15+ Best Cutting and Pasting Activities for Preschoolers (Printables + Reels)

Cutting and pasting activities for preschoolers are fun and creative! It’s always a joy to watch their little fingers work with child-safe scissors, cutting out shapes and objects, and then sticking them onto paper or crafts.

Not only does it help improve fine motor skills, but it also allows their imagination to shine through.

These activities can be done alone or with friends, encouraging sharing and teamwork. In this article, we’ll explore different cutting and pasting activities for preschoolers, so let’s get ready for some creative fun! 🎉

Cutting and Pasting activities for preschoolers

Heart Gluing Activity (3-6 Years)

For this activity, gather some construction paper in various colors such as red, pink, or any preferred hues, child-safe scissors, and a glue stick.

Begin by cutting out heart shapes from the construction paper. Then, demonstrate to your child how to apply glue to the back of each heart and stick them onto a separate sheet of paper. Encourage them to create their own patterns or designs with the hearts.

Start with larger hearts for easier handling and cutting. Gradually introduce smaller hearts to refine their cutting skills. That worked for me when I did with my child.

Recycle Gluing Activity (4-7 Years)

For this activity, get old magazines, newspapers, cardboard, egg cartons, and anything clean you can craft with.

First, go through the materials with your child, talking about how they can be used differently. Help them cut or tear shapes from the materials.

Then, help them glue the pieces onto paper or cardboard to make a collage or artwork. It’s always fascinating to see their creativity come to life with these materials.

Try different textures and colors. This activity helps with fine motor skills and teaches about recycling in a fun way.

Nature Collage Pasting Activity (3-8 Years)

Let’s create art inspired by nature! Go outside with your child and collect leaves, flowers, twigs, and pebbles. It’s always such a joy to explore nature together and discover the beauty it has to offer.

Explore together and gather interesting natural items. Lay them out and discuss how to arrange them for your collage.

It’s fascinating to see the different textures, shapes, and colors that we find in nature. Help your child cut or tear materials if needed, then glue them onto the base to make a beautiful collage.

This activity sparks creativity and helps your child appreciate the beauty of the natural world. It’s a wonderful way to bond and create something special together.

Cut paste shells Activity (3-6 Years)

Now, how about this? Make art with seashells! Find shells in various shapes, sizes, and colors.

First, explore the shells with your child, talking about their unique features. Lay them out and brainstorm how to arrange them on the base. Help trim shells if needed, then glue them onto the base to create your artwork.

This activity develops fine motor skills and inspires appreciation for nature’s beauty at the beach. My child had so much fun creating their own masterpiece with the shells we found.

Make a puppet Activity (3-5 Years)

For fun puppets! Gather colored paper, markers, googly eyes, glue, craft sticks, and decorations like yarn or buttons.

Help your child pick a character or animal for their puppet. It’s so much fun to see their imagination at work as they decide on their puppet’s appearance.

Then, assist in drawing and cutting out the puppet’s body parts from paper. Adding googly eyes and decorating with markers or other materials adds an extra touch of personality. Attach a craft stick to the back for the handle.

This activity boosts creativity, fine motor skills, and imagination.

Paper Chain Making Activity (3-5 Years)

Let’s make paper chains! You’ll need colored paper, child-safe scissors, glue or tape, and decorations like stickers or markers (if you want).

For this activity, start by cutting the paper into strips of the same width. It’s fun to see the colorful strips come together as we prepare them for our paper chain.

Take one strip and make a loop, securing the ends. Thread another strip through the loop and make another loop. Keep going, linking each new loop through the last one until your chain is the length you want.

Decorating it with stickers or markers adds a special touch to our creation!

For younger kids, pre-cut the strips and help them make the loops and link them together. This activity improves fine motor skills, sparks creativity, and lets kids decorate and personalize their chains.

Shape Collage Activity (2-5 Years)

For this task, you’ll need colored construction paper, child-safe scissors, glue, and a sturdy base like cardboard or poster board.

Start by talking about shapes like squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles with your child. It’s always fun to see their eyes light up as they recognize familiar shapes.

Help them cut out shapes of different sizes from the colored paper. Then, let them arrange the shapes on the base to make a cool collage. Once they’re happy with the design, help them glue the shapes down securely.

As an extra fun step, label each shape as your child cuts them out. This activity boosts creativity and helps them learn shapes in a playful way.

Animal Cutouts and Pasting Activity (3-5 Years)

How about making this animal art! Gather colored papers, child-safe scissors, glue, and animal templates or pictures.

Start by choosing animal templates or pictures together. Help your child cut them out carefully. Then, give them a blank paper or cardboard as a base.

Assist them in arranging the animals on the base and sticking them down with glue. It’s incredible to see their imagination come to life as they create scenes or stories with the animals.

For younger kids, you can pre-cut the animals and focus on arranging and pasting. It’s a wonderful opportunity to make art not only fun but also educational.

Watermelon Popsicles Activity (3-8 Years)

You’ll need fresh watermelon, popsicle molds or ice cube trays, popsicle sticks, and optionally, lime juice or mint leaves for extra flavor.

Start by cutting the watermelon into chunks, removing any seeds. Add a splash of lime juice or mint leaves if you like. Insert a popsicle stick into each mold and put them in the freezer until they’re frozen solid.

Waiting for them to freeze is always the hardest part!

For little ones, you can use pre-cut watermelon or cut it into smaller pieces. This activity not only gives a tasty snack but also teaches about making healthy food choices. It’s a fun and delicious way to beat the heat!

Rainbow Cloud Activity (3-6 Years)

For this activity, you’ll need cotton balls, colorful construction paper or foam sheets (in rainbow colors), glue, and scissors.

Start by cutting cloud shapes from white paper or foam. Then, help your child tear or cut cotton balls into smaller pieces.

It’s so much fun to see the clouds become fluffy and full of texture! Next, cut rainbow arches from the colored paper or foam and glue them under the clouds in rainbow order.

For extra fun, sing songs about rainbows or clouds while creating. You can also talk about how rainbows and clouds form in the sky.

Cut and Paste Puzzle Activity (3-6 Years)

To perform this activity, grab sturdy paper, child-safe scissors, and a printed image or drawing.

Choose an image that can be divided into puzzle pieces. Print or draw it on the paper. With your child, decide how to cut it into puzzle shapes. Mix them up, then let your child put the puzzle back together by gluing each piece onto separate paper.

For more challenges, cut irregular shapes or add detailed designs. You can also laminate the pieces for reuse. My kid loves the challenge of creating and solving puzzles, and it’s a great way to learn and have fun together.

Make A Princess Activity (3-7 Years)

To make this masterpiece! For that, gather colored paper, markers, crayons, glitter, sequins, fabric scraps, and any other decorations you have.

First, talk with your child about what their princess will look like. Then, help them draw or trace the princess outline on paper. Your child can then cut out the princess and decorate her using the crafting materials. Once done, they can glue everything in place.

This activity boosts imagination, creativity, and improves fine motor skills. My child absolutely loved creating her own princess and imagining all the magical adventures she could go on.

Make an Apple Tree Activity (3-6 Years)

For this activity, you’ll need green construction paper for the tree, brown paper for the trunk, red paper for apples, child-safe scissors, glue, and markers or crayons.

Start by cutting a tree shape from the green paper and a trunk from the brown paper. I always enjoy watching my child’s face light up as they bring the tree to life with their own hands.

Glue the trunk onto a separate sheet, and then help your child cut small circles from the red paper for apples.

For extra fun, we sometimes use cotton balls or tissue paper for clouds and crumpled brown paper for a textured trunk.

Cut and Paste Monkey Activity (3-5 Years)

For this, you’ll need brown, beige, and black construction paper, child-safe scissors, glue, and optional materials like googly eyes or markers.

Help your child trace or draw a monkey shape on the brown paper, then cut it out. Cut smaller shapes for the face like circles for eyes and ovals for ears. Glue the pieces together on another paper. It’s amazing to see the monkey start to take shape!

Add details like a mouth, nose, and hands with black paper or markers. My child loves adding these finishing touches to give our monkey craft personality.

For extra fun, use textured materials for fur like felt or fuzzy fabric. Create a jungle scene as a background with more paper and art supplies. It’s a great opportunity to let their imagination run wild and create a whole world for their monkey friend.

Make Your Own Healthy Dish Activity (3-8 Years)

Now, it’s time to cook up some healthy fun! Gather fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, and dairy.

Let your child pick their favorite ingredients. Help them wash and prepare everything safely. Show them how to chop, slice, and put it all together creatively.

Involve them in planning meals and grocery shopping too. This activity teaches about nutrition and lets kids take charge of their health through cooking. It’s a valuable life skill that they’ll carry with them into adulthood.

Funny Moments

Like old say, “Not all things go as we planned!” during these activities, my team and I experienced many challenges and funny things too. I would like to share with you. So enjoy and try to not laugh. 😄

During the Heart Gluing Activity. My team member accidentally glued a heart on her t-shirt! She just focus too much on her heart😅

Not only that, during Rainbow Cloud Activity, she made a new kind of rainbow because we found two identical colors next to each other 🤣 purple seemed to love purple just a little too much. Double the purple, double the fun!

I hope you enjoy our content and will perform activities too! So keep on having fun, keep on learning, and let’s make the world a better, tastier, and more beautiful place together!

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