Most toddlers and preschoolers seem to be fascinated with small creatures … including snails. I know my 2½-year-old granddaughter LOVES seeing and touching the snails she finds near my home. I have some free snail cutting strips to help improve toddlers’ and preschoolers’ cutting skills! The cutting strips are an instant download and very easy to download and prepare.
Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now
My daughter, Christina (a former Montessori child), and I are partnering to bring you a series of Montessori-inspired printables. (Note: Christina has some sweet spring- and summer-themed kids’ fitness printables that are great for homes or classrooms!)
The printables are typically themed and use a number of Montessori principles (although you don’t need to be a Montessori teacher or homeschooler to use them). The cutting strips use photographs or realistic images to emphasize reality. Preschoolers love to learn proper terminology, so I’ll tell you the name of the objects or animals featured whenever I can. In the credit page of this printable, you’ll see information on the names of 4 types of snails, which you can teach to your child or students.
Free Snail Cutting Strips
To download, click here and then click on the file image in the upper right corner of the PDF to save to your computer (just choose where you want it saved).
Montessori-Inspired Activities Using the Snail Cutting Strips
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Cutting skills are so important for preschoolers. Two year olds can begin working on them, too. When children are first working on cutting skills, they’ll have an easier time cutting cardstock than paper. So, in the beginning, I recommend printing the strips on cardstock. Printer paper is fine for children with more advanced cutting skills.
Basket with Snail Cutting Strips
I’m not sure where I got this basket, although the small Multicraft tray would work, too. I’ve always used Fiskar scissors for kids, which are sharp enough to cut paper easily. For home use, I like to have a small container to catch the paper scraps. I used a wooden box we had, although you could use any small container. For younger children, I recommend keeping the basket or tray up out of reach when it’s not being used.
For classroom use, you might want to use Ziplock bags to catch the scraps. Children have fun taking their scraps home in a bag … or saving them to paste onto a collage.
More Free Snail Printables from Living Montessori Now
Find more free snail printables in this post: Free Snail Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snail Activities.
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
The Best Way to Begin Working on Scissor Cutting Skills
Even before using cutting strips, I recommend using an easier object to cut, such as strings of beads. You’ll find lots of tips and ideas for teaching scissor skills in my post on developing scissor cutting skills with Montessori-inspired activities.
More Montessori-Inspired Paper Cutting Activities
You’ll find ideas for home and classroom setups in my post on Montessori-inspired paper cutting activities.
All Our Free Themed Cutting Strips
I’ve arranged the following gallery in alphabetical order. Just click on an image to go to the post with the related free printable!
You can see all our free cutting strips with the latest at the top here.
I hope your child (or students) enjoys using the cutting strips. 🙂
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Deb,
I discovered Christina’s site a while ago, but today I fell in love with her summer inspired movement activities and the videos of Zoey demonstrating them are perfect! These are the resources I put to use right away in my activities with little children…they can’t get enough of focused large motor activities mixed with dramatic play!
Thanks for so much inspiration for summer fun.
Carolyn
Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Carolyn! Christina will love to hear that! I know that Zoey really loves the dice fitness games and often chooses them from the shelves. 🙂 Deb