How to Tie a Shoe for Kids

I'll never, ever tie another shoe again!

Why should I?  I figured out the holy grail of kids' sneakers.

This year, not a single kid could tie a shoe.  Not one.

I knew I'd be squatting all day, knotting a spaghetti tangle of shoe laces.

Did I panic?  Yes, briefly.  Then I recovered--and realized what I had to do.

I spent 10 minutes teaching about the shoe tie center.

I opened the Shoe Tie Tutorial on my SMARTboard, and followed the "Easy Tie" Steps.  I used the kiddie sneaker I keep in my learning center, and I showed each step in real-time.   And...I had my kids act out the steps in mid-air--a fun brain break, if you vamp it up a little:

1)  Pull the laces out
2)  Cross them over
3)  Put one lace into the hole
4)  Pull the laces tight

etc., etc...

I went through the steps twice, then I set up my Shoe Tie Center (with a printout of the shoe tie tutorial in a binder), and watched the magic happen.

Day One, one girl learned how to tie shoes.  She signed my Shoe Tie Club poster, and she won an award and a little prize.

Ahh, the look on a child's face when they tie their first shoe is glorious!

Day Two, she taught 4 other kids, using the binder pictures...

Once my kids master the easy shoe tie, they move on to the advanced shoe tie.  That's the one where they have to loop around a loop.  It's a piece of cake--not!  (no pun intended!)

The doctorate level involves making a double knot--which every teacher knows is a MUST to get through a whole day.

To quote one buyer: 

"It works! It really, really works! I'm never tying another shoe, except my own, once a day. I love this product!"  

Maybe, I'll set that to a rock beat and belt it out, while standing on a kindergarten tabletop.

Or I'll sing to the tune of George Michael's "Careless Whisper."

"I'll never tie a shoe again

Guilt-less feet have got some rhythm..."

I'm definitely doing a happy dance!