Teaching kids to tie their shoes

by Melissa Summers (Subscribe to Melissa Summers's posts) Feb 10th 2006 3:34PM

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My daughter is in second grade, she's one of the youngest in the class granted but she still has not learned to tie her shoes. I remember learning this skill in kindergarten with several boards on the wall and puzzles left out for us to play with. But it seems they haven't covered it in Madison's school, same goes for my son who will be five in March.

I really need to teach my daughter how to do this, but I honestly have no idea how to teach her to do it. Any tips out there? I came across this website which may help us and this one as well (who knew how much information one could write about shoelaces), but tell me what worked for you? How did you teach your kids to tie their own shoes.

With velcro and slip on shoes all over the place, it makes me wonder if shoe tying will go the way of cursive handwriting.

Comments (6)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Matthew Miller 2-10-2006 @ 4:25PM

My daughter's not nearly at that point yet, but as someone who always has struggled to tie his own shoes :) I really really want to stress the awesomeness of the Ian Knot (part of the site you linked to above: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm). It ends up as the same knot as the "two loops" thing most of us learned growing up, but much more easily, quickly, and securely.

Amy 2-10-2006 @ 5:12PM

I'd like to know a good way to teach shoe-tying, too. One of my FOURTH grade students still can't do it. Very frustrating for everyone (but him--he'd rather just let someone else do it for him!) I always thought that if I stayed above third grade, I wouldn't have to deal with things like that. How wrong I was.

Michelle 2-10-2006 @ 6:28PM

I have two kids.... a 7 year old boy (now in first grade) and a 4 year old girl that is in pre-k. My boy learned how to tie his sh oes in pre-k because one day I asked the teacher if they go over that in school and she informed me that it is not the responsibility to teach kids to tie their shoes and they need to learn that at home, so that night I showed his the 'two loop way' and he caught on really fast and with in a couple of days he was expert. My girl learned how to tie her shoes even faster than that it seems, (also using the two loop way) she tried it and did it and that was it, it was like she had been doing it forever. I definantly reccomend the two loop way of teaching all I say is get two loops and tie them together. (after the inital tuck one shoe lace under and pull them tight- THEN make two loops and tie them together) I just think that the other way is way to complicated for thier little hands.

Uly 2-10-2006 @ 10:00PM

I don't remember ever being taught to tie my shoes in school, even in pre-k and kindergarten. Oh, they had one doll that was "help you get dressed", but that was it. That was something *parents* taught. Except that...

"I always thought that if I stayed above third grade, I wouldn't have to deal with things like that. How wrong I was."

Due to some obvious (but undiagnosed, probably because I'm a lefty) physical problems, I actually didn't learn to tie my shoes until my teens. And that was okay - I just took my laces out of my shoes, went around that way. I don't know why people make such a big deal out of shoe-tying. Like writing (another thing I've largely given up on), it's not necessary for survival. Being able to cut up my own food, now.... (I may have to just invest in some lefty knives. The whole situation with my food is getting absurd!)

Cherie 2-11-2006 @ 2:05PM

My daughter was tested on that in kindergarten--that's the only reason she knows how to do it now (she's in first grade). I had to specifically go out and buy her shoes with laces--we'd always used velcro. I tried teaching her (the whole rabbit around the tree and down into the hole), but she wasn't getting it. Then one day she saw a friend tie her tap shoes at dance class. And it just clicked for her. Though she would still prefer that I tie her shoes.

Amy 2-12-2006 @ 12:51AM

"Say, See, Do" usually works to teach anything. Say how to do it, show her how to do it, and let her do it over and over. You're bound to hit her learning style that way!