I Can Tie My Shoes

Shoe tying, lacing cards.

Work on tying shoes, visual discrimination, spatial relations, sequencing steps, executive functioning, process skills, dressing skills, manual dexterity, fine motor precision

In the box: 6 shoes, 6 laces

This is not something that I would have bought for myself. Someone gave this to me and I have used them twice I think. When I work on shoe tying I always start off with the Red Lace, Yellow Lace book, then follow up with real shoes. This system has worked for me for years, including teaching many older kids who had given up long ago trying to learn. And if it ain't broke...

There are six cardboard shoes in this box. The shoes in my box are brightly colored, have a glossy finish and are the same shape as the shoes in the image above. However, the shoes in the image above more resemble real shoes in their design. 

My shoe designs.

 The box looks the same as my box, except for the shoe design, so I'm sure it is the same product. There are six laces included, each a different color. My laces measure 38" and the laces in this newer version are 36". The lace tips are nice and long - 1.5". The shoes measure 7" x 4.25" at the widest part and are 1/16" thick. The shoes should stand up to use, but not abuse. They are easy enough to bend and crack if you are rough with them. The shoes are lightweight and tend to lift off the table and turn on you as you are working on tying. I just prefer the real thing. If you don't know if someone you are working with will be wearing tie shoes when you see them, go to Walmart of a thrift store and pick up a nice pair of clean, sturdy shoes to use.

LEGO Classic Bricks & Gears

LEGO small models with gears to add movement.

In the box: 244 pieces, instruction manual for 5 models

I know, I know, you're probably thinking "Not another LEGO post!" If you follow me at all, you know my love for LEGOs and the small sets that can be used in therapy. I am adding this one because it has something new and different than I've seen before in these small model sets - each model in this set has a gear mechanism that makes something on the model move. Turn the knob and the monkey swings in the tree, the owl's eyes twirl, and the helicopter blades whirl. There is an instruction book included that covers the five models in the image above. The number of pieces for each model is monkey in tree-30, helicopter-34, flowers-32, carousal-38, and owl-34. The book also shows five additional models that you can get step-by-step instructions for online. 

Picture from back of box showing 4 of the 5 additional models found online.

Work from 2D instructions to build a 3D model. These small models are perfect for a therapy session and the kids have loved the moving parts. I find that LEGO products go on sale a lot on Amazon. This set with instructions for 10 models (5 in the book, 5 online) cost me $16.

Page from instruction book.

If you would like additional information about how I use LEGO sets in therapy, please follow up on one of my past posts. Thank you.

Building Skills with Construction Toys
Lego Build Up 40253 
LEGO 3-in-1 Classic Blue Creativity Box 
LEGO Classic Creative Supplement
LEGO Thanksgiving Turkey