Did you ever make a construction paper turkey by tracing around your hand?
I did - every year of elementary school, it seemed. So why not subject my almost four-year-old to the same kind of torture? - and before he's even in school I might add (heeheehee).
I did - every year of elementary school, it seemed. So why not subject my almost four-year-old to the same kind of torture? - and before he's even in school I might add (heeheehee).Actually, Jack tends to be a bit of a perfectionist and shows very little patience when he can't do something right the first time (I can't imagine where he got that from...oops). His preschool teachers have asked me to work with him on cutting with scissors. I guess, while at school, Jack ends up ripping up his "work" when he can't cut it exactly right and thus needs to practice. Maybe he should first learn how to actually hold the scissors correctly...
So yesterday, we went to work making a turkey (if only Thanksgiving dinner could be made this easily). 
He was so very proud of himself and he had a great time making it (after all, it was his first time - maybe in a few years, after he has done it year after year, he will actually realize what a tedious and cheesy project this really is).
He was so very proud of himself and he had a great time making it (after all, it was his first time - maybe in a few years, after he has done it year after year, he will actually realize what a tedious and cheesy project this really is).So, just out of curiosity does anyone else have any exciting Thanksgiving projects, preferably calling for the use of scissors?
Posts
9 comments:
His turkey is really good for a four year old. I'm impressed!!
I used to teach kdg. Give him a catalog or magazine and have him cut out pictures of things he likes or things he wants for Christmas and glue on a poster board.
You can also print pictures from the computer for him to cut out.
Hope those help. :)
Thanks, Dawn - the things he wants for Christmas may be a little difficult since he "needs" everything : ) but we may give that one a try anyway.
As for the turkey - I had to help him hold the paper while he cut of course; but I didn't think it was too bad.
Isabel is the same way, as far as being a perfectionist and getting annoyed when she can't get it right.
Have you tried the one where you get a bunch of big pieces of red, yellow, and orange construction paper, trace their hands on each piece, then cut out all the handprints and use them as the feathers of the turkey? It gives lots of practice with the scissors and is a colorful variation on the standard handprint turkey.
Have fun!
I just saw that one on-line yesterday! It was too cute. Thanks for the suggestion.
He did a great turkey!!! That one is one we do around here...so cute and fun to do!! :) He looks so proud!! Very sweet!
That's so cute, he looks so proud of himself! I remember making those as a student and having my kids do them when I taught preschool and kindergarten. I was actually going to suggest something similar to what Dawn mentioned (teacher minds must think alike). For Thanksgiving, you could have him go through magazines and have him find pictures of things that he's thankful for and make a collage of that (house, family, toys, car, dog, food, etc...) Tell him that he is AWESOME! :)
I love the turkey handprints. We are actually making them on
Thurs. at school.
You probably already know this, but cutting with scissors is a fine-motor skill. A couple of good activities for increasing fine-motor skills are playing with playdough, tearing paper, using tongs to pick things up, and lacing things up (I think you can buy lacing cards at Wal-mart). If you want to do an art project you could let him decorate a picture or let him make his own with torn or cut pieces of paper. You could also draw lines (straight, zig zag, wavy, etc) and let him cut them. A fun seasonal thing to pick up with tongs is an assortment of nuts that are still in their shells. Sorry to write so much!
Jill, you are always a wealth of information when it comes to kids and learning. Thanks for the suggestions!
His turkey is great! I'm pretty sure its better than what my six year old would do!
As for activities, Jill up there is right. Three is extremely young to be working on scissors skills. I work with kids on fine motor skills (in therapy) and scissors are never a concern at his age. Its great to work on it, but if he's getting frustrated, he may just need to do some of the hand strengthening activities mentioned above. Good, easy activities with scissors are to have him cut on lines, straight or slightly curvy, or cut out big circles. He can also use the scissors to make fringe along the edge of the paper (to practice opening/closing) and using tongs and tweezers is a similar movement. OK, so I know this isn't an OT consult, but I just wanted you to know that he is doing great from what I can tell!
Post a Comment