How to Teach Shoe Tying Techniques Steps of Shoe Tying 1.Grab left lace with left and right lace with right hand. Then have your child cross the right lace over the left lace. Then have your child loop the left lace underneath the right lace and then pull to tighten. This is the first initial knot. 2.Have your child make bunny ears with each lace. 3.Have your child then cross the right lace over the left lace just like in step one 4.Then have your child loop the left bunny ear underneath the right bunny ear and tighten 5.Congratulate your child! They just tied their shoes! Forward Chaining Forward chaining is when you will have your child complete Step 1 of shoe tying and then you complete the rest of the steps for him/her. Once he/she has mastered the first step you then move to Step 2 and so on with each step. This technique will help your child break down each step and visually see how each step is completed. Backward Chaining This technique is very similar to forward chaining. With backwards chaining you complete Steps 1-3 for your child and have him/her finish with Step 4. This once again is breaking it down for him/her and making it easier for them to learn each step. The good part about this technique is that they are making the end product and are less likely to become discouraged. Other techniques Instead of using right and left as a way of identifying the laces you can color code the tip of each lace such as red and blue. You can do this with a marker. This will be providing your child with a visual cue as well as an auditory cue from you when trying to teach them. Another technique that I have been using lately is clipping a long string by the middle to a student’s back so it is like they are the shoe and we are tying them up. I use this technique in conjunction with the backwards chaining technique. This makes them learn how to tie their shoes using gross motor movements and then eventually upgrading to using their fine motor skills. I hope that this helps. You should limit your practice time to 5-7 minutes night. We want to keep him interested and not burn him out. Remember to praise your child and keep it positive. We do not want them to become discouraged.