AM T2.03Tearing Paper
The child tears strips of soft paper into pieces and drops them into a bowl.
Safety
- Stay with the child, because toddlers may put paper pieces in the mouth, and wet paper can block the airway.
Presentation
- 1
Carry the tray to the table and sit beside the child.
- 2
Pick up one strip and hold it at the top edge with both hands, thumbs close together.
- 3
Slowly move one hand toward you and the other away from you. This is the point of interest: the paper comes apart with a tearing sound.
- 4
Drop the torn piece into the bowl.
- 5
Tear one more piece, then offer the strip to the child.
- 6
Let the child tear. If they pull both hands straight apart, show the toward-and-away movement once more without comment.
- 7
When the strips are torn, carry the bowl to the gluing work or the recycling bin with the child, and return the tray to the shelf.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Wider strips
- Thicker paper, such as construction paper
- Tearing along a folded line
- Using the torn pieces in Gluing Paper Pieces
Control of error
The paper: pulling both hands straight apart does not tear it; moving one hand toward the body and the other away does.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Tears a strip into pieces with the two hands moving in opposite directions
- Puts the pieces into the bowl
- Tears thicker paper
- Returns the tray to the shelf