Lion Mane Snips
What you need
- a sheet of paper, yellow or orange if you have it
- child's safety scissors with rounded ends
- a crayon
How to do it
- Draw a big lion face in the middle of the paper, leaving a wide border all the way round.
- Show them how to snip in from the edge towards the face, and stop before they reach it.
- Turn the paper as they go, so they snip all the way round the mane.
- Fluff the strips up with your fingers and give the lion a roar.
Why it matters
Each snip is short and finished in one go, which suits scissors at this age, and the mane gets bigger with every cut.
What they're learning
- Using scissors
- Open, close, open, close: a snip that stops where they choose.
- Two hands, two jobs
- One hand cuts while the other holds and turns the paper.
- Stopping at a line
- Ending a snip before the face takes a steady eye and hand.
What to look for
Notice them turning the paper with their other hand instead of turning their whole body.
A tip
Sit beside them the whole time and put the scissors away as soon as you finish. Children's safety scissors only.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: draw short lines on the border to snip along, and hold the paper still for them
Harder: cut the whole lion out too, following the line all the way round
