paper in the sand table

At the beginning of the school year, every year, the first cutting projects we do, I have brand new kindergarten kidlets who go crazy cutting with scissors.

These are the  kidlets with the pile of tiny tiny tiny snippets of paper under their chairs.

It's obviously a developmental/skill acquisition need.

This year, I figured, if you can't beat them, join them. Make it a legitimate activity.

At the end of last school year, I asked people to save their extra scrap construction paper for me rather than recycling it.

Into the sand table it went - a mass of different colours, shapes, types of paper, even some old border strips that I was tired of looking at.  Regular scissors (actually fancy art scissors with camou  and pink tiger stripe  handles) and the fancy-dancy scissors that make cool zig zag cuts were reassigned from the art supplies basket.

I figured that one or two kids might check it out and go scissors crazy;  it was almost a cult hit.

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Kids were around the edge of the sand table cutting.  When there was no more room there, they found space on the floor with their paper and scissors.  

Fabulous cutting.  Then the stapler came out.  Cutting, stapling, stapling cutting.  One little kidlet proudly took home a bag fill of tiny bits of bright pink paper!

When kidlets have difficulty holding their scissors correctly, we chant this oldie (but goodie).

Click on the graphic to get a free download.  

happy cutting