Criss Cross Practice for Shoe Tying

Sometimes it's pretty difficult for students to practice shoe tying with regular laces--they can be so flimsy and just droop all over.  Using different thicknesses of rope or other cording can make it easier to practice the steps.


The student and I sit side by side, with both feet flat on the floor.  We each use lengths of rope I convinced my DH to share with me and the nylon ends were burned (off school premises!!!) so they wouldn't unravel.
We loop the rope around a leg and practice holding the ends up even, then start crisscrossing the ends, followed by that mind-boggling task of sliding one end under the crisscross....




This student is just beginning to be successful with making a half knot.  She actually asks to practice this, although it takes about 10 attempts to create the half knot.  But, she is getting better.....

After a successful attempt we sometimes practice using a regular shoelace.  The flimsiness of it drives us batty!

This year I made an effort to introduce shoe tying early in the school year, since it takes so much practice.  I've bought some inexpensive shoes and left them in a few classrooms when teachers have shown interest in continuing the practice sessions.  For those shoes I've cut two colors of shoelaces in half, knotted two different colors together, and relaced them in the shoes.  That way the students can more easily see the two ends and two loops while they work.



Note the knot connecting the two half laces, near the bottom of the shoe's tongue.