My three year old is currently showing a lot of interest in scissor work, choosing to do cutting activities daily.

I made him a few new summer-themed cutting sheets that I thought I would share, along with the rest of our beach printables.

There are a bunch of great options below to develop visual discrimination skills, as well as fine motor skills and pattern recognition.

And if your child is new to scissors, check out this post from last year: How to SAFELY Introduce Scissors in 6 Steps.

1. Beach Shadow Matching Cards

Cut out all 16 cards and match the coloured images to the corresponding shadow.

For younger children, start with just 2-3 sets of cards and choose the most obvious and easily recognizable to your child.

You can add more pairs in as your child masters them.

Go here to download this set and the instructions: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Shadow_Matching_Cards_-_Beach.pdf

2. Sandcastle Matching With Magnifying Glass

Cut out all 16 cards and find a magnifying glass.

Match the large image of the sandcastle to the small version, using a magnifying glass to inspect each small image.

For younger children, start with just 2-3 sets of cards. You can add more pairs in as your child masters them.

Go here to download this set and the instructions: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Sandcastle_Matching_With_Magnifying_Glass.pdf

3. Sorting Beach Items By Size - Small/Medium/Large

Cut out all 24 cards. For younger children, start with just 2-3 sets of cards.

You make it easier but putting the matching objects into one pile so your child only has to lay them out S/M/L.

You can make it harder by putting all the small cards into one pile, all the medium into another, and all the large into a third pile so your child has to find each of the 3 images and then put them in order.

Go here to download this set and the instructions:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Beach_-_Sorting_By_Size_Small_Medium_Large.pdf

4. Beach Items - Complete the Pattern

Print out all three pages. Cut out the top horizontal strips and then the two individual boxes below that will complete the pattern.

Have your child glue (or place) in the missing pattern pieces in the correct order.

For younger children, start with only page one, working up to the more complex patterns.

Go here to download this set: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Beach_Cutting_Strips.pdf?v=1722887189

For children interested in patterns, this is a great book: https://themontessoriroom.com/products/pattern-breakers-engaging-kids-book-for-learning-math

5. Beach Cutting Activities

The first activity is great because it's a cutting activity that won't result in lots of little pieces of paper at the end. Have your child cut along the dotted line, stopping at the beach object.

Activity #2 is traditional cutting strips with an optional gluing activity.

Adults will first cut out the strips vertically so each strip has only one type of ocean animal. Offer your child the long strips so they can snip off each ocean creature and add them to a bowl. Once they're done cutting, they can glue the ocean animals onto the ocean background, if they like.

Go here to download this set:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Beach_Cutting_Strips.pdf?v=1722887189

These scissors are great for this activity: https://themontessoriroom.com/products/blunt-tip-metal-scissors

6. Beach Lacing Cards

Print the PDF and laminate each sheet. Cut around each beach object and then hole punch the black circles.

You can knot a string through two of the holes so your child can't pull the string all the way out.

Demonstrate how to weave the string in and out of the holes around the edge of the card.

Go here to download this set:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0536/5530/6394/files/Lacing_Cards_-_Beach.pdf?v=1723431877

And if you're interested in more activities you can do at home, check out our Montessori At-Home Program here: https://info.themontessoriroom.com/at-home-2/