Help Your Child Cut Along The Line

Learning to cut along the line is a tricky task.

It involves bilateral coordination between the hand holding the scissors and the hand holding the paper. In addition, your child needs to visually focus on the line in order to guide the hands, and also needs to plan how to get the scissors in and out of corners.

This is part two of my three-part series in helping preschoolers master scissor cutting skills!

• Part 1 (previous page) will help your child master the grasp-release motion of the scissors
  
• Part 2 (this page) will help your child master the art of cutting out along a line
• Part 3 (next page) will give your child lots of practice with simple cutting activities
  

If your child is struggling to cut along the line, then use the guidelines and activities on this page to help your child to master this important skill!

Remember, if you are at all concerned about your child's scissor cutting skills, please do speak to an occupational therapist. This website is not a substitute for occupational therapy!

Tips To Cut Along The Line Properly

In order to cut along the line properly, your child needs to be able to hold and turn the paper effectively, in addition to being able to open and close the scissors!

Here are some tips that can help your child become more effective and efficient at staying on the line while cutting out:

Tip 1: Check the Position of the Paper

Tip 2: Check Where Your Child Starts Cutting (And The Size Of The Paper)

Encourage your child to start cutting along the line furthest from the holding hand. This helps your child keep better control over what is being cut out.

Younger children often cope better with half sheets of paper - these are more manageable than full sized paper.

Tip 3: Use Wider Lines and Thicker Paper For Beginners

I like to use thin cardstock when teaching kids to cut along the line. This is less floppy than normal paper and is easier for kids to handle. If you don't have thin cardstock, stick two regular sheets of paper together.

Tip 4: Encourage Your Child To Cut Around Shapes The Correct Way

Cutting around shapes in the correct direction will help your child to get the blade of the scissors to stay on the line more effectively and should help your child to cut more smoothly.

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Learning to Cut On Straight Lines

In the developmental progression of cutting skills, children need to first learn to cut along straight lines before progressing to cutting out simple shapes along a line.

Step 1: Cutting Short Straight Lines

Start by having your child cut or snip along very short lines, then progress to cutting along slightly longer lines.

The activities shown here can be found in my Fun Cutting Templates download, but it is really easy to just draw the short lines on a paper plate or scrap paper.

Step 2: Cutting Long Straight Lines

When I am teaching a child to cut along the line, we practice over and over again with LOTS of lines.  We use the lines to make all sorts of fun creations, like paper chains, a jellyfish, an octopus... view some ideas over at my cutting activities page.

Step 3: Cut Lots of Circles and Spirals

Remember, right-handers should cut to the right of the circle, and left-handers should cut to the left of the circle.

I find it really helps to sit behind the child and hand-over-hand help them to get the feel of the smooth movement of turning the paper around while cutting along the line.

Step 3: Progress To Simple Shapes

Once your child has got the hang of turning the paper while cutting, then progress to cutting out on the lines around simple shapes.

Your child needs to learn to gauge when to "turn" the corners, and how to keep the scissors in the corner while turning.

Again, cut lots and lots of shapes, be creative with them and use them with lines and circles to make fun crafts.

You can download a free printable cutting template on my Cutting Activities page and get some creative ideas there!

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What If My Child Still Struggles To Cut On A Line?

Sometimes kids can take a little while to learn how to cut along the line. Sometimes they just need to practice one of the underlying skills, like working on hand strength, or on eye-hand coordination.

Below, I have linked to various pages on my site that deal with some of the foundation skills that can help kids learn to cut better.

• If your child's hands tire easily, work on strengthening the hand muscles with some simple activities.
  
  
• If your child struggles to coordinate holding the paper and cutting at the same time, then try some bilateral coordination activities.
  
  
• You can also try some hand-eye coordination activities to help the eyes focus on the scissor blade and the line and guide the hands in keeping the blade on the line.
  
  
• Visual motor integration activities and visual motor worksheets may help your child learn to focus the eyes to guide the hands while cutting.
  
  
• If your child's eyes are watering during scissor cutting activities, or if your child keeps looking sideways at the paper or closing one eye, PLEASE ask a pediatric or behavioral optometrist to check your child's eyes. This is very important!
  
  
• If you want to know more about how to help your child establish a strong foundation for all fine motor skills, then read this page about the essential foundations for fine motor skills.

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