Tracing and Scissor Skill Practise to Make a Colour Shape Path!

Fun with colours and shapes!

Using both hands together can be tricky for some kids! Bilateral coordination is so important in helping children to establish a dominant hand and in working on more complicated skills as your child develops.

This simple homemade path of coloured shapes is a great activity for your toddler or preschooler.  They can help you to make it {using bilateral coordination of their hands and fine motor skills} and then use it to identify shapes and colours {using their gross motor skills and learning concepts}.  

What do you need?

• Strip of contact paper (approx 2 metres)
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Coloured paper
• Crayon (or other drawing tool)
• Shapes to trace (I used wooden coasters)

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What do you need to do?

1. Trace around shapes onto coloured paper. 

2. Cut around traced shapes.

Tracing and cutting are both activities that encourage bilateral coordination of hands.  One hand (usually the non-dominant) needs to stabilise the paper and the other hand (usually the dominant) needs to use the implement (ie. crayon or scissors).  

Your preschooler may need help to trace around the shapes without moving the crayon to the other hand.   They may need help stabilising the shape they are holding so it doesn't move whilst it is being traced.  

Your preschooler will need time to practise and become confident with manipulating the paper to turn as they cut around the shape.  They may require some assistance to turn the paper and encouragement to stay on the line during cutting.  

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3. Lay out your contact paper.  Peel back the paper (I did half at a time) and stick down the shapes varying the colours and shapes along the path. 

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How do you use this?
This path may be used with an individual child or several children together in a setting.  It would work really well in a family day care setting where there are several children in a small group.  Great for turn taking, waiting and other social skills. 

There are many ways to encourage your child with the concepts of shapes and colours.  Depending on the chosen activity, it may also promote bilateral coordination of the legs (used for walking, jumping, hopping) and eye/hand coordination.

• Walk or jump on one shape or colour to reach the other end of the path (eg. find all the stars).
• Identify shapes and colours as you walk on them.
• Balance on one foot on a identified shape or colour.  
• Throw a bean bag onto the identified shape or colour.
• Place markers (toys, figurines, pom poms, etc) on a certain shape or colour.
• Count the shapes or colours.
• Draw over the shapes with a dry-erase marker.  
• Decorate the shapes with patterns using a dry-erase marker.
• Turn it into a mini "Twister" where feet and hands can be place on certain colours or shapes.

Although the weather is cooling down here, my northern hemisphere readers might want to get out some water bombs and throw them at the appropriate shapes or colours!  

Try making this colour shape path with your toddler or preschooler.  They will love to see that their tracing and cutting is put to use and can be "played" with.  Let me know if you try it out!