In addition to strengthening our child’s scissor skills, these two crafts can be used to create a fun and attractive holiday table.
Place Mats will help your child become more adept at using scissors and can also make great gifts. You’ll need:
- Construction paper or large, plain paper bags cut into rectangles
- A variety of writing and drawing tools, such as crayons, markers and glitter glue
- Laminating materials or clear contact paper
- Child-safe scissors
Encourage your child to decorate their place mat in whatever way she wishes. Show your child how to make small cuts around the outside edge of the placemat to make fringe. Have her trace a fork, spoon, knife and plate in the appropriate positions on the place mat to help her remember how to properly set the table. Laminate the place mats or apply the clear contact paper to make them more durable. Create sets of matching or personalized place mats to serve as gifts for your guests.
Paper Flowers improve scissor skills and strengthen eye-hand coordination. You’ll need:
- Thin 8.5×11” paper in various colors
- Chenille sticks
- Child-safe scissors
Have your child select the colored paper they wish to use for their flower and cut it in half (creating an 8.5 x 5.5” rectangle). Demonstrate how to accordion fold the paper beginning on the long edge. Ask her to hold the pleated paper while you wind one end of the chenille stick around the center of the paper. Then, help her gently separate the layers of the paper to form a flower. To display her creations, place them into a piece of Styrofoam, arrange as desired and place into a small flowerpot to serve as a centerpiece or beautiful gift.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Excerpted and used with permission from the Gryphon House book, Everyday Play: Fun Games to Develop the Fine Motor Skills Your Child Needs for School by Christy Isbell.
