Revised | Originally Published: July 7, 2021 @ 10:52 am

A good supply of lacing options is essential for early learning settings since most kids go through a stage between 2 and 6 where they dig the activity. When I was in the 2-6 age range, lacing generally took place with a red shoelace and either a bunch of painted wooden beads or some tattered-from-use cardboard lacing toys shaped like ducks or cows.

Lacing can be so much more. Let’s look at the 3 Ls of Lacing: Learning, Lacers, and Laces.

