- 5 - 15 mins
- Fine motor, cutting skills, sensory awareness
- Messy!
- Easy
My little one has been watching her big brother homeschool for weeks now and is taking everything in. Recently she has been attempting to cut using scissors however being so little (not even 2 yet!) this is a challenging task. Scissors skills are an important life lesson and that means its important to provide opportunities to practice and establish the skill.
Spaghetti cut is a very simple, cost-effective experience that has minimal prep and hours of fun. This experience focusses on scissor skills, bilateral coordination and sensory awareness. It’s a fun way to stimulate the senses and explore cutting in a playful way.
What you will need
- Children's scissors
- Cooked spaghetti
- Tray or bowl
Activity steps
Setup
- Cook spaghetti as per packet instructions and set aside to cool completely.
- Once cool, put your spaghetti into a tray and set up with some child safe scissors. I chose to use Crayola toddler safe scissors so there was no way of cutting her little hands.
- Allow your little ones to explore the spaghetti and practice using the scissors to cut the strands.
Helpful scissor skills:
- Show your child how to hold scissors. Modelling is a great tool!
- Use the handy phrase “thumbs the boss” this helps to remind children that the thumb is at the top and controls where the scissors move.
- You could also try putting a sticker on the child’s thumb as a good reminder.
- Always remind children that scissors are sharp and that they need to be aware of who and what is around them when using them.
- Enforce and remind children that practice is the key! Scissors skills can take some time and coordination to master and it can be frustrating. I like to remind my kids that “you might not be able to do it YET, but you will with practice”.
Learning Opportunities
- Fine motor- Your children will engage their fine motor development and hand eye coordination as they manipulate the spaghetti and use their scissors to cut.
- Bilateral coordination- is using both sides of the body together in an activity and is an important self-care skill. In this experience your children will practice bilateral coordination by holding the spaghetti in one hand and the scissors in another as they cut.
- Hand strength- Your children will work their fine motor muscles, develop strength and dexterity when manipulating the spaghetti and the scissors.
Reference sites
We would like to acknowledge these amazing sites that have inspired us to create this activity. Thank you!