Positioned for Scissoring Success by Dr. Mari

By, Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

www.writeoutofthebox.com

Facilitating appropriate arm and hand positioning is critical when children are developing their scissor skills. “Positioned for Scissoring Success” means the thumb is facing up on the hand holding the scissors and that the arm is moving away from the body when cutting instead of toward it. Try these positional strategies when the hand or arm is curved or being used in an unorthodox position:

Get Rid of the Table: Some students perform cutting practice better when they are seated away from the desktop or table surface. Often, scooting the chair back from the table will improve positioning and holding of scissors and/or paper automatically.

Fringy Fun: Tape paper to edge of desk or middle of easel so student can cut upwardly and make “fringe.” This is a great technique to correctly position the arm for cutting.

Hold Tight: Have the child “hold” a small roll of paper towel or newspaper between the underarm and torso of the cutting arm to ensure that the arm stays in the correct position. This is a gem of a tip!

Tummy Time: Lying on tummy to practice cutting will often correct arm positioning automatically!

Color-Coding: Clarify scissor grasp and build independence by color-coding thumbhole on scissors. Simply wrap thumbhole with tape in a contrasting color. Electrical tapes works well.

Documenting Scissor Skill Progress with Lollipop Friends™

                  

We hope you love scissor skill assessment tool – Lollipop Friends! Educators can use this assessment tool to document progress and engage in productive conversations with a parent about his/her child's scissor skill progress and goals. The Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet integrates perfectly into a student's cutting project portfolio to capture multiple reflections of the student's journey to cutting skill proficiency!

Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet is available as a single booklet for use with one child or in a reproducible format for easy and cost-effective duplication. Full instructions for implementation of Lollipop Friends are located in the Lollipop Friends Assessment Booklet. For more information on this product please visit www.writeoutofthebox.com.

         

*** Note from the editor. There are terrific photos that go with this article. They are in a technological blackhole known as my laptop, that just crashed, big time. Twill work with Dr. Mari to get a new set and get them uploaded for your further insight, just ASAP. Ahhhhhhh. Technology. ~~ Debbie