Cutting skills - LearnSite

Thumb through top loop
Middle finger through bottom loop
Index finger helps hold the bottom loop steady (If the child’s fingers are small, he/she can place both index and middle fingers in the bottom loop)
Fingers 4 and 5 are curled into the palm
The scissor points away from the body

Midposition, with the thumb facing up
Elbow held loosely next to the trunk
If a child holds both or one arm in abduction (elevated elbows), gently push the arms down next to the body.

The position of the stabilising hand is in mid-position, i.e. the thumb at the top
The bulk of the picture is held in the stabilising hand i.e. the edge is cut off, rather than the child holding the edge

Make sure the child holds the elbows loosely next to the trunk with both hands at about chest level. If a child holds the paper too close to the face he/she is probably fixating the paper, making the cutting execution awkward.

Encourage the child to use most of the blade when cutting (i.e. no snipping)
To avoid a jagged edge, the child is encouraged to start off exactly where the previous line ended.
The child has to be able to see the line when cutting; if the child cannot see the line, he is not cutting ON the line. A right-handed child will look on the left side of the blade and vice versa.
Once finished cutting on a line, the line can be seen on either side of the cut.
A right-handed child cuts anti-clockwise around the picture and a left-handed child cuts clockwise around a picture.
Encourage slow closing of the scissors, in order to be able to manipulate the paper with the assistive hand effectively.
The assistive hand holds the shape to be cut out and the child cuts around the shape (i.e. the child does not hold the off-cuts)
Encourage the child to manipulate the paper with the assistive hand and also to adjust the positioning of the hand while cutting. The assistive hand can be moved, especially when changing the cutting direction and it should be held close to the position of the scissors.