SHAMROCK ACTIVITY: Fine Motor Clip Cards

Shamrock activity fine motor clip cards

Today on the site we’ve got a great Shamrock activity…Fine motor clip cards with a shamrock theme! This is a great addition to St. Patrick’s Day activities in therapy, home or the classroom, and they work on a ton of different skills. Print them off, laminate the clip cards if you like, and you have a literal therapy pot of gold!

These shamrock activity fine motor clip cards can help with hand strengthening skills, fine motor control and much more.

This week as we roll out these fabulous Shamrock Activity (Fine Motor Clip Cards), let us take a moment to be thankful the weather is warming up and we can finally celebrate spring. If you are not fortunate enough to have spring weather yet, I feel for you. 

According to the news report, people are moving out of California, New Jersey and New York in droves. I am surprised more of y’all from Wisconsin and North Dakota aren’t rustling out of there too!  No matter what the temperature is outside, this cute Shamrock Activity Fine Motor Clip Card spring themed activity will help get you motivated for warmer weather. 

Shamrock activity for Fine Motor skills

There is something magical about rainbows and unicorns.  Throw some shamrocks in there for good luck, and it is the perfect spring trifecta! 

Add them to these other shamrock and St. Patrick’s Day themed activities that support the development of fine motor skills:

These Shamrock Activity fine motor clip cards are so versatile, they  will be able to be modified for most, if not all of your learners.  Read below for ways to adapt and modify this fine motor activity.  

How to use this shamrock activity:

  • Have learners count the number of shamrocks and place a mark to designate the number of items on the card.  These cards would be great with a (Amazon affiliate link) Dot or Bingo marker!  
  • Learners can color in the rainbows as they go
  • Cut these ahead of time, or make cutting a part of this fine motor counting clip activity
  • Use clothespins to attach to the shamrock cards to count the numbers.  Decorated clothespins are even more fun!  They are great spray painted gold, or dipped in glitter
  • Color and laminate these cards for reusable fun.  Learners can use dry erase markers to count the objects
  • Enlarge or shrink this page to change the level of difficulty
  • Change the type of paper, heavier weight is easier to handle, but may be harder to cut
  • Colored paper might be more motivating, or provide better contrast
  • Project this onto a smart board to make it a touch task, or have students follow along with the diagram
  • Scatter the cards around the room to include a gross motor component
  • Add these cards to an obstacle course having learners complete the challenge, collecting clips along the way
  • Scavenger hunt to have learners find all of the cards in order
  • Crab walk from one card to the next
  • Create an entire St. Patrick’s Day theme for the week!
  • Add spring fine motor tasks with this great fine motor bundle found on the OT Toolbox
  • The possibilities are really endless, don’t let yourself get stuck doing this fine motor activity  just one way

Things to Observe with these Shamrock Activity Clip Cards

When working on this shamrock fine motor activity, there are several observations that can be  made: 

  • Can your learner scan the page and count all of the shamrocks?
  • How many items can your learner correctly count?
  • Does your learner correctly hold and manipulate the scissors, crayon, or bingo marker? How much assistance do they need to grip scissors, cut the paper, or color the rainbow?
  • Do your learners have the strength to open and place the clothespins?
  • Can your student motor plan all of the skills needed for this task?
  • Will you need to modify this activity for success?
  • Can your student continue to hold the clothespins while trying to manipulate the paper?
  • What is the number of times you need to repeat the directions so your learner can follow them?
  • How many reminders does your learner need while doing this activity?

Use these notations in your documentation to document data and support the development of fine motor skills.

what skills do my learners need?

While cutting, coloring, counting, and placing clips is a straightforward task for higher level learners, beginners will struggle with all of the parts needed to complete this task. 

Think about all that has to be involved to do this counting shamrock activity:

  • Fine motor skills – Resources can be found in our fine motor skills library at the OT Toolbox
  • Strength
  • Bilateral coordination
  • Visual perception
  • Executive function/behavior/social skills
  • Following directions
  • Attention to detail
  • Work tolerance
  • Cutting on a line
  • Coloring
  • Counting
  • Multistep directions 
  • Processing skills

This is just the start of the list when using these Shamrock fine motor clip cards! 

Perhaps focus your attention on addressing, or observing, just one or two of these skills.  For example, work on following directions or counting, rather than all of them.

Need more great Shamrock and St. Patrick’s Day tools?

Here are a few more spring activities and ideas from the OT Toolbox to get you started. Round out your shamrock theme with this new Color Handwriting Kit with Bonus Rainbow Sheets!

While spring is a lovely change of pace from winter, summer is really my jam! Bring on the heat!

Free Shamrock Printable Clip Cards

Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox so you can help kids thrive? Enter your email into the form below to access this printable tool.

This resource is just one of the many tools available in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Each month, members get instant access to downloadable activities, handouts, worksheets, and printable tools to support development. Members can log into their dashboard and access all of our free downloads in one place. Plus, you’ll find exclusive materials and premium level materials.

Level 1 members gain instant access to all of the downloads available on the site, without enter your email each time PLUS exclusive new resources each month.

Level 2 members get access to all of our downloads, exclusive new resources each month, PLUS additional, premium content each month: therapy kits, screening tools, games, therapy packets, and much more. AND, level 2 members get ad-free content across the entire OT Toolbox website.

Join the Member’s Club today!

Free Shamrock Activity- Fine Motor Clip Cards

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    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.

