Thanksgiving Cutting Practice Printables for Scissor Skills
This Thanksgiving cutting practice set gives kids turkeys, pies, pumpkins and more to cut out along dashed lines. There are 15 shapes, from a wishbone to a bowl of green beans.
Every shape comes in three sizes and in color or black and white, so scissor practice can start big and simple and get smaller as kids get better.
How Scissor Skills Build
Cutting comes in stages. Kids usually start by snipping, then cut along a straight line, then follow gentle curves, and finally cut all the way around a shape while turning the paper. The three sizes in this set follow that same order.
The four-to-a-page sheets start with straight cuts, since each shape sits in its own box. The big shapes give kids long, gentle curves with plenty of room. The nine-to-a-page sheets are the hardest, with short cuts and tight turns.
Holding the Scissors
- Thumb on top. Kids hold the scissors with the thumb hole facing up, like a thumbs up.
- Use the helper hand. The other hand holds the paper and turns it, so the scissors can keep moving forward.
- Open wide, close all the way. Long, full snips make smoother lines than tiny ones.
- Use kid scissors with blunt tips that fit small hands.
The dashed line on every shape sits a little outside the picture, so a wobbly cut still leaves the picture whole.
Making It Easier or Harder
Start with the big shapes that have simple outlines, like the pumpkin, pear and slice of pie. Move on to shapes with bumps and corners, like the turkey, cornucopia and green beans.
When the big shapes feel easy, try the nine-to-a-page sheets. Smaller shapes mean more turning and more control.
Color or Black and White
The color pages are ready to cut. The black-and-white pages let kids color the shapes first, which adds a little more fine motor work before the scissors come out.
What to Do With the Cut-Outs
- Glue the pie, turkey, green beans and mashed potatoes onto a paper plate to make a Thanksgiving dinner.
- Make a gratitude collage with the turkeys and harvest shapes, and write something kids are thankful for next to each one.
- Sort the shapes by color or by size.
What’s in the Set
- 15 shapes: turkey, roasted turkey, turkey leg, wishbone, corn, cornucopia, feather, green beans, mashed potatoes, pear, pie, slice of pie, pumpkin, squash and sunflower
- Three sizes: four to a page, one big shape per page and nine to a page
- Color and black-and-white versions of every page
Grab the Printable
Get all 15 Thanksgiving cutting shapes in my shop.
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