Tying your shoes is a daily task that we often don't even stop to think about, until we buy our children shoes with laces. Most children learn to tie their shoes around 6-7 years of age. For other children, it may take a little longer. I came across this article a couple of years ago and it presents a very cool way to tie shoes. occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Article/Pirates-of-the-CariBootin.aspx
Follow these steps for a shoe tying adventure!
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Verbal Direction: “Come on captain! We have a treasure adventure to go on!” |
Action: Sitting comfortably in a controlled environment with minimal distractions. |
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1: X marks the spot! |
1: Cross shoe laces to form an X |
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2: Use the key to open the treasure! |
2: Take the right hand and grab end of lace on the right side (the “key”) and put under and through the X. |
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3: Great…OH NO, Pirates are coming to take our treasure, HURRY close it! |
3: Take end of laces and pull tightly on both sides. |
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4: We better take our treasure to an island for safety! Let’s build our island in the middle where it’s nice and safe! |
4: Make a medium sized loop with one lace close to the middle of the shoe and pinch with thumb and forefinger. |
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5: That’s a perfect island, but we better walk all the way around it to make sure no pirates are hiding! Those pirates can be tricky, but we only need to go around once nice and slow. |
5: Take opposite hand and grab lace to wrap around looped “island” making sure it goes around thumb.
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6: Perfect, the coast is clear! Time to use your shovel to dig through the island to bury our treasure! |
6: Take index finger and poke lace through the hold in order to form other loop. |
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7: The coast is clear, time to close the treasure tight! Now pirates won’t mess with your treasure as long as it is nice and safe. Make sure if you see your treasure locks are getting loose that you fix them! Pirates are always on the loose! Great work!! |
7: Grab both loops and pull tight…use verbal cues to encourage the child to adjust the treasure chest to make sure the pad lock (loops) and keys (ends of laces) are even. |
Source: Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center, Lancaster, PA
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