Cardboard Stick Weave Challenge

Ages:: School age (6+)
Play time:: 15 to 20 minutes
Setup:: 2 minutes
Where:: Table

Why it helps

Squeezing the hole puncher builds hand strength and gives the muscles strong feedback. Weaving a pipe cleaner up and down through the holes asks both hands to work as a team, with one hand turning the card while the other hand pushes and pulls. Finding each hole from the back of the card also builds planning and careful finger control.

Steps

Before play, cut a rectangle about 4 by 6 inches from a thin cereal box. A hole puncher cannot cut thick cardboard.
Invite your child to draw dots all around the edges with a marker, about a finger's width in from the edge and two fingers apart.
Ask your child to hold the card with the helper hand and squeeze the hole puncher over each dot.
Twist the ends of two pipe cleaners together to make one long weaving stick. Fold over the sharp tips.
Show your child how to push the pipe cleaner up through one hole and down through another, crossing the card to make a design.
When the pipe cleaner runs out, twist a new one onto its end and keep weaving until the card is full.
Your child can unweave the design and start a new pattern.

Safety tip: Keep fingers out of the hole puncher's slot while squeezing. Fold over the sharp wire tips of the pipe cleaners before weaving.

Make it easier

Draw fewer dots and space them far apart so there is plenty of room to thread.
Weave with one short pipe cleaner at a time so there is less to pull through each hole.
Punch the holes yourself and let your child do the weaving.

Make it harder

Number the holes and weave through them in order.
Make a weaving pattern on one card and have your child copy it on a second card.
Weave a second color through the same holes, going over where the first one went under.

What to watch for

Notice whether your child squeezes the hole punch with one hand or needs to press it against the table.
Watch how the helper hand flips or tilts the card so the working hand can find the next hole from behind.
If the click of the hole punch bothers your child, punch the holes ahead of time and keep the weaving part.

Where this helps in daily life

Squeezing a punch and threading in and out of holes build the grip and two-handed control kids use for stapling papers, lacing shoes, and sewing on a button.

These activities are for home practice and don't replace the guidance of a licensed therapist.