(tune: Splish Splash I was taking a Bath)
Criss Cross and go under the bridge
Criss Cross and go under the bridge
Then you got to pull it tight.
Make a loop but keep a long tail
That is how to do it right
Then you take the other string
and you wrap it 'round the loop
Pull it through the hole
Now you got the scoop!
I love velcro and elastic on shoes. Several months ago my DSSH was shocked, SHOCKED, to find that Pablo couldn't tie his shoes. For clarification Pablo is 7, and I did teach him to tie his shoes when he was 6. Soon after he learned how, though, he grew out of his tie up shoes. It just so happens that when we went to get him new shoes the nicest/cheapest one we could find didn't have laces, for both his casual and Sunday shoes. This led to him forgetting how to tie shoe laces. Did I look for ones with laces? Not on your life. Do you know how long it takes to get 4 kids fed, dressed, ready, in the car, and in car seats to start our day? If I can remove the time it takes to help them tie their shoes then I am ALL for it, not to mention the hassle I save from not having to retie them. Did you know that in the time it takes to retie a 6 year old's shoes a 4 year old can disappear and a 2 year old can smash a carton of eggs? Just ask me how I know. Now add to this that fact that when you get all 4 kids dressed up to go to someone's house they only use their shoes for a total of 5 minutes. Put them on to walk to the car, walk from the car to other person's front door, then take them off so you don't mess up other person's floor. 5 minutes of use is not worth the 15-20 minutes it takes to get 4 kids into properly tied lace up shoes. Personally I agree that it is an important process for a child's brain to learn. I know that there is an important connection that happens between the brain and one's fingers when they learn to tie their shoes. BUT, I also know that they teach knot tying in Boy Scouts, I know there are lots of other hand-to-brain functions my son is learning, and I feel confident that soon enough we will find that the nicest/cheapest shoes we can find for him will be lace ups. So, why worry?
9 comments:
Exactly - no need to worry. And stick with those slip ons for a while because before you know it your belly is going to be getting in the way!! **tee-hee**
I am so with you on this one. My 6yo hasn't a clue how to tie shoes, and come to think of it, his Sunday shoes actually are tie ones. Oh well. Some day. Like you say, they learn all kinds of things in Scouts :)
My 6 year old doesn't know how to tie shoes either :) !!
My 7 yr old also doesn't know how to tie his laces. But he has extremely weak fine motor skills, so I'm blaming it on that.
Having said that, I wouldn't worry, even if he didn't. They'll learn these things in due time.
Shoes nowadays are so often not lace-ups, and I'm not going out of my way, "just" to add 10 minutes to the 'getting out the door' procedure in the morning as he's struggles to tie his laces.
Heidi :)
That's funny. When my son was 6 I taught him how to tie his shoes. Now he's 7 and I bought him zip up shoes because it's so hard already getting my FOUR kids out the door. Now I think he forgot how to tie shoes, too.
BTW, I just had to read your blog when I saw your title. Ice cream is my favorite food, too. I had to cut down, though. It was an addiction! If we ran out, my husband had to run to the DQ for me! Would you believe that for about the past 15 years I have had recurrent dreams that I'm driving down the street and found a new ice cream shop. Pretty pathetic, huh.
My DS can tie his shoes (he's 6) but it takes him so. darned. long.
I always want to do it for him, but if I do, then he will forget, so I wait "patiently" every morning for 10 minutes before we can get out the door.
It's not all its cracked up to be.
velcro is where it's at baby :)
i'm usually happy if they have shoes with them, a coat, clothes on and are in their carseats at the same time. lacing is not a prerequisite ;-)
I have tried to teach my 6 yr. old to tie shoes and it is just not happening. She is a perfectionist that doesn't like to have to work at something or have anything not turn out right. So she wears her bright pink Crocs everywhere. They especially look great with her orange striped Halloween pants that her favorite!
Hee, Hee! Actually I did know about the disappearing act : ) I suspected that egg-smashing was also a possibility, however I've never seen it done first-hand...
I have seen other creative uses of time, mind you.
And may I just say "Wow!" Thank you for the lovely collection of even lovelier comments that I was treated to after you stumbled across my blog... you just made my week : ) I'm so glad you did find me or I may never have learned of your wonderful writings here! I'm heading back to my place to add you to my blogroll. Hope you're feeling a little better - morning sickness is pretty rough! Hang in there!
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