Scissors - Page 2 of 48

Bottle Labyrinth Ball Squeeze

Boy squeezing a plastic bottle with a taped straw to blow a ping pong ball through a cardboard straw maze at a kitchen table

Steps:

Cut a large flat rectangle from your cardboard to act as the base for your labyrinth.
Use markers to draw a start and finish line on opposite ends of the cardboard.
Cut your straws into various lengths and tape them down to the cardboard to create winding maze walls.
Make sure the paths are just wide enough for the ping pong ball to roll through.
Take an empty, flexible plastic bottle and tape a single straw into the opening, sealing the rest of the cap with masking tape so air only comes out of the straw tip.
Place the ping pong ball at the start line of your maze.
Ask your child to hold the cardboard steady with their non-dominant helper hand.
With their dominant hand, have them squeeze the bottle to release puffs of air through the straw, pushing the ball through the maze toward the finish line.

Safety Tip:
Always supervise children during play to ensure straws and small pieces of tape are used safely. Ensure the plastic bottle is clean and free of sharp edges before assembly.

Rainbow Ribbon Wall Weave

Girl weaving a red ribbon through slits in a cardboard panel taped to the wall at shoulder height

Steps:

Draw five long vertical lines on your cardboard.
Use your scissors to cut a slit along each line.
Make sure the slits are wide enough for the ribbon.
Use masking tape to stick the cardboard to a wall.
Put it at your child’s shoulder height.
Give your child a colorful ribbon.
Show them how to poke the ribbon through the first slit.
Help them weave it over and under across the slats.
Repeat this with all the different colors!

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is needed while using scissors. Ensure the cardboard is taped tightly to the wall so it does not fall.

The Vertical Felt Leaf Clip

Steps:

Use markers to draw a thick, winding vine on a piece of cardboard.
Use your scissors to cut out the vine shape for your child.
Tape the vine shape vertically onto a wall at your child’s eye level.
Cut out several small leaf shapes from the colorful felt sheets.
Ask your child to use a pincer grasp to clip a leaf onto the vine.
Challenge them to reach across their body to place leaves on the opposite side.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required while using scissors. Ensure the cardboard is taped firmly to prevent it from sliding.

The Ribbon Ring Squeeze

Steps:

Use markers to draw colorful stripes around your empty paper roll.
Cut several long strips of ribbon using your child-safe scissors.
Use masking tape to stick one end of a ribbon to the top of the roll.
Ask your child to hold the paper roll steady with their helper hand.
Have them use their other hand to wrap the ribbon tightly around the roll.
Once the ribbon is wrapped, use a pincer grasp to tape the end down.
Repeat this with different colors until the whole tube is fuzzy and bright!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child while they are using scissors. Ensure the ribbon pieces are not long enough to wrap around the neck.

The Foam Garden Button Push

Steps:

Use a marker to draw a simple flower center on your foam sheet.
Ask an adult to cut four narrow slits around the flower center using scissors.
Place the foam sheet flat on the table.
Have your child hold the foam steady with their helper hand.
Give them a pile of colorful, large buttons to use as petals.
Ask them to use their pinching fingers to push a button halfway into a slit.
Repeat until the flower has a full circle of colorful button petals!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise your child during play. Small buttons can be a choking hazard. Ensure the buttons are large enough and kept away from the mouth.