock paper
packing peanuts
straws
yarn
tissue paper
crepe paper
foil
ribbon
cotton balls
bows
lace
bead garland

Also needed:

blunt-edged children’s scissors
storage tray (to hold the precut supplies)
small cookie sheets

White and neutral craft supply tinker tray. Scissor skill activity to create fake snow and bits and pieces for collage and sensory activities.

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Scissor Skill Snow Cutting Set Up

Fill a storage tray with items for cutting.

Set the tray with scraps on a table along with pairs of scissors. Invite your child to choose pieces to snip smaller over a cookie sheet. Feel free to join your child in making snow.

White and neutral craft supply cutting tray set up. Scissor skill activity to create fake snow and bits and pieces for collage and sensory activities.

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Encourage your child to stand and cut. Studies show that children sit down for an enormous time each day, so adding activities where they are on their feet reduces sedentary time. (View an article that cites the benefits of standing versus sitting at standupkids.org.)

The variety in materials offered facilitates scissor skills. For instance, stiffer pieces are easier to hold with the helping hand and harder to cut items increase small muscle strength in the cutting hand.

This scissor skill snow cutting activity offers rich opportunities for language development. Model and discuss descriptive words. Here are some possibilities:

Descriptive words to describe craft supplies in a snow cutting tray.

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Cutting practice with craft scraps offers a non-threatening way for young children to develop scissor skills. There is no wrong way to do it, so frustration is minimized. Children can experiment and cut the materials that work for them.

Early learners can start using scissors with guidance. For tips on teaching children to use scissors, view my post “Santa’s Beard Scissor Activity.”

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Activities With Craft Snow

Once there is a little pile of cut snow, use it in sensory and small world activities.

Polar Small World

Bead garland water, an igloo, and polar animals are highlights of this small world.

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Polar small world with craft supply snipped snow, gem ice cubes, a seal, and bead garland water. — Seal

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Polar small world with craft supply snipped snow, gem ice cubes, and polar bears. — Polar Bears

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Polar Sensory Tray

A take-out food container works beautifully as a sensory tray featuring small figurines.

A snack tray repurposed as a small world with snipped craft supply snow and polar figurines. With the lid snapped on, this play tray is transportable.

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Place the fake snow in one compartment, and the figurines in the other. This tray can be taken along on outings with the lid snapped on.

A snack tray repurposed as a small world with snipped craft supply snow and polar figurines. With a lid snapped on this play tray is transportable.

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Winter Sensory Bag

A large snack bag or small freezer bag can house reusable snow and figurines of any kind. This sensory bag is also portable.

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Happy New Year Art And Math Activities

December 30, 2019 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Ring in the new year and decade with easy, no fuss art activities that double up as math exercises. Early learners count down from 10 to one and work with the numbers in 2020 while doing art activities with paint, glue, adhesive jewels and collage items.

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In a few days, we will celebrate the beginning of a new year … and a new decade. If you are looking for no-fuss activities for your child to start the year off with, these simple art and math projects fit the bill. They can be offered at home or saved for the first days of school in January.

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Related: 2021 New Year’s Crafts

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New Year Handprint Keepsake

Supplies Needed:

golden glitter cardstock
tan cardstock
8 ½ x 11-inch cream cardstock
gold sequins, stars, balls, and confetti
gold glitter
gold glitter glue
glue paddle
collage containers
pencil
scissors
metallic gold felt pen
glue stick
glue gun

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Trace your child’s hand on a piece of tan cardstock, or let your child do the tracing.

Help your child cut out the handprints.

Add gold glitter glue and collage items to small containers.

Set the collage items, glue, glue paddle, and paper handprints on a table.

Decorate handprints with glitter glue and gold stars, sequins, confetti, and glitter. A collage activity for all ages.

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Invite your child to glam up the handprints with gold-colored collage items.

Gold glitter and confetti can be sprinkled on at the end for an added dose of glitz.

Let the handprints dry.

Cut a pair of number two shapes from golden glitter cardstock.

On cream-colored cardstock, help your child use a glue stick to tack on a number two, the left decorated hand, another number two, and the right embellished hand. Reinforce the shapes with a glue gun if needed.

Add the words “Here I Come” underneath the number 2020 with a metallic gold felt pen.

Glitter paper and gold collage items are front and center in this 2020 handprint art activity. An easy to make New Year's keepsake suitable for children of all ages.

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To introduce a simple version of this art project, a couple of number twos and handprints can be traced onto white cardstock and then cut out. Let your child color the numbers and handprints, and glue them onto a contrasting background.

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New Year Countdown Fireworks Picture

This activity gives practice in number recognition and counting down from 10 to 1. It does double duty as an art activity.

Supplies Needed:

Happy New Year printable (download below)
scissors
three toilet paper rolls
magenta, yellow, and light blue tempera paint
small plates or lids
paintbrushes

New Year's Countdown template to use for art and math activities with young children. Invitation to add paint print fireworks, count down from 10 t0 1 and match numbers.

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This “Happy New Year” printable can be downloaded on 11-inch by 17-inch paper, or 8 ½ x 11-inch paper.

Happy New Year PrintableDownload

This printable was created in PicMonkey and is for individual and one classroom use only.

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Paper Roll Firework Paint Project Set-Up

Cut fringes into one end of three toilet paper rolls.

Bend fringes on each paper roll outward.

Pour magenta, yellow, and light blue paint into small plates or lids.

Set the paints, paper rolls, and paper on a table.

Ring in the new year with your early learners by introducing an activity to make toilet roll and paint fireworks. Use the Happy New Year printable to count down from 10 to 1.

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Ask your child to dip the fringed end of each paper roll into a color of paint and make a firework print on the printable.

Encourage your child to add more prints in each paint color to the page.

Tip: Try this on a practice sheet first.

Practice making paint print fireworks on a piece of scrap paper before making prints on the Happy New Year printable.

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For more control, fringed ends can be painted with a brush instead of dipped in paint.

Toilet paper roll firework paint prints. For added control, paint the fringes of the paper roll and press onto the Happy New Year printable to create fireworks.

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A paper roll and paint art activity to ring in the new year with. Introduce this activity with your early learners using this Happy New Year printable. Incorporate math by having children count down from 10 to 1 and match numbers by adding numerical stickers.

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To incorporate number recognition and matching practice, ask your child to cover the numbers 10 to 1 with numerical stickers.

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These art and math activities will be sure to help your child start the new year off on a positive note. I hope 2020 will be a fabulous one for your loved ones and you!

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