Fingernail Clipping Activity

I was in need of an activity that reinforced fine motor skills with my children. Interest in playdoh and push pin work has waned for right now. Therefore, I pulled out an old favorite --- fingernail clipping.

When I first introduced this activity a while ago, we traced our hands and drew fingernails on them and practiced cutting the paper nails. 

I decided to try an updated version this time when I brought the fingernail clippers back to the shelf. I cut small strips of paper (I used three different colors) approximately 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. I used red, green, and blue for this activity (mainly because these are the colors that I found first in the art bucket).

I pulled out our measuring spoons and separated the 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp from the ring.

I affixed red, blue, and green bands around each spoon.

I used a white sheet of paper and labeled the placement of the objects. This also teaches the measurements of 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, and 1 tsp. The child uses the fingernail clippers to cut small pieces of paper and fills up the spoons according to the color of the band on the spoon. 

The aspect I really liked about this variation is that the children spent more time actually practicing cutting with the clippers as they had the goal of filling up each spoon - which helped my goal of them practicing their fine motor skills longer!

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