Fine Motor Development: Cutting Coloured Penne

Thursday 16th August,

Cutting with scissors requires the skill of hand separation, which is the ability to use the thumb, index, and middle fingers separately from the pinkie and ring fingers. This is a great challenge for children with small hands as they learn the skills needed to snip and cut. Scissor skills are not fully developed until around age 6, however our children have shown an interest in using scissors and being independent with their hands. We thought that cutting with a soft medium such as cooked pasta would allow our children to practice their fine motor skills in an interesting way.

We could observe our children deciding what was more comfortable for them by using either their right or left hand. They spent considerable time figuring out how to hold the tool and placing their index finger outside the loop, in front of the middle finger serving as a guide. We encouraged the children to position their wrist so that their thumb was turned upward, with the thumb joint resting inside the thumb loop. We modelled how to position the wrist correctly in the 'thumbs up' position. We held the pasta above eye level so that the children were cutting upwards. Cutting in this position automatically positions the wrist correctly.

Our Pre-kinder's really enjoyed the experience and we heard so many wonderful conversations along the way. “We are making rainbows!” Said Frances. “Oooh, this looks like worms.” Said Wolfe.  “Honey, do you want me to cook you some more pasta?” Olivia asked Harry. “We eat spaghetti at our house.” Sophie commented. “Let’s move the spaghetti over to the other tray.” Ava directed Sophie as they mixed the colours up. 

To extend on this experience, we may try building our hand muscles with tong activities as an entertaining option, using kitchen tongs to stack small blocks or to move cotton balls from one container to another. We may even have a go at finger puppet play upstairs with our newly built theatre to addresses finger isolation and dexterity.