Practicing scissor skills is important for kids to learn, so I like to vary up the materials that we cut from time to time, whether that's paper, cardboard, tape, ribbons, or something else entirely. Anything goes!
Experimenting with different materials not only makes it more interesting for the kids, but it also adds various challenges. For instance, you might have to use more hand strength to cut through the materials. Or the materials might be more slippery and require you to hold them different while cutting.
One new material that we recently experimented with is some mesh tubing.
In particular, I found packs of Halloween themed mesh tubing at the dollar store and I just knew it would be something fun to play and experiment with. The result is this awesome little Halloween cutting activity.
What You'll Need for this Halloween Cutting Activity
It's really easy to set up this cutting activity. Here's what you'll need:
- Flexible mesh tubing in Halloween colors (black, orange, purple, and green or similar) - I actually found this at our local dollar store.
- Scissors - Whatever works for your child and will be sharp enough to cut through the tubing.
I simply set out the mesh tubing and a pair of scissors on a wooden tray (see below - my son started cutting before I could get a proper undisturbed photo!). However, you could also put the mesh tubing into a sensory bin style container or just set the materials out on a table, if you'd prefer.
Halloween Cutting Practice for Kids
This mesh tubing is certainly a different material to cut, one that neither of my boys had experimented with before. But it is certainly an exciting and unique cutting activity for both of them.
My youngest K struggled to get the hang of cutting the tubing and often needed assistance (mostly to hold the tubing steady while he cut). My oldest, J, however, managed quite fine cutting the tubing by himself.
Also, just a quick heads up that this cutting this mesh tubing can get a bit messy. After all, the tubing frays a bit when cut. You can see a few tiny pieces falling in the picture below.
Once your kids are done cutting, you'll be left with lots of colorful pieces of different sizes and lengths, as shown below.
These small cut pieces would be perfect to use as a Halloween sensory bin filler. Mind you, the cut pieces are also fun to play with on their own because when you squish the ends down, it turns into a little spring. My boys were giggling wildly just watching me shooting them around like springs.
So what do you think? Will you be giving this simple Halloween cutting activity a try with your kids? It's such a quick and easy activity to set up too!
