The Monster Hair Salon: Scissor Skills Fine Motor Activity for Reception

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Create the Monsters

Give each child a toilet roll tube and invite them to draw a funny monster face on it. Next, help them tape strips of colourful scrap paper around the inside of the top rim so the paper sticks up like wild, messy hair.

2. Teach the Thumbs-Up Grip

Before handing out scissors, explicitly teach the correct grip. Have children hold their cutting hand out and point their thumb to the ceiling. "Thumb goes in the small hole, looking at the sky!" Ensure they are sitting with good posture at the table.

3. The First Snips

Open the salon! Encourage children to start by making single snips to create a 'fringe'. Remind them to use their 'helper hand' to hold the monster steady. Watch closely to ensure they don't turn their cutting hand upside down.

4. Explore Different Styles

Once they are confident snipping, encourage more complex cuts. "Can you give your monster zig-zag hair? What about a very short buzz cut?" Let them experiment with pushing the scissors forward to cut off longer strips of paper.

5. Sweep Up the Trimmings

Make tidying up part of the physical challenge! Have the children use their pincer fingers to pick up the tiny paper trimmings from the table and put them into the recycling bin, further developing those pre-writing muscles.

Classroom Adaptations

Large class?

Run this at a continuous provision table with 4-6 chairs, swapping out the monsters as children finish.

Limited resources?

Instead of tubes, simply draw a face at the bottom of a sheet of A4 paper and let them cut strips down from the top.

Mixed ages?

Provide loop scissors (which spring open automatically) for children who lack the hand strength to open standard scissors.

High ability?

Draw thick, straight, or wavy lines on the monster's hair and challenge the child to cut exactly along the lines.