    • NOTE: The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for consistency. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, school aged children/kids of all ages and stages, or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

    RAINBOW TEMPLATE PRINTABLE

    Rainbow template printable

    Coming up is the Rainbow Template Printable! This March activity is perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day theme or a rainbow theme in occupational therapy sessions. Whether you are working on pencil control, scissor skills, eye-hand coordination, or direction-following, this rainbow template can be used to address any skill area.

    You can even use this printable to make a fruit loop rainbow craft.

    This free rainbow template printable is a resource that can be used to work on pencil control, eye-hand coordination, letter formation, scissor skills, and more.

    free rainbow template printable

    What is so enticing about rainbows?  Could it be the pot of gold at the end?  Or the promise of sunshine? I think rainbows don’t make you choose.  You can have all of the colors at once.  For a lot of people, especially those with anxiety, choosing one or two of anything is difficult.  It seems so final and limiting.  Not so with rainbows, you can have it all!

    When I was a child we sang The Rainbow Song, “red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue. I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.”  Is indigo the new pink?  Maybe it is because we learned this in Australia.  Do rainbows look different there?

    Do you remember the mnemonic for the colors of the rainbow? ROY.G.BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). 

    However your learner decides to design their rainbow in this Rainbow Template Printable activity, there are a dozen ways to make this activity fun and functional. 

    Add the printable rainbow activity to our rainbow breathing exercise for more rainbow fun in therapy sessions (or the classroom or home!)

    What ways can you think of to design this rainbow  printable? 

    • Draw vertical lines in each section with the desired color, making sure the lines stay between the top and bottom borders
    • Make small circles in each section, controlling the pencil to stay between the lines
    • Write the first letter of the color,like RRRRRR, across each section
    • If your learner is more of a beginner, simply coloring each section will help develop fine motor skills in this pencil control activity
    • Copy a pattern like wavy, zigzag, or swirl lines in each section
    • Add glitter!  There is never a wrong time to add glitter

    All of the OT Toolbox resources, including this rainbow printable template, can be modified to meet the needs of all of your learners.  There are several posts related to Pencil Control and Rainbows on the OT Toolbox. Here is a post on Rainbow Activities to make lesson planning easier.

    Ways to adapt and modify this rainbow template printable task:

    • Laminate the page for using markers and wipes. This can be useful for reusability, as well as the enjoyment learners have using dry erase markers. Note: not all learners like reusable items, some prefer to take their work home.
    • Printing this rainbow template or some of our other great pencil control worksheets on different colored paper may make it more or less challenging for your learner
    • Enlarging the font may be necessary for beginning learners who need bigger space to write.
    • Have students cut out each section of the rainbow and paste in order on another page – this adds a cutting and gluing element
    • Make changes to the type of writing utensil, paper used, or level of difficulty
    • Have students write on a slant board, lying prone on the floor with the page in front to build shoulder stability, or supine with the page taped under the table
    • Project this page onto a smart board for students to come to the board and write in larger form.
    • Grade the level of prompting depending on the level of the task and that of your learners
    • Make this part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
    • The OT Toolbox has a great Color Handwriting Kit incorporating fine motor skills, colors, and handwriting
    • A classic book, (Amazon affiliate link) the Rainbow Fish, would be a great addition to this rainbow fine motor worksheet, or lesson plan.  Plus it has GLITTER!  

    What skills are you addressing when using this rainbow template printable

    There are no wrong or right answers to this question.  Your focus can vary from learner to learner, or follow a common theme. 

    • Pencil control
    • Fine motor skills
    • Pre-writing skills

    The three above are the obvious, and more common skills to be measured during this task.  In addition, it is possible to shift the focus and attend to different aspects of the task:

    • Following directions
    • Task avoidance/compliance
    • Frustration tolerance
    • Behavioral reactions
    • Attention, focus, impulse control
    • Ability to complete a task
    • Level of independence
    • Social skills – sharing, turn taking, waiting

    there are no right or wrong answers

    Again there are no right or wrong answers.  The focus might be entirely on developing fine motor pencil control without regard to behaviors, social function, or executive function. 

    Conversely, the data you gather might not include how their fine motor skills look at all.  Of course you can combine all of the above.

    document, document, document

    Be sure to clearly document what you are observing and measuring.  Data collection is what’s required now.  Use percentages, number of trials, number of verbal or physical prompts, or minutes of focus.

    Gone are the days of writing, “learner completed task with min assist.” Min assist can look different to five different observers.  The only clinical phrases that are somewhat accurate are “independent” and “dependent”, meaning 100% or 0%.

    After all of this activity, maybe your learners need to slow down and take a breather with Rainbow Breathing Exercises. However you choose to create your treatment plan, find ways for it to be motivating and meaningful.

    Free Rainbow Template

    Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox so you can help kids thrive? Enter your email into the form below to access this printable tool.

    This resource is just one of the many tools available in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Each month, members get instant access to downloadable activities, handouts, worksheets, and printable tools to support development. Members can log into their dashboard and access all of our free downloads in one place. Plus, you’ll find exclusive materials and premium level materials.

    Level 1 members gain instant access to all of the downloads available on the site, without enter your email each time PLUS exclusive new resources each month.

    Level 2 members get access to all of our downloads, exclusive new resources each month, PLUS additional, premium content each month: therapy kits, screening tools, games, therapy packets, and much more. AND, level 2 members get ad-free content across the entire OT Toolbox website.

    Join the Member’s Club today!

    Free Rainbow Template Printable

      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
      • Note: the term, “learner” is used throughout this post for consistency, however this information is relevant for students, patients, clients, school aged kids/children of all ages and stages, or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

      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.