3 Printable Activities to Help Teach Your Child to Tie Their Shoes

One of the biggest joys of motherhood is watching your child reach different milestones as they grow from babies and toddlers to young adults. From taking their first steps or learning how to use the bathroom, to learning how to drive. Each milestone will always hold a special place in a parent’s heart. 

When it comes to teaching these life milestones, they require much patience and practice. Shoe tying, for example, is an important skill children learn around the age of five that allows them to flex their fine motor skills and learn an important life skill. Shoe tying is an observational learning task—usually, it’s done by first watching someone else do it. 

Though it may seem like a simple skill, it’s one of the most difficult to teach as the steps can become hard to explain in a way a child can understand. One of the best ways to help your child learn this life skill is through different activities that can make it not only easier, but fun as well. Below are three different activities you can use to help your child tie their shoes for back to school this year and beyond. 

1. Shoe tying sequence activity 

This activity is meant to prep your child for shoe tying practice by first teaching them the steps to shoe tying. Verbally go over the steps listed on the activity, then when they’re ready, have your child cut out each step. Once cut out, mix them up then have your child put the steps in the correct ordered sequence. When they feel confident on the steps, they can move on to the next activity where they’ll put those steps into action. 

2. Shoe templates for tying practice 

The shoe-tying cutouts are great for practicing shoe tying before graduating to an actual shoe. Simply cut out the shoe templates, punch holes where the laces go and lace them up. Try using two different colored shoelaces so your child can differentiate one from the other when practicing. To ensure they’re sturdy, glue them to a piece of cardboard or laminate them so you’ll be able to reuse them again and again. Once your child’s had enough practice, have them practice on their own shoes. 

3. Shoe tying award 

It’s always nice to celebrate a milestone whether big or small with a little bit of praise! Download this shoe-tying certificate and present it to your child once they can independently tie their shoes. Hang it on the fridge and show it off to let everyone know they’re officially a part of the adidas shoe tying club. 

While these teaching milestones require lots of patience and practice, the joy of seeing your child work hard to learn is so special. These printable shoe tying activities can help make the process fun and easy while also creating memories that you’ll cherish forever.