How long does it take you to get you and your kids out of the house? What happens when your child can’t find the right shoe? Right? It’s always around until you need to be somewhere, then it just disappears and of course you can never leave on time and then you’re late.
Shoes can be a source of pain for parents who have an appointment to get to. What happens when they start wearing laces?
Tying your shoes is an important life skills kids need to learn, but it doesn’t mean they can’t have fun while learning how.
I swear, I still have to tell my teen to tie his shoelaces because he’d rather leave them to drag on the floor through the mud and dirt than to bend down and tie them. Not to mention the fact that he may trip over them.
Help your kids become a pro at lacing and tying up their shoelaces with these printable shoe lacing cards.
Want to have fun with shoes? Enter It’s Shoe Time! by Bryan Collier; it makes mismatched shoes fun and silly, and will get your kids on board with tying their own shoelaces.
It’s Shoe Time! is the newest addition to the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series, in which Mo Willems’ beloved Elephant & Piggie introduce readers to new books and authors.
It’s Shoe Time!
>> See more printable lacing cards
Disclosure: I am part of the Mo Willems brand ambassador program with Disney-Hyperion and I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
What age should a child be able to tie their shoes?
When a child is 4 or 5 they will have the patience to sit and learn how to tie their shoelaces. They need to have the fine motor skills required to manipulate the shoelaces or they’ll just get frustrated.
Will it be perfect? No, and they’ll need lots of practice to get it right.
I like to relate the loops of shoelaces as bunny years and that always seem to make it more fun.
Make two bunny ears, and on bunny ear goes around and into the hole and then it’s pulled tight.
Worked with my kids anyways.
Shoe Lacing Cards Supplies
- Paper or cardstock
- Laminator
- One hole punch
- Shoe laces or string
This is the HP color inkjet printer that I use for all of my printables and I save money on ink by using their HP Instant Ink program.
HP OfficeJet Pro 8710 All-in-One Wireless Printer, HP Instant Ink & Amazon Dash Replenishment ready (M9L66A)
Neenah Creative Collection Classics Specialty Cardstock Starter Kit, 8.5 X 11 Inches, 72 Count (46407-01)Scotch Thermal Laminator 2 roller system, Silver/Black, 15.5 x 6.75 x 3.75- Inches (TL901)Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches, 8.9 x 11.4 -Inches, 3 mil thick, 100-Pack (TP3854-100)
Print out the lacing cards onto paper or cardstock, laminate it to make it durable and use the one hole punch to punch holes into the shoes where the laces would go. Find some old shoelaces or string to use to lace them up.
I like shoelaces because they have the tapered end which makes it easy for little hands to lace them through the holes.
We received a copy of It’s Shoe Time! along with shoelaces and wild-colored, mismatched socks. My daughter loved these, and they went great with the books!
Recommended Shoe Tying Books
Don’t want to make your own shoe lacing cards? Try one of these shoe tying books instead.
How to Tie Your ShoesRed Lace, Yellow LaceMy First Shoe Book: With a Practice Shoelace and Easy-to-Follow Instructions (Tiny Tots)Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wood Lacing Sneaker, Learn to Tie a Shoe Educational Toy, Encourages Independence, 8.35” H x 5.1” W x 3.65” L
Download the Printable Shoe Lacing Cards Here
When you click on the link, it will automatically save to the download folder on your device.
Other Lacing Cards
Fish Sewing Board from Happy Tot Shelf
DIY Shoe Lacing Cards from The Craft Train
More Mo Willems’ Book Activities
Leonardo the Terrible Monster Play Dough Activity
Angélica says
I love yor work! Is really awesome!
Monique says
Thank you!