Parents' tip: Tying shoes made easy

I had almost given up hope with my children. With all the Velcro fasteners, they were never motivated to tie their shoes. Last week, however, my son came to me: "I can't tie my swimming trunks during swimming lessons." It's now or never, I thought to myself. It's time to teach my children the shoe-tying technique. He and his sister now practise the "Mäschli" diligently every day. Especially because they get to walk around with the funny cardboard shoe.

Get ready for crafting

We use an empty box of tissues as a base. You will need two different coloured pieces of yarn, paperand a few tools, such as pencils, glue, colour, scissors, adhesive tape, needle and possibly two needles. two clothes pegs.

Tissues

Tempo Tempo handkerchief box

6

Construction paper

EUR7,90

Folia Clay paper

130 g/m², 10 x

10

Artist paint + Craft paint

Marabu Craft paint KiDS 500 ml blue

Blue, 500 ml

Tissues

Tempo Tempo handkerchief box

6

Construction paper

EUR7,90

Folia Clay paper

130 g/m², 10 x

10

Artist paint + Craft paint

Marabu Craft paint KiDS 500 ml blue

Blue, 500 ml

Create your own shoe

Paint the tissue box with craft paint.

Cut a larger opening in the back of the box so that there is room for the foot. Leave the original opening at the front.

Poke individual holes in the cardboard with the needle, through which you will later thread the laces.

Tie three pieces of yarn together and pull the new rope through the first opening of the box. Of course, you can also use a thick yarn or even a real shoelace for this. But since we're in a DIY mood, the threads are tied into a plait. You can use the clothes pegs to secure the braid if you want to measure the length of the braid or if you need a break.

Zigzag the braid through the holes, leaving about 30 centimetres of yarn.

You can wrap tape around the end of the braid without knotting it. The knot might get in the way when practising. The tape, on the other hand, gives the braid the same stability as a real shoelace.

The saying is very important. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and explained it with symbols. We always use this sheet to help us.

It's easy with the rhyme

Rhymes and verses are practical learning aids for children. With their great imagination, they can visualise how they experience these adventures

Tips for learning

Consciously choose two different colours for the laces. Children can tell the two laces apart much better while they are knotting them.

Create a motivation. Either you use the child's inner motivation because they have come up with the idea themselves and want to do something on their own. Or you can offer your child an exciting play experience to practise. For example, after tying their shoes each time, the child can run around the house with their cardboard shoes and play at having the biggest feet in the world.

Stop the exercise when the child has no more energy and starts to do nonsense. Children at this age have a short concentration span. It's better to practise a little bit at a time.

I hope you enjoy trying it out and look forward to hearing about your experiences with my instructions. You can read more educationally valuable play and craft ideas from me here.