‘Why
scissors? They’re an interesting invention; they cut through
things . . . . . . I mean scissors are both simple and
complicated.
They’re a very simple design. But I remember as a
kid I could
never figure
out how they worked.’ (Burton, 1990)
In school at the age of 5 I was given
a piece of paper with a circle drawn on it and a pair of scissors, (similar to
the ones pictured), and I was told to cut out the circle. My end result did not
please my teacher much, she took back the scissors and commented, “Well, we’re
not very good at that, are we?” I was
disappointed as I had concentrated on
following the line so very carefully.
Using scissors on my own was a new skill I had not yet mastered. These days we understand that ‘children who
are given early opportunities to develop bodily skills and co-ordination of
hand and eye, gain a sense of mastery over their environment and confidence in
their own ability’ (Somerset, 2007, p. 6). Learning to use scissors (and other tools) effectively
and safely is one of the essential skills of the exploration strand of Te
Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996). and also helps a child
to develop hand-eye co-ordination, (for eventual control of their pencil to write), visual perception (the ability to recognise the difference between
curved and straight lines, ready for reading), and spatial meanings by using
descriptive language such as make a long/short cut, cut from top to bottom, etc with the children as
they work with scissors helps them understand the meaning of the words (Lazarus, 1965).
I observed a group of children working
together at the cutting and sticking table, and it was noticeable that the older children had more fine motor control than the younger ones just through how they managed their use of the scissors. The older children who had been at kindergarten
for a while had no problems cutting paper but could not cut the long ribbon
into the smaller pieces they wanted. I helped them when they asked by holding
the ribbon tight so they could cut it. The younger children could start to cut
paper, but struggled with re-positioning their scissors to get another cut
through. When they lost patience they either appealed for help or tore the last
bit of paper. Lazarus (1965) recommends
the use of training scissors (see picture) for children who have poor
co-ordination or have tried unsuccessfully to use scissors previously and are
afraid to try again, and although the article is quite old I can see that the
use of these scissors may have advantages for some children. I feel however
that other children would not want to use these scissors as they may feel they
have no control of what they want to achieve, plus the scissors themselves seem
quite bulky.
I
was working with a small group of 4.5 -5 year olds, at the
writing table, who were offered the opportunity to make a cardboard cube which
they could decorate in any way they chose. This involved them cutting out a
cardboard template to form the box and the pictures to stick over it. The
children showed great competence and concentration when using the scissors, and
all but one (left-handed child) managed to cut out their items independently. They worked together in
deciding which pictures each would use, and some also decided to use the
pattern bladed scissors when cutting them out.
Scissor design has come a long way
since they were first invented, we now have (among others), scissors which:
·
produce patterns,
·
can be used by left-handed
people
·
are rotary (perhaps a ‘digital’
version in the scissor world).
·
Can have multiple
blades.
. Have curved blades.
. Have been designed/developed to fit a specific need, which is a definition of technology as stated in the New Zealand Curriculum (2007).
The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) requires that children experience technology at a level in line with their development. We can facilitate this for young children, by allowing them to use age appropriate scissors, they learn that although seeminly simple, they are tricky to master, but once this is acheived they have a tool which allows them to transform materials into something different (Ministry of Education, 2007 p.37)
References
Burton, T, (1990) quoted in Easton, N.J. ‘For Tim Burton,
This One’s Personal’, in the Los Angeles Times 8 December 1990 quoted in Tim Burton by J. Smith and J. Clive Matthews. London: Virgin
Books. Found in Case, C. (2006). Observation of children cutting up,
cutting out and sticking down. International Journal Of Art Therapy, 11(1),
42-52. doi:10.1080/17454830500382820
Lazarus, P. W. (1965). Cutting: A kinesthetic tool for
learning. Exceptional Children 31(7), 361-364.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: He
whariki mataurangi mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum.
Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand
Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Somerset, G. (2007). Work and Play.
Christchurch, New Zealand: Wyatt & Wilson Print Ltd.
·
produce patterns,
Pat, your blog reminded me that technological tools are as simple as a knife, fork and scissors. As we all too often get caught up in the digital age, it was wonderful reading how children in your centre were learning the simple task of using scissors. As you pointed out in your blog, scissors help children develop fine motor skills which are essential when children start school and learn how to write. The skills you listed that the children learn when using scissors are often forgotten or overlooked. Failure by a child, over a period of time, to distinguish between a curved and straight line may help a teacher to realise that a child may have vision impairment.
ReplyDeleteAs well as developing fine motor skills, tasks like this help children develop perseverance as well developing constructive ways of dealing with challenges (Ministry of Education, 1996). A challenge with scissor is obviously learning how to hold them so that they can be used for cutting. Do the children use scissors to open packets of food at meal times?
Patricia,
ReplyDeleteYou are right; scissors are wonderful piece of technology but I’ve never thought of them as such. They are such a simple design but so clever and versatile. No wonder that they’ve been around for so long and still hold their worth. Using them, though, does take some practice and for children whose fine-motor skills are just developing, they might prove quite challenging. However, scissors are great learning tools. Apart from fine-motor skills they help children to grasp concepts like cause and effect, straight and curved, sharp and blunt and safety concerns too. As children gain more skill their confidence in using this tool also grows. They gain an understanding of how using scissors can contribute to their own expression, creativity and problem-solving (Ministry of Education, 1996).
I agree with you that the training scissors take the control out of the child’s hand. I believe that aiding the child verbally or by holding the paper in a correct position would bring the same result with the child having the control over the action. As a result this technological tool could become the tool of the child’s success (Ministry of Education, 2007).
Every day children crowd around the collage table to create with recycled resources and items that have been collected from mother earth e.g. shells, seeds acorns sticks and flowers. Until reading your blog I would never have considered this learning experience technology. However, since reading Smorti (1999) where her definition of technology states that technology is also a creative and purposeful activity , where knowledge, skills and resources are combined to find solutions to make a product (Smorti, 1999).
ReplyDeleteWhen children learn new skills e.g. cutting with scissors it gives them a real sense of empowerment and the confidence to take on new challenges (Ministry of Education, 1996).
As all children develop different skills as various ages, I think the best way we can support children with the skill of using scissors is to be supportive and to help them when they come to us for assistance. Through our encouragement they will feel confident to try again when the need arises.
References:
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10
Reading the words by Burton (1990), I think back to my early years at home with my mum in Rarotonga, you would find me playing with a scissors with no adults around. Why? Because I was told that scissors are an adult’s tool. I remember the words, “you are too small to use it, yours hands are too small, it is a sharp object, you will cut yourself, it is too dangerous, I will cut your paper for you, you don’t need to use the scissors try ripping the paper and NO YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED.” I cannot imagine using those words with all children to the left and right of me. With my persistence in using the scissors, my mother grew the courage to teach me to learn how to use a scissor safely after setting me some activities to do. She gave me paper to rip into pieces from big, medium to small (using the whole of both my hands). She got me to rip more paper, using my thumbs and fingers. The last activity was to rip more paper, using my thumb and pointer fingers. As my mother and an adult, she contributed to my learning by providing me with activities to help me develop hand-eye co ordination and understanding of my body before empowering me to handle the scissor (Ministry of Education, 1996). She reminded me that my hands are essential to making other tools work, hence the reason for her activities. My mummy is absolutely right in fostering my awareness of ‘self’ (Mindes, 2006). I need to remember that the beginning and end of a book are bridged with a midpoint – that is the same of learning and teaching with our children.
ReplyDeleteTobin (1990) highlights that "learning is defined as the construction of knowledge - as sensory data are given meaning in terms of prior knowledge. Learning is an interpretive process and always involves construction of knowledge.... Constructivism implies that students require opportunities to experience what they are to learn in a direct way and time to think and make sense of what they are learning” (p. 404-405).
Brownlee (2007) argues that “as adults we are the ones that oversee the environment that the child comes into, and we set up the patterns of relationship with our children to encourage them to meet their potential” (p. 7). You included the words of Somerset (2007) that ‘children who are given early opportunities to develop bodily skills and co-ordination of hand and eye, gain a sense of mastery over their environment and confidence in their own ability’ (p. 6). Indeed, you and I are perfect examples of this.
Scissors are one of the most useful inventions in history. They have been around for so long that we forgot its importance. It surely is technology as Smorti (1999) suggested that any thing that makes our work easier is technology. In daily life we and children use it quite often (from collage area to cutting packets in lunch box). Not only does it helps children’s fine motor skills but also help them to determine basic concepts of shapes, lines and curves. I have observed children in my practice that they feel very proud and empowered when they are able to creatively problem solves with scissors and scissors prove as a tool of success for them (Ministry of Education, 1996 & Ministry of Education, 2007). Just an activity suggestion, I do this with children all the time and they love it. Word hunt or alphabet hunt, it is basically giving children a word says their name and they have to find it from the old magazines. They have to cut the alphabets and then past it, this activity opens up lots of opportunities for children as they start to recognise different alphabets in different fonts but also problem solve if an alphabet is in the middle of the page how they are going to cut it.
ReplyDelete