It takes a lot of practice to learn how to tie shoes! Some kids who have trouble with fine motor skills, or who have slight or significant fine motor delays can have real problems learning how to tie shoelaces. With all the Velcro shoes and slip-ons, it is easy to avoid teaching kids this valuable skill.
Making the chore of tying shoelaces can be made a bit more fun for kids if you add a learning rhyme or song to the process!
We've been using the Bunny Ears rhyme to teach the two loop method. How do you teach your kids to tie their shoelaces?
Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree.
Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.Â
Bunny ears, Bunny ears, jumped into the hole,Â
Popped out of the other side beautiful and bold.
Here is another simple shoe tying rhyme you can use:
Over, under, around and through,
Meet Mr. Bunny Rabbit, pull and through.
Or, make is really simple and say,
Loop it, swoop it, pull!
And be patient! It takes lots of practice!
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Christy says
Your timing is perfect. C just learned how to tie his shoes yesterday. I started with the squirrel technique but he could not get it so we switched to bunny ears and he learned within a few days.
Brimful Curiosities says
I'm a single looper. I need to start working with my daughter on this skill.
Anna - Three Sneaky Bugs says
Personally I'm a single looper, but I can see that the double would be a good starting point. We were just talking the other day about it being time to buy some tie shoes for Seth.
Raising a Happy Child says
Definitely a double looper myself - I have to remember this rhyme when daughter is ready to learn this skill. By the way, I was always amused thinking how tying the shoes is pushed back due to convenience of velcro.