I have put a 'cutting tray' on Otis's shelf in the Art Centre. Today I demonstrated sitting next to him. I used Caspar's scissors which are the same as his. The red strips are heavy weight paper that I had left over from teaching Caspar to cut. Although Caspar was introduced to scissors at an older age and got it straight away. The idea of using the slightly heavier paper is that a child can hold it and it will stay straight making it easier to cut. The lines are probably unnecessary at this stage. 

After demonstrating and allowing Otis to explore the scissors I helped him to put his fingers in the scissors and helped him to cut by putting my hands over his. He loved every moment of cutting. I could take my hands off and he was able to keep cutting, moving the scissors himself for a few seconds. We also tried some fringe cutting which I remember Caspar loving. 

I really enjoy moments like this. Teaching my little one a new skill. We put the tray back on the shelf and will leave it for another day or so. It was also fun to observe Otis. He had the strength but needs to work on the coordination to put it all together. Using tongs has been a good precursor to cutting as I'm sure it uses the same muscles in the hand.