Fairy cutting strips are a magical addition to your collection of themed cutting strips! Add them to your next kindergarten or preschool fairy tale theme or magical creatures unit.
These enchanting tracing strips are sure to delight your preschoolers as they practice important early learning skills! The fairy fine motor printables can be used in so many ways with the kids. Best of all, they’re super low-prep.
On top of that, you can use the fairy cutting practice pages with a variety of materials. I love when printables are as versatile as these are!
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Related: Free Preschool Printables
Throughout this post, you will find different ways to use the fairy cutting strips along with all the materials you will need. How will you use these strips with your preschoolers?
Scroll to the bottom of this post to request your own free printable fairy cutting sheets. The bright colors and whimsical theme are sure to keep the children engaged and learning.
Fairy Cutting Strips
These fairy fine motor strips stand out from the rest because they provide a hands-on activity sure to capture your students’ attention. Read below for some tips and ideas for how to use them in your classroom.
How to Prep the Fairy Fine Motor Strips
Before your preschoolers can use the fairy cutting strips, you’ll need to get your materials gathered. Here is a list of simple items that you will need (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Fairy Cutting Strips (scroll down to request your free printable copy)
- Printer
- Scissors
- Paper cutter
- Dry erase pockets
- Laminator
That’s it! It’s highly likely that you already have everything you need for the fairy cutting strips in your classroom. If you want to take this fairy fine motor activity further, you definitely can! Here are some extra items to consider:
You can definitely add to this list depending on how you plan to use the activity. Make sure to check your existing supplies for inspiration as well.
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Related: Dragon Sensory Bin
Now that you have all your supplies ready, and the fairy cutting strips are printed, you’re almost ready to start. The fairy cutting practice sheets have multiple strips per page. Please take a moment to cut them apart into individual strips before giving them to your preschoolers. Depending on your students’ needs, the smaller strips will be easier for them to handle and will prevent them feeling overwhelmed with too many tasks at once.
How to Use the Fairy Cutting Strips
Now that the fairy-themed cutting sheets are prepped, it’s time to use them with your students! Kick things off by reviewing how to hold and use scissors. Then, instruct your preschoolers to cut along the line, moving from left to right to complete the pattern.
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An easy extension of this activity is to laminate the fairy cutting strips or place them in dry erase pouches. Then instruct your preschoolers to draw along the line, moving from left to right.. Keep practicing by tracing the first line above and below in different colors.
More Ways to Use the Cutting Sheets
That’s not all! There are so many ways to use the fairy cutting sheets for fine motor practice. Below are a few of my favorites to get you started:
- Test out the strips with playdough. Kids can roll the dough into “snakes” and place the snakes along the paths on each of the fairy cutting strips.
- Place the strips in the bottom of a shallow tray. Add a thin layer of sand or glitter on top. Then let the kids use a fairy wand to trace the patterns.
- Pair the fine motor activity with small candies, like M&Ms or Skittles. Children will place them along the lines on each strip.
- Use fairy tale-themed manipulatives to trace the lines on each fairy fine motor strip. If you have more than one type of manipulative, challenge the kids to make patterns along the way!
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You can see some of our line tracing sheets in use in the video below:
How will you use these activities in your preschool classroom? I would love for you to share your ideas in the comment section at the end of this post!
What Skills are Being Practiced with the Fine Motor Strips?
Fun and fine motor practice are the primary objectives of the fairy cutting strips. Of course, skill building is still the basis of all our preschool activities. Here are some of the skills covered with this simple printable:
- Fine motor skills, of course
- Scissor skills and the mechanics of cutting
- Left-to-right directionality
- Pencil grasp
- Patterning (if they make patterns as they trace)
- Color identification
- Visual discrimination
You can see that many early literacy and math skills are practiced with the fairy cutting strips. Each of these skills build to eventual reading and writing.
Don’t miss this opportunity to scroll to the bottom of this post and grab your free printable copy of the fairy cutting strips!
More Cutting Practice Activities for Kids
As preschool teachers we know that practice makes progress. Cutting skills are challenging to master. The path to success requires lots and lots of practice. Here are some ideas to keep your preschoolers engaged and practicing scissor skills all year long:
Please keep in mind that we don’t jump immediately to cutting with scissors in preschool. There’s a ton of fine motor play before, during, and after scissors are introduced! If you find some of your students need to get back to those basics as they learn to cut, here are some ideas.
Increase the opportunities for hand strengthening and look for opportunities to build up their confidence. Give the children playdough and dough scissors to cut it into smaller pieces. Any time preschoolers can work with playdough, slime, or clay will make their muscles stronger. And don’t forget to put together some sensory bins with lots of small items to pick up with tongs.
Fairy Tales Tracing Strips Set
My sister site, Preschool Teachers 101, is the perfect resource to save you time and provide some creative inspiration along the way. Our comprehensive preschool lesson plans, activity packs, and other resources are just what you need to help you all year long.
Click on the image below to get your copy of the Fairy Tales Tracing Strips for Fine Motor Practice:
Love these resources and looking for more to complete your preschool lesson plans? Click each of the images below to learn more about each product:
Are you excited to start saving time and want to save money, too? The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 is a fantastic option for you! Membership allows you full access to all our comprehensive resources at a great discount.
Free Printable Fairy Cutting Strips
This free printable is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s free email community. If you’re a member, fill out the form below and the download links will be sent to your inbox. If you’re not a member, you can join us by entering your information in the form. Then you’ll receive the printable fairy fine motor sheets as a welcome gift!
Be sure to check out my printing FAQ page if you run into any issues.
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