I have been loving our eat-a-rainbow activities! So has my 3-year-old granddaughter, Zoey. I think these new eat-a-rainbow cutting strips are one of my favorite free printables. They encourage healthy eating while giving toddlers and preschoolers a way to work on their scissor cutting skills. There’s even an advanced cutting activity included for preschoolers who are ready for that skill level.
Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now
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My daughter, Christina (a former Montessori child), and I are partnering to bring you a series of Montessori-inspired printables. (Note: Christina has some sweet themed kids’ fitness printables that are great for homes or classrooms!)
The printables are typically themed and use a number of Montessori principles (although you don’t need to be a Montessori teacher or homeschooler to use them). The cutting strips use photographs or realistic images to emphasize reality.
Preschoolers love to learn proper terminology, so I typically tell you the name of the objects or animals featured whenever I can.
Free Eat-a-Rainbow Cutting Strips
To download, click here and then click on the file image in the upper right corner of the PDF to save to your computer (just choose where you want it saved).
Montessori-Inspired Activities Using the Eat-a-Rainbow Cutting Strips
Eat-a-Rainbow Cutting Strips with Basket
Cutting skills are so important for preschoolers. Two year olds can begin working on them, too. When children are first working on cutting skills, they’ll have an easier time cutting cardstock than paper. So, in the beginning, I recommend printing the strips on cardstock. Printer paper is fine for children with more advanced cutting skills.
I’m not sure where I got this basket, although the small Multicraft tray would work, too. I’ve always used Fiskar scissors for kids, which are sharp enough to cut paper easily.
For home use, I like to have a small container to catch the paper scraps. I used a small wooden box we had, although you could use any small container. For younger children, I recommend keeping the basket or tray up out of reach when it’s not being used.
For classroom use, you might want to use Ziplock bags to catch the scraps. Children have fun taking their scraps home in a bag … or saving them to paste onto a collage.
Toddlers and preschoolers can simply cut the thick white lines. Preschoolers with advanced cutting skills can also cut the small white lines separating the fruits and vegetables in the rainbow food collage.
More Eat-a-Rainbow Posts
Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
You’ll find lots of healthy food recipes and food preparation activities in my kids in the kitchen category.
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
The Best Way to Begin Working on Scissor Cutting Skills
Even before using cutting strips, I recommend using an easier object to cut, such as strings of beads. You’ll find lots of tips and ideas for teaching scissor skills in my post on developing scissor cutting skills with Montessori-inspired activities.
More Montessori-Inspired Paper Cutting Activities
You’ll find ideas for home and classroom setups in my post on Montessori-inspired paper cutting activities.
All Our Free Themed Cutting Strips
I’ve arranged the following gallery in alphabetical order. Just click on an image to go to the post with the related free printable!
You can see all our free cutting strips with the latest at the top here.
I hope your child (or students) enjoys using the cutting strips. 🙂
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These cutting strips are so fun! Thanks for sharing them
Thank you so very much! I know someone who loves colors and practicing with scissors. This is so nice of you! Pinned and tweeted.