Scissors - Page 24 of 43

Fuzzy Force Sculpture

Steps:

Secure the felt sheet firmly onto the cardboard using masking tape. Stand the cardboard upright against a wall or chair.
Place the pile of pipe cleaners in the container nearby. Encourage your child to pick up one fuzzy stick.
Use both hands together to bend and twist the pipe cleaner into a tight, dense shape, like a small coil or spiral. Bending requires strength!
Ask your child to hold the cardboard steady with their helper hand to provide stability for the surface.
Challenge them to press the bent pipe cleaner firmly onto the felt surface until it sticks.
Continue bending and pressing fuzzy sticks to create a unique sculpture, like an animal or a colorful abstract design.
Try switching the hands used for bending and stabilizing to give both sides a workout.

Safety Tip:
Adult supervision is required. Pipe cleaners can have sharp ends after cutting or twisting. Ensure the child does not place materials near their mouth, eyes, or ears.

Tight Cardboard Ties

Steps:

Ask an adult to cut 6 to 8 small, sturdy shapes from the cardboard (squares and rectangles work best).
Encourage your child to use markers to decorate and color each cardboard piece.
Help your child break the pipe cleaners into shorter, 4-inch strips. This breaking provides good heavy work input.
Take two cardboard pieces. Hold them together firmly with one hand so the edges overlap.
Use your working hand to wrap one pipe cleaner strip tightly around the overlapping edges, twisting the ends together until the connection is secure.
Continue connecting pieces. Build a 3D structure like a cube, a robot, or a tall, zig-zagging tower.

Safety Tip:
Pipe cleaners can have sharp ends after being cut or broken. Constant, direct adult supervision is required. Ensure children do not place these small materials near their mouths, eyes, or ears.

Ribbon Slot Stuffing

Steps:

Adult Prep: Use the Scissors to cut three tight, narrow slots (about 1.5 inches long) into the Cardboard or the lid of the Container. Secure the Cardboard/lid tightly using Masking Tape.
Give the child long strips of Ribbon. Encourage them to use both hands to tear the Ribbon into small, stamp-sized pieces. Tearing wakes up the hand muscles!
Ask your child to hold the container steady with their helper hand (proximal stability) while it sits on the table.
Pick up one torn Ribbon piece. Crumple it tightly into a small ball using only their fingertips (working on pincer grasp and in-hand manipulation).
Aim the crumpled ribbon ball at a slot. Use a controlled, firm push with the index finger or thumb to send the ribbon piece completely inside the container. Repeat until the container is full!

Safety Tip:
Ribbon pieces are small objects. Constant and direct adult supervision is required throughout the activity, as they pose a choking hazard for children under five.

Felt Resistance Wall

Steps:

Adult Prep: Cut a sturdy rectangle from the cardboard. Cut 5 to 6 narrow strips of felt, about 1 inch wide.
Help your child glue the felt strips vertically onto the cardboard. Leave a very narrow gap between each felt strip to create resistant channels.
Once the glue is completely dry, have your child hold the cardboard firmly with their helper hand to keep the wall steady.
Challenge your child to pick up a craft stick. Push the stick straight through one of the narrow felt channels. This requires controlled force.
Continue inserting all the sticks into the wall, working to keep the cardboard from tipping or moving during the push.
When finished, gently pull the sticks out (working those muscles again!) and repeat the building process.

Safety Tip:
Maintain constant adult supervision, especially during the preparation phase involving scissors and glue. Ensure the child pushes the sticks away from their face and body to prevent accidental poking.

Paper Crease Tunnels

Steps:

Adult Step: Use scissors to cut 8-10 narrow slits across the top surface of the egg carton. The slits should be tight, offering resistance.
Draw several long, 1-inch wide strips onto the construction paper using a marker. Encourage your child to use their helper hand to cut carefully along the lines.
Take one paper strip. Fold it in half lengthwise and press the crease very firmly. This makes a tight V-shape or ‘tunnel.’
Hold the egg carton steady with the non-dominant hand. Use the dominant hand to aim the folded paper tunnel at a narrow slot.
Challenge your child to push the stiff paper all the way through the slot. Continue until the entire egg carton is full of paper tunnels!

Safety Tip:
Maintain constant adult supervision, especially during the preparation phase involving scissors. Although the paper pieces are large, ensure small torn scraps are collected immediately and kept away from the mouth.