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Did you know your students need the appropriately sized scissors to fit their hands while they grow? Many don’t realize, but the muscles used to control scissors are the same that grip and move a pencil–which means using the correct size scissors while those muscles develop can help students write. It’s crucial that your classroom is stocked with the right size for your students.
Fiskars has done the hard part for you! They’ve measured children’s hands from around the world to develop the best size for each age group. They’ve taken comfort, control, and safety into consideration so students can engage in hands-on activities with ease no matter their age.
Here’s how to know you have the correct scissors for your students, based on age:
Starter Scissors: Ages 2+
Skill level: Snipping the ends of paper
Challenges: Holding and cutting & gripping loops comfortably
Fiskars design:
- Chunky handles instead of loops
- Can be used either right- or left-handed
- Chunky handles are the easiest for tiny hands to grip
- Built-in spring helps to automatically re-open scissors for an age who is first learning
- Plastic blades for safety
Training Scissors: Ages 3+
Skill level: Cutting paper in half
Challenges: Holding and cutting & gripping different sized loops (of 5 in. scissors)
Fiskars design:
- Symmetrical handle loops
- Can be used either right or left-handed
- Training lever included–it automatically reopens for easier cutting and can be disengaged for traditional cutting action
- Plastic covered metal blades for safety
5 in. Kids Scissors: Ages 4+
Skill level: Cutting in a line, following curves and shapes
Challenges: Fitting fingers in loops of other 5 in. Kids Scissors
Fiskars design:
- Fitted loops
- Large loop is comfortably able to fit 4 fingers
- Ergonomic loop for thumb
- Handles are in line with blades for precise cutting in air
- Metal blades
- Available in blunt or pointed tips, both with a safety-edge grind
- Also available in left-handed, which has reversed blades so left-handed kids can see their cut line
6 in. Big Kids Scissors: Ages 8+
Skill level: Cutting complex shapes and sharp angles
Challenges: Adjusting fingers to fit in loops of 5 in. Kids Scissors
Fiskars design:
- Longer blades and slightly larger handles, still comfortably able to fit 4 fingers of a growing hand
- Able to tackle more advanced projects
- Also available in left-handed, which has reversed blades so left-handed kids can see their cut line
7 in. Student Scissors: Ages 12+
Skill level: Cutting advanced shapes & cutting thicker material
Challenges: Needing comfortable handles for extended use
Fiskars design:
- 3 fingers fit in the large loop with ergonomic loop for thumb
- Handles are slightly offset from the blades for better tabletop cutting
- Also available in left-handed, which has reversed blades so left-handed kids can see their cut line
8 in. Teen Scissors: Ages 15+
Skill level: Adult-level performance
Challenges: Tabletop cutting with in-line blades and handles
Fiskars design:
- Handles are offset from the blades to keep materials flat while cutting on a tabletop
- High-quality stainless-steel blades for long-lasting sharpness
- Also available in left-handed, which has reversed blades so left-handed kids can see their cut line
Additional tips:
- Kids between ages 8-11 need scissors that are more comfortable for them to use and with a longer blade. Fiskars recommends the 6in. Big Kids Scissors for this age group to allow them to be the most comfortable and successful in their cutting tasks.
- 99% of teachers recommend Fiskars brand scissors when choosing to recommend a brand
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117 Comments for Fiskars: Scissors Sizes for Your Students
I enjoyed reading about the ages and the why of stages of the Fiskars.
I enjoyed reading about the ages and the why of stages of the Fiskars. I’m glad to now know what scissors my students should have.
I did not know about the scissors for the younger age children. That is amazing!
I love kids being able to use the right scissors!
I love that kids have scissors that work for them!
Kids are all unique, and their scissors should be too. Fiskars makes it easy for kids to learn the skill of cutting with their advanced technology and engineering of dependable scissors.
I do have several of the 6in scissors in my third-grade classroom. They work well and the kids seem to like them. 🙂
The article was helpful. I recently changed grades (from 4th to 2nd) and it was quite evident that I needed smaller size scissors.
Very informative, I work with middle schoolers.
My lefties never want to use left handed scissors. But Fiskars scissors are the best cutting scissors for students.
This article was eye opening for the last fie years my junior high students have been using the wrong scissors ( I have 28 pairs of 5 inch ).
This is very informative. I was ordering the same scissors type, not realizing there are specific designs for different ages. Fiskars has always been my go-to brand. Thank you!
That was interesting to know the different types of scissors with skill levels and designs for various age groups.
I appreciated learning about all the stages of scissors. My lefties never want to use left handed scissors. And I as a left-handed person, never had the opportunity to use left-handed scissors as they were not around! Fiskars scissors are the best cutting scissors for students.
Fine motor development is essential to penmanship. Correct scissor size is a key part of maturing through fine motor development.
This article was interesting! It’s good to know that the developmentally appropriate tools are available! This makes me think about people with disabilities and how I should consider the different tools and they might meet their needs!
As a parent and grandparent of a lefty, please don’t forget them 😉 !!
This article was very interesting. I’m a middle school teacher and I have always just bought blunt end and sharp point scissors for my classroom and let the children pick which one was most comfortable for them.
This article was very interesting. I am a middle school teacher and have always bought blunt end and sharp point scissors for my classroom and let the student choose which one was more comfortable to them.
Thank you
Thank you, shared with our supply list coordinator
I’m glad that you have different scissors for the variuos age and developmental levels.
Yes!!!! Left-handed scissors!!!!
I love the variety of scissors for different age groups! I had no idea
Why are left handed scissors so hard to find in stores? I have a few pairs of “lefty” scissors but this year I have more left handed students and finding left scissors in the right size is difficult and expensive.
Enjoyed learning that I have used the wrong size for my middle schoolers.
Enjoyed learning that I my middle schoolers were using the wrong size.
didn’t know there were so many different kinds of scissors for kids. Will definitely consider this when purchasing scissors for my students. Very informative article.
Why are the 7 in scissors so hard to find? All I ever see in the school bins are the up to 12 ones.
I appreciated the knowledge of the different scissors by age. At the beginning of the year, I have students that bring in scissors that are way too large for their hands. I can share this article with parents.
Great info. Thank you
I’ve never thought about how scissors should grow with the child! I need to specify the correct size for my third graders’ supply list.
Such great info. I do find though that although my 3rd grade students should be using “Big Kid” scissors that they tend to like the larger student scissors. Their fingers fit better in them.
Interesting read. This is a great article for parents and teachers to help with fine motor skills like cutting paper.
Wow! I knew there were scissors for little people that had rounded ends and for the “bigger” kids the ends get sharper, but I love that there are “teen” scissors for my middle school students that aren’t as intimidating as my large “teacher” scissors! I will definitely be looking into ordering more appropriate sizes for my teen kiddos!
Wow! I’ve been a teacher for almost 30 years and I had no idea about all the different sizes of scissors that existed! I knew that the “little” people used the scissors with rounded edges and as students got older I would give them the same size scissors, but with the points at the end. As a middle school teacher I can’t wait to get the “teen” scissors for my bigger kids that will work for them and not be so intimidating as my “teacher” scissors!
Love the variety. As a 3rd grade teacher I have several levels of cutters. Great info
It is now clear why students have a hard time cutting; from TK-6th grade. Wow! One size really doesn’t fit all!! Not only teachers should be made aware of this factual information but parents as well as those responsible for school purchasing.
I had no idea that there was such a thing as different sized scissors! I luckily have snagged the right type of scissors for my toddler. Super informative!
I never knew that scissors had different types for different hands! What an important article! It makes sooo much sense!
Very helpful information!
It is important to match scissor size with students hand sizes.
Every year I have more and more students come in with a lack of fine motor skills. I try to practice handwriting, tracing, cutting and gluing as much as possible to practice.
I love this scissors, they are durable.
These scissors are great. I love the durability.
Time to size up my 3rd graders’ scissors!
I have always loved Fiscar.
Great Products
Very good information here in this article about the sizes of scissors. Great resource to refer back to when dealing with littles!
Very good information here in this article about the sizes of scissors. Great resource to refer back to when dealing with littles!
I had no idea about the many different sizes!
Such great information!
Awesome! I knew there were other sizes and shapes, but really didn’t understand the why and what for. This was very helpful and cleared up some misconceptions.
I wish scissor sizes were something that teachers thought about when my kids were growing up! It seemed there was only toddler and adult.
I’ve also been using the wrong size. I just used what came with my classroom. Must upgrade!
I didn’t realize my students would need other sizes of scissors until this year. One if my kids said that the scissors they were using were too small. I thought they were using them backwards. I was wrong. It’s not a one size fits all anymore.
Very informative article. Thank you!
I teach 6th grade and I feel I would need a combination of the 6in and the 7in scissors because some of my students are ready for them but others are not.
Thank you for providing this insight. I never knew this information. 🙂
This was helpful. Good to know which scissors are the best choice for my fourth graders.
I knew there were different scissor sizes, but didn’t know the different age separations.
I love that Fiskars done research on hand sizes with scissors. I have often seen students struggle with cutting when using different types and sizes of scissors.
My reaction to your article on scissors is that I now have proven data to justify why students should cut out there own projects and not ask my aid to do that for them! Thank you for your research!
I did not know there were so many choices of scissors for the younger age children. That is great!
I love how Fiskars has added the reversed blades so left-handed kids can see their cut line!
I too did not realize that there were different size scissors for different hand sizes. This will be so helpful for our students.
Being a 6th-grade teacher, I believe Fiskar scissors are the best. I always remember my mom using them when she sewed. Such great memories with this brand.
I too did not realize that the kiddo’s needed different size scissors. We will buy different next school year.
I did not realize there were so many options for younger kids to gain understanding of how to use scissors!
Helpful info to have.
How can I find these different sizes? Where?
I wish all my student’s parents would see this article. So important!
Thank you Fiskars! As a classroom teacher, having properly fitting scissors for students is a struggle. Thank you for making it easier for parents and teachers to select the correct sized scissors.
I’ve been teaching for 18 years and I didn’t know that there were different types of scissors for different ages. I thought it was only kid scissors and adult scissors.
Informative article about scissors for children. I am impressed with the research and availability of different types of scissors.
Since the pandemic I’ve noticed a decline in students fine motor skills. Ensuring they have the proper size scissors will definitely help.
Wow, I never knew that there were so many different sized scissors. I will be sharing this with the elementary teachers I know.
I teach 5th. I feel like my kids are right between 6 and 7 inch.
Wow! These scissors rock for school kids.
I needed this article for sizing when my district brought scissors for the classrooms.
This was a great article. My 4th graders have always outgrown the small scissors so now I know the specific size to request.
I have only the 4+ scissors in my classroom, I learned from this article I need the 12+ size pair of scissors. My poor students hands must hurt every time they use the scissors I have in my classroom. I also had no idea that there were so many different sizes!
Helpful article with great information.
Thanks for the information. I am switching grade levels and will be purchasing the correct size for my students for the next school year.
I enjoy using the different stages of scissors. My 3rd graders use a range of scissors between big kid to teen. Thank you for sharing the article.
I only use Fiskars scissors with my kids. They love the bright and attractive colors. I like the quality. I trust the recommendation as to which pair to get for my 5-6 year olds because I know Fiskars has done the research. Always Fiskars. Only Fiskars.
The information was very helpful and I appreciated the photos of each type of scissors being included with the descriptions.
Thanks! Being new to preschool, I didn’t realize how many smaller sizes there were!
First time seeing chunky scissors. What a great pair of scissors.
Wow! I think our art teacher needs to know this!
Great information! Thanks!
Wow!! Such valuable information!!
I didn’t know there were so many sizes of scissors.
Didn’t realize there was a scissors meant for 2s.
It makes sense that children need appropriate scissors according to their ability and age. I understand why my students often struggle when they have to cut things.
As a kindergarten teacher, I am happy to say that I use appropriately sized scissors!! I really didn’t know Fiskars had several scissor sizes!! Thanks Fiskar!!
Seems like we always have the 4+ size. Since I teach 4th grade guess I should find some others. 🙂
Interesting article. I had no clue that there were that many types and sizes. I must go through my scissors and take out the wrong size ones.
What a great article – I have been using the wrong scissors for my 1st grade students. Thanks for the new information.
I did not realize there were that many different sizes.
Love this article. It’s so helpful.
Very informative
Excellent information! This will be super helpful next year as I’m finishing my order this week!
Thank you for putting information together
GMD
Wow! I’ve learned a lot about scissors. I always thought they were one size fits all.
This explains a lot – my students struggle to cut a straight line, much less curves. Thanks for this information.
I work with developmentally delayed stduents. Seeing all these different scissors that are available is very exciting! I will be oinvesting in some different ones than I have now. Thank you for this information!
I work with developmentally delayed students. This is wonderful information!
Love that these work for left or right hand!
I didn’t know there were different sizes, need to check this out for next year.
Very informative! Happy to read about my student’s needs.
Very informative, I work with special need schoolers, they can definitely use them.
I love your scissors. I have multiple pair for myself at home and in my classroom. They are the only ones I use in my classroom.
I love your scissors. I have multiple pairs for myself at home and work. They are the only brand I use for my students.
Good info to know
Good to know that the Fiskars scissors I’ve been requesting for 25 years are the best AND correct size for my students!
I did not know that there were so many different scissors for different stages in a child’s life. This article was so helpful to read!
I never realized there were so many different sizes of scissors. I’ve been using the wrong size scissors for my third graders. I will be fixing that!