Easy Nature Cutting Bin for Preschoolers

This nature cutting bin is super easy to set up and will keep your preschooler, kindergartner or school age child engaged strengthening their fine motor skills and having fun outdoors! The best part of this nature cutting bin is that when they are done cutting the fun does not need to stop there! So grab your scissors and head outdoors for this fun and simple outdoor activity for kids!

Outdoor Activity For Preschoolers

The nature cutting bin is a great activity to set up after nature walk or even in the spring after doing some cleaning up in your yard and garden. There really is no wrong way to set up this cutting bin. And the more variety of natural items, colors and textures you can add to the bin the better. Find long and short leaves, thick or thin ones, rounded or pointed ones!

Although leaves are the easiest items to cut, if you are in the garden pulling weeds, add a few roots! If you are heading out for a hike or a simple nature walk before the setting up with activity, try to find berries, nuts even pinecones to try and cut (be sure to warn your preschooler not to eat them!). You can also add twigs and thin sticks. Look for ones that snap easily or are dry.

Part of the fun in this nature cutting bin is the sorting as well. Sorting is one of those early math skills preschoolers love to do. Have them sort the items before cutting them. They can even guess which items will be easy to cut or harder or even impossible to cut with scissors!

You might also like to check out these other lists of activities for kids:

• Outdoor Activities for Kids
• Indoor Activities for Kids
• Summer Science Activities for Kids
• Fine Motor Activities for Kids
• Summer Crafts for Kids
• Outdoor Learning Activities for Kids

Nature Cutting Bin for Toddlers

If you are doing this activity with a toddler who isn’t quite ready for scissors yet, this activity can easily be modified for their skill level. Instead of cutting the nature, they will tear it. The tear action is easier for toddlers but you will still need to help them figure out how to to this at first.

The great thing about tear nature is that they are still be working on the fine motor skills they will eventually need to be able to use scissor in the next few years.

Materials Need for the Nature Cutting Bin

• Sensory bin or large container or water table
• Child save scissors
• Nature (long grass, leaves, wild flowers)

How to Set Up A Nature Cutting Bin

1. The “hardest” part of setting up this nature cutting bin activity will be finding the “nature” to cut! So head outside into your backyard or to a park with your large container or sensory bin with your preschooler (be sure to include them in the set up!) to hunt for nature to cut.

2. Look for items that are thin and easy to cut with child scissors. I found long grasses, leaves and wild flower like dandelions to work best. Use whatever you have on hand in your space!

3. Place the scissors in the bin and invite your preschooler to start cutting. Check out this post for some of my favorite scissors for preschoolers, kindergardners and older kids.

My kids loved this activity! It was such a great way for them to practice not only their fine motor skills but all their scissors skills and get them outside this spring.

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again! 

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon. 

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more. 

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

• 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
• Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
• Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.