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It’s been a good long time since I’ve made made a new cutting tray for my preschoolers. It’s not that we haven’t been doing them (in the last two weeks we’ve re-done the “Spider Web Cutting Tray” and the “Recyclables Cutting Tray“), it’s just I haven’t had the creative inspiration to make a new one…until yesterday when Cannon came in the house asking for his scissors to take outside. When I asked him why, he said he needed to cut the plants– BAM– inspiration.
We gathered as many plants, petals, and leaves that we could come up with, and set it in a tray (Melissa and Doug trays are the best) with a pair of scissors. Done. Super simple cutting tray for the win!
Related post: Find the Best Scissors for your Preschooler here
A word of caution: this exercise is not for first time cutters. I would recommend it for kids who already have a general grasp on holding scissors properly because there is a lot of manipulation that needs to take place in order to cut our nature finds. With that being said, this exercise is fantastic for kids who are becoming more proficient with scissors. Holding flimsy grass blades upright, pinching tiny flower petals, turning leaves different angels, etc. Cutting each of these different items takes fore planning along with some reasoning skills to adjust the cutting angles. There is so much happening in this one activity!
Besides all the manipulating, planning, and cutting practice, this also makes a great sensory tray! Smelling different flower scents (we also had mint in there), feeling various textures, and just admiring the sight of all those glorious colors made this a rich sensory experience.
Need more helping teaching your preschoolers scissor skills? Check out my new book, A Year of Scissor Activities: Monthly Cutting Projects for Preschoolers and learn why it is so different than anything else out there! (hint: it doesn’t involve a single worksheet! Think hands-on fun activities!)
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