Developmental Milestones for Scissor Skills
By 2 years of age
- Can cut one snip at a time
By 3 years of age
- Can snip forward along a line
By 4 years of age
- Can cut along a straight line within ¼ inch of the line
- Can cut along a curved line within ¼ inch of the line
- Can cut a circle within ½ inch of the line
By 5 years of age
- Can cut a square staying within ½ inch of the line
- Can cut a triangle within ½ inch of the line
By 6.5 years of age
- Can cut out complex pictures by following the outlines
Setting the Child Up for Success
Sitting Position
- Knees and hips are at 90 degrees, feet flat on the floor, table/desk is two inches above the elbow
Arm Position
- Prompt the child to keep their shoulders relaxed if they are ‘hiked’ up towards their ears
- Elbows should be down closer to the body
- Tip: try placing a folder/paper under their arm to give them the cue to keep their elbow down at their side while cutting
Hand & Finger Position
- Make sure the child is in a ‘thumbs up’ position while using scissors, both their ‘worker hand’ and their ‘helper hand’ should have their thumbs facing up
- Tip: put stickers on the child’s thumbs as a reminder to keep their thumbs up
Gross Motor Activities to Support Scissor Skills
- Hanging activities – monkey bars, chin ups, pull ups, swinging on a tree
- Climbing activities – climb a tree, slide, ladder, etc.
- Pushing and pulling activities – push someone on a swing, wall push ups, pull a heavy wagon, pull someone on a blanket, push a laundry basket full of books
- Weight bearing through arms – animal walks, wheelbarrow walks, crawling, push ups, planks
- Yoga poses
- Bilateral coordination activities – using a hand mixer, stirring ingredients in a bowl, hammering nails, jumping jacks, jumping rope, cross crawls
Scissor Skill Tips & Tricks
- To practice snipping, cut straws into small pieces
- Cut on card stock or construction paper to provide more resistance/feedback
- To assist with visual perception, highlight the line with a highlighter
- Make a line or other shape out of stickers and have them cut along the stickers (gives them more of a visual cue)
- Create a textured path with glue/string/Wikki Stix/strips of coloured paper for the child to cut in between
- Cut different textures like playdough, kinetic sand, theraputty, food, etc.
- For shapes in the middle of the paper try highlighting a line so the child knows where to start to get to the shape
Right-Handed Individuals
- When cutting out circles, teach a right handed child to start on the right hand side of the page (cutting counter-clockwise around circle)
Left-Handed Individuals
- Ensure that a left handed child is using left-handed scissors
- When cutting out circles, teach a left handed child to start on the left hand side of the page (cutting clockwise around circle)
Finding the Right Scissors
- Spring loaded scissors – these are very helpful for younger children or children who have difficulty opening scissors
- Plastic scissors – great for very young children who are just learning to use scissors, these are great to use with playdough
- Hungry cutters – a fun product that helps remind children to keep their thumb facing up while cutting
- Choose scissors based on the child’s age:
