Every fall when I am unpacking my supplies for the school year, I find the hole punches and smile. Teachers detest hole punchers used by children because of all the snowflakes that end up all over their classroom. As an OT I see the fine motor value of making, picking up, and using all the little punches. Talk about dexterity! If you have some rusty hole punchers, dust them off and revitalize this awesome tool. Today’s post focuses on hole punch activities.
The nice thing about using a simple fine motor task like hole punch tasks is that you can make it as easy or as complicated as needed. The picture has folded paper and hole punched along each fold. This is a great fine motor task!
HOLE PUNCHer TOOLS for Crafts
Before diving into hole punch activities, let’s take a look at the tool first. Hole punchers have evolved over the years, and include some great options! Of course, you have the standard tried and true (Amazon affiliate link) metal puncher. If you have a varied caseload like me, not all of your learners have the hand size or strength to manage this large puncher. For those kiddos, there are many different options (Amazon affiliate links):
- Soft Handled Puncher – this puncher is very similar to the standard metal puncher, but comes with a padded grip for easier use
- EZ Squeeze Punch – requires 50% less force than traditional hole punch. Can easily punch through 10 sheets of paper. This is a great punch for those learners with poor grip strength or weak hands. It is not great for small hands. This puncher is quite large to get small hands around.
- Mini Hole Punch – I love this little gadget. It not only requires less force, but is smaller to get tiny hands around.
- Single hole puncher – this guy claims to be able to punch through 20 sheets of paper at once with minimal force. I have not tried this one, but it is next on my list
- Swingline Easy Hole Punch – the Swingline puncher boasts a 15 sheet capacity and less pressure needed. This works but is very heavy and large
- 2 Inch Reach Puncher – this puncher has a longer reach than traditional punchers, for getting further into the paper. May cause less frustration?
Using the best hole puncher for your therapy client helps them to build hand strength, eye-hand coordination, and bilateral coordination skills.
I love to use them in crafts and activities where kids can tally off items on a list, use to match letters or numbers, or create small holes as part of a craft. Using the right sized hole puncher is key to success for our little ones who may have hand weakness.
decorative hole punchers for Therapy
- Decorative Punch – the style of this punch is different from the others. This style requires you to put the punch down on a stable surface and push the button with fingers or the palm of the hand. It works on different muscle groups than traditional punchers, but still has great usefulness. This hole punch is a great way to target finger isolation.
- Circle, Heart, Star Shaped Punchers – these are just like traditional punchers, but make different shapes. These are extra fun!
Not a fan of Amazon? The above are just examples of the types of hole punchers available for purchase. You can find tons of other styles on websites such as Temu, Shein, Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Office Depot and more.
There are many benefits of using hole punch activities in occupational therapy.
THE BENEFITS OF HOLE PUNCH ACTIVITIES
I know you are ready to get to the activities, but it is very important to understand the “why” when selecting activities. This helps you select appropriate activities and streamline your therapy sessions to best meet the needs of your learners.
Children have notoriously developed poor hand strength during the past decade. We blame the pandemic, but it started well before we were hit by COVID-19. Electronics play a big role in decreased hand strength. Not only this, but lack of exercise, playground time, heavy work, chores, arts and crafts, and hands on activities have contributed to weak hands.
Check out this post on Grip Strength activities to get you started. From there, click on Finger Strength Exercises. What did you notice in the picture for “Grip Strength Activities”? That little grip strength trainer was highlighted. What does it remind you of? The hole puncher!! I bet your students would be more motivated by making tons of little hole punches, than using a traditional grip strength trainer. I know mine do. We actually have a hand gripper workout post that you can apply to a hole puncher. It’s basically the same muscle set and has a fun and functional component when you use the hole punchers in place of a hand gripper.
The number one thing to remember is that a hole puncher is great for building grip strength. It also works on:
- Bilateral coordination – two hands are generally needed for hole punching activities. What better way to work on coordinating both sides of the body
- Eye hand coordination – it takes a lot of coordination to line the little punch tool on the exact item to be punched
- Arch development – using a hole punch helps develop these important muscles that are used for handwriting, cutting with scissors, and fine motor precision
- Graded movements– You need to know how hard to squeeze a hole punch to puncture the paper.
- Neat pincer grasp (or fine motor precision) – once you create all the little paper shapes, picking them up requires fine motor precision and builds pinch strength
HOLE PUNCHERS ACTIVITIES
There are endless possibilities for using hole punchers. Every time I look, I find more cute things. Not only can you use the punchers for hand strengthening fun, you can use the little circles of paper to create fun things.
- Punch holes in leaves – how cute is this? All ou need are leaves from outside. You can even make a caterpillar with a leaf. Have students punch holes or bites through the leaf. Doing a lesson on the Very Hungry Caterpillar? This cute punch card lets students punch through all the foods the caterpillar munched. Here is another activity to cut the shapes, punch holes, and string them on a green chenille stem
- Letters, numbers, shapes – work on selecting and identifying items by using the hole puncher. Learners can punch holes that match the letter they are looking for.
- Lacing cards – use hole punchers to create lacing cards. Punch through cardstock or laminated cards to make them more durable. Here are more DIY lacing cards that you can make with a hole punch.
- Hole punch strips – This one is easy to make- Just cut a strip of paper and punch holes along the paper. We have a lot of printables that are themed hole punch strips inside The OT Toolbox. They are great to add to a busy box or to create task boxes for independent work.
- Hole punch cards- We have a few different types of hole punch cards. I love this seasonal hole punch bundle.
- Alphabet punch game – Inside The OT Toolbox Membership Club, we also have hole punch worksheets that are basically cards with all the letters of the alphabet. Call out letters Bingo style, and have students find and punch the correct letter. Here’s one example with a back-to-school themed hole punch card activity.
- Another type of activity with a hole punch is our Life Skills hole punch cards. Users can punch off activities as they do them.
- Stick hole punch dots on contact paper – substitute hole punches for the stickers you would place on a paper. There are a ton of sticker dot and dot marker pages that are super fun. Use these pages with a hole puncher to create a multi-sensory activity. Punch circles out of colored paper. Glue the little circles to your dot art pages instead of stickers and dot markers. You can shrink the pages to match the size of your hole punches.
This is just one of the types of hole punch letter cards we have inside The OT Toolbox Membership Club.
use the punches to create art or other activities
You can also use those little hole punch holes in fun ways to work on fine motor skills.
- Apple tree craft with a hole punch – make red punches to be the apples. Use a printed apple tree. Glue the apples onto the tree
- Fish bubbles – use a preprinted fish page. The hole punches can be bubbles around the fish
- Christmas tree or string of lights – punch out lots of colored circles. Glue them onto a pre made or drawn tree. Use the same colored punches for making a string of lights
- Sprinkles – I love ice cream! Use your colored punches to make ice cream sprinkles on your pictures.
- Medical pictures – do a health lesson plan on germs. Use your punches to make measles, chicken pox, or a rash. Read books on germs, do writing assignments, and count chicken pox
- Vacuum/sweeping skills – practice these important household chores by sprinkling paper punches all over the floor. This is a great way to learn
- Create stickers – use the shaped punchers and sticker paper to make fun shaped stickers
- Make a sensory bin – create tons of hole punches and fill a sensory bin with them. This is a great use for scrap paper.
- Make eyes for different crafts like we did with our ghosts to work on scissor skills.
MORE WAYS TO ADAPT HOLE PUNCH ACTIVITIES
Every activity we do can be adapted somehow to meet the different needs of each learner. Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. I mentioned the different types of punchers above to meet the needs of physically different learners. What about meeting the emotional or mental needs of your learners? Try and find ways to motivate your learners by enticing them with their unique desires.
- Vary the type of paper you use – glitter, sand paper, cardstock, tissue paper, crepe paper, cardboard, magazines and more
- Change the theme – got a kid who loves trains? Use the puncher to make a train track. Make a lacing card to connect trains together.
- Use a hole punch activity to match the lesson plan for the week. You can vary the hole punch tasks to match each lesson plan. Add one for each letter, color, number, season, holiday, shape, or other theme
- Multiple levels of students – have one set of students make hole punches for another group to stick them onto paper
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THESE POSTS
I love these posts because not only do they give you ideas, they give ME ideas as I write. I am super excited about these new ideas I discovered or created while researching this topic. Fall is in full swing here in the southern US. What better time to make apple trees, fall leaves, and maybe a hungry caterpillar or two.
Here are more activities using just one item…do you have these materials in your therapy toolbox?
Fine Motor Activities with Paper Clips
Fine Motor Activities with Clothes Pins
Fine Motor Activities with Craft Pom Poms or Cotton Balls
Fine Motor Activities with Playing Cards
Fine Motor Activities with Beads
Fine Motor Activities with Chalk
Fine Motor Activities with Play Dough
Happy punching, and don’t forget to thank your teachers for allowing you to make messes in their classrooms.
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.
