Learning to Cut!

God has really put it on my heart to consider homeschooling my kids. That's another post for another time, but I've been working with Evan a little here and there to see what it would be like, and to see how open he would be to my teaching. It's kind of a stretch for me to teach little ones since my degree is for middle school, but it seems to work differently when you're working with your own kids rather than a classroom full of other peoples' kids... :)

Evan is almost three, and he's never used scissors. I wanted to be the first to introduce them to him so I could teach him how/where/when/why to use them properly. It was a really fun activity for him. He's still learning how to hold them, but he really surprised me at how well he was able to stay on the lines.

Although I made up the work sheets for him, I am using the Kumon Method to help him learn cutting and writing letters. The Kumon Method helps kids to progress in skills by using practice materials, advancing in small, manageable increments until concepts are mastered. For cutting, it works by drawing several big, fat, and short lines to help him learn to cut on a line. Then the lines will get longer, then they will become horizontal and vertical lines, then they'll zig zag, then he'll learn to cut out shapes with straight lines, then he'll learn to cut curved lines, more complicated curved lines, circles, and finally complicated items that have both straight and curved lines (like the outline of an animal). For more information on the Kumon Method, you can visit their website at www.kumon.com.

I'm really excited about teaching Evan more and more. He has such a desire to learn...and a short attention span that will keep me on my toes for sure! Stay tuned for further lessons!