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Learn to tie your shoelaces

Learn a tale about a rabbit that helps you tie your shoelaces.

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You’ll need

  • Shoes with laces
Tie a rabbit's tale example
PDF – 162.9KB
Download Tie a rabbit's tale example

Before you begin

  • Gather enough shoes – ideally enough for everyone to have one each, but at least one between two. Adult shoes are helpful for practising because they’re a bit bigger and easier to hold.
  • You could ask people to bring in an old shoe from home.

Learn the bunny story

  1. Everyone should sit in a circle.
  2. The person leading the activity should tell the bunny story and demonstrate how to tie a lace at the same time. The shoes should point away from the person leading the activity, so everyone can see more clearly.

Tell the tale

  1. Everyone should sit with their shoe in front of them. The lace should be untied and the toes of the shoe should point away from them.
  2. The person leading the activity should read out each step of the story one at a time, and show everyone what to do with their lace. They should make sure everyone’s managed the step before they move on to the next.
  3. Everyone should run through the story a few times until people feel confident with their laces.

The story

  1. ‘There was once a little bunny rabbit living in the forest. They used their nose to sniff the air.’ Everyone should make a nose shape by crossing one lace over the other. Tuck the end of the lace that’s on top under the other and through the middle of the circle to form a knot, and pull gently to secure.
  2. ‘The bunny heard a noise and their ear pointed straight up!’ Everyone should make a rabbit ear-shaped loop, and pinch the base between their pointer finger and thumb of one hand.
  3. ‘The bunny couldn’t hear well with one ear, so they pointed their other ear up too.’ Without letting go of their first ear loop, everyone should make another rabbit ear-shaped loop and pinch the base between their other pointer finger and thumb.
  4. ‘There were so many noises coming from all over the forest that the bunny’s ears twitched so much they crossed over each other.’ Everyone should cross their rabbit ear-shaped loops over each other and pinch where they cross – ideally, leave a little space beneath where the ears cross over.
  5. ‘The rabbit rucked one ear under the other so their ears were always ready to listen.’ Everyone should tuck the loops at the back over the loop at the front and through the space at the base of the loops – a little like the knot they tied in step one, except this time with the ear loops.
  6. “Don’t pull my ears too tightly!’ said the bunny.’ Everyone should gently pull the ears to tighten the knot.
  7. To remember the six steps quickly, try to remember: nose, ear, ear, cross, tuck, pull.

Reflection

Everyone should gather together with their shoes. Some people probably got the hang of it quicker than others – learning a new skill takes time and practice, and different people succeed at different times. Did the people who learned first help others? Would anyone like to show their new skill to the group? Everyone should make sure to clap anyone who shows their skill. People learn new skills all of the time, and some are harder to get the hang of than others. The trick is to keep going, and not give up, even when things seem hard. Well done to everyone who tried hard and didn’t give up in this activity.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Anyone who already knows how to tie their laces could help teach others or lead the group through the story. If anyone masters the bunny ears method, they could try to learn the traditional way: tie a knot as in step one, then make a loop. Wrap the other lace around the base of the loop, and push it through the loop just created.

It’s OK if people find this tricky – they could focus on just one or two steps. Offer an extra pair of hands if anyone needs it, for example, to hold what they’ve already done in place so they can use both hands to do the next step.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers Teamwork Challenge Award
Beavers My Skills Challenge Award

This activity is a great introduction to simple knot tying. What other knots could you learn?