We cannot get enough of super simple, super fun Christmas activities in preschool lately! There are so many activities that I see that I would love to try, but I just cannot get into activities that take too much input from the teacher’s end and not enough from the actual preschooler. Not to mention some of those activities take forever to plan and prep. Instead, I focus on activities that my preschoolers will love. And the Christmas ribbon cutting tray is always a hit. I am always trying to sneak in fine motor skills when I can, and this is the perfect independent activity!
Christmas Ribbon Cutting Tray
Setting the Christmas ribbon cutting tray up in the classroom or at home take just minutes!
The supplies are easy to find and you probably have them on-hand and ready to go.
- curling ribbon (red and green if you have them!)
- scissors
- tray
Now you are ready to play!
For my younger preschoolers, I will cut longer pieces of ribbon and place them in the tray with the scissors. I would not give the younger preschoolers the spools of ribbon in the tray. The longer pieces allow for the preschoolers to life a piece to cut or to just snip the scissors open and close while trying to cut the ribbon in the tray.
To set this up for my pre-k kiddos, I would allow them to cut ribbon from the spools and from the collection of ribbon on the tray. There is an added “cool” factor to being able to pull the ribbon from the spool or unwind it to figure out how to hold it and cut it.
No matter how the Christmas ribbon cutting tray is set up, lots of learning and fun happen while your preschoolers are sitting snipping ribbon and chatting with their friends.
The best thing about this cutting tray is that it never really gets used up. And refills are rarely needed!
Until the ribbon pieces are becoming so small that cutting could be unsafe to little fingers, the tray doesn’t really need to be replenished.
I know that some of you are cringing about using ribbon just for cutting and then it will all end up in the garbage. But I have ideas for that too!
Instead of just dumping the ribbon from the tray into the garbage as an easy clean up method, there are a couple of ways to use the ribbon pieces that may be useful to you!
Make a sensory bottle! Add the ribbon pieces to a clear plastic bottle. You can add water to the bottle if desired. And then add in letter beads or magnets, or other items for an I Spy sensory bottle. Keeping it Christmas themed would be a fun idea!
Create an ornament! Fill a clear plastic ball ornament with the ribbon would make a simple ornament and an a fun Christmas gift for a family member!
Try our other preschooler approved learning activities for Christmas!
Christmas Tree Alphabet Writing Tray
Gingerbread Number Tracing Cards
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