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Cutting Practice Worksheets

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Scissor skills step by step: short snips, then straight, curved, wavy and zigzag lines that stop at a picture, then shapes and a spiral.

Download the cutting practice worksheets

Snips and straight lines

Curved, wavy and zigzag lines

Cut out shapes and a spiral

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these cutting practice worksheets

Using scissors is a big step for preschoolers. It takes two hands doing different jobs: one hand opens and closes the scissors while the other holds and turns the paper. These cutting practice worksheets build that skill in small steps.

Start with the snip page, where children make single snips on short lines. Then cut along long lines from the scissors picture to a picture at the end: straight lines first, then gentle curves, wavy lines and zigzags. Stopping at the picture teaches control, not just cutting.

When children can follow a line, they cut out big shapes, first ones with straight sides and corners, then round ones, and finally a spiral. Every cut line is thick and dashed so it is easy to see, and the lines match the shapes on our line tracing pages, which make a no-cut version of the same practice.

Standards

  • ELOF P-PMP 3Child demonstrates increasing control, strength, and coordination of small muscles.
  • ELOF P-PMP 2Child uses perceptual information to guide motions and interactions with objects and other people.
  • ELOF P-ATL 3Child appropriately handles and takes care of classroom materials.

How to use them

  1. Use child-safe scissors that fit the hand. Thumb goes in the top hole, and the thumb stays on top, pointing up.
  2. Show the helper hand: it holds the paper and turns it, while the cutting hand just opens and closes.
  3. Cut the snip page into strips first. A narrow strip is much easier for a beginner to hold.
  4. Practice the line with a finger, then trace it with a crayon, then cut. The line tracing pages are a good warm-up.
  5. Always supervise scissor time and keep it short.

Teaching tips

  • If the paper flops, cut each page in half or print on card stock.
  • If a child turns the scissors instead of the paper on curves, remind them: "The paper turns, the scissors go straight."
  • Left-handed children need left-handed scissors.
  • Save the scraps: snipped strips make fringe, grass or a lion's mane for a craft.

Questions teachers and parents ask

How do I teach a preschooler to cut?

Start with single snips on a narrow strip, then cut straight lines, then curves and zigzags, and last of all shapes. Keep the thumb up and let the helper hand turn the paper.

What if my child is not ready for scissors?

Use the matching line tracing pages first. Tearing paper and playdough also build the hand strength scissors need.

Is there a no-cut version?

Yes. The line tracing worksheets have the same straight, curved, wavy and zigzag lines to trace with a crayon instead of cutting.