Pre-scissor skills

Growth and development for a child is ongoing.

Learning or mastering a new skill is dependent on opportunity, development and perseverance.

A child’s development is sequential. A child’s development across all areas is intrinsically linked.

In order for a child to move on and progress to another developmental milestone they need to master or conquer the current skill or developmental milestone.

This is relevant for every skill including a child developing scissor skills. A child needs to have practice and time to develop scissor skills. Before a child has mastered using scissors or to assist them in the development it is often referred to as the pre scissor period.

There are many elements that influence the timeline for a child to develop scissor skills.

Firstly, a child develops in a certain way. One way is via proximodistal development. This means they grow from the inside out physically. To put that into perspective and the relevance to pre scissor skills it is a child will learn to wave before they will learn to hold and use scissors correctly.

Proximodistal development means that the hands and the fingers and their dexterity is one of the last developmental stages. This is key as it influences the ability and capacity for a child to develop scissor skills.

They need to have built the muscles in their bodies and then their hands before they can control correctly scissors.

Play plays a pivotal role in a child’s overall development. Threading, molding play dough, digging in the sand pit, playing in home corner all contribute to a child developing the muscles required for success in fine motor skills.

Additionally, providing a multitude of activities and experiences which continue to promote the development in the control of fine motor skills which will help them to develop the skills necessary for scissor control.

This list is primarily a starting point.

Any activity promotes the use of scissor skills as the child is using their muscles which builds their strength.

Focusing the importance on play will facilitate a child continuing to grow and develop to their potential.

• Games with tongs such as pom pom sorting, getting their own fruit with tongs, etc.
• Building block towers and buildings.
• Playing in ‘home corner’ where they pretend to be cooking, etc.
• Play dough with a variety of utensils which can even include scissors as this builds their muscles.
• Games which involve carrying an object with tongs.
• Fishing games – cut-out fish from a sponge and put in water. Take turns at catching a fish with tongs. (Fish can be replaced with letters, shapes or colours in order to extend the activity). Or there are many commercial activity fish and fish type games available.
• Using hole punches.
• College activities, especially using smaller pieces, cutting/tearing/collecting the pieces themselves; using a glue stick or glue spreader.
• Draw a road about 2 cm wide at the bottom of a page. Children go along the road making ‘potholes’ with a hole punch.
• Lacing activity (you can make your own by using stiff paper or cardboard and punch holes).
• Making picture books.
• Stapling decorations on cardboard headbands, paper plates, bookmarks, etc.
• Games with water spray bottles or water pistols.
• Hang up balloons that have shaving cream faces on them. Let the children squirt the faces off the balloons.
• See if children can push a balloon along the ground using the spray from their water bottle.