(Last Updated on March 22, 2021)
A Cut Above the Rest
Other school supplies on my Top 5 Must-Have Homeschool Supplies list boast frequent use and a variety of applications.
Paper cutters are more of a one trick pony. And it’s a pony that stays in the barn most of the time. So you might be wondering how they made my Top 5 list. Allow me to explain.
While I don’t use it daily or even weekly, my paper cutter makes up for quantity of use with quality and productivity! Here’s how:
- Quality of Cuts: It’s good at its job. Any way you slice it, paper cutters simply do a way better job cutting straight lines than I could ever do with scissors. They are especially helpful for final projects that will be shown off in a portfolio or made part of a presentation like a science fair poster or an art piece.
- Ease of Use: There’s not much to it. Line up the paper. Slide the blade. Done. Even my kindergarteners used it with ease for art projects when they wanted perfectly straight lines.
- Mass Production: When larger quantities of handouts are needed, paper cutters make swift work of the repetitive job. Our homeschool band director, for example, uses one to quickly halve dozens of copies of marching band music she has printed two per page. And preparing art project elements for a co-op or other group setting is much quicker with a paper cutter (like in the picture below)!
Of course, it’s still important to master scissor skills. But even for younger kids, I’ve found paper cutters to be a great frustration reducer. For your early elementary perfectionists and artists, a paper cutter can help them achieve success when the idea in their head is too advanced for their fine motor abilities.
We’ve used this Fiskars model for years and have been very happy with it. Eventually we may upgrade to a larger model if my kids keep pursuing their interest in art. But for basic use, an inexpensive, portable model works great.
Over the years, it’s helped me as I prepare lesson elements for science, history, geography, and art. It’s almost a necessity for projects like our history timeline or crafts like paper weaving projects and these super-clever ideas where a lot of straight cuts are needed.
So, if you feel it’s made the cut, consider a paper cutter for your homeschool and let the trimming begin!
Check out the first post in this series here and follow the links there to find out more about the other items that made the Top 5 Homeschool Supplies list!
Subscribe to be notified of new posts via email!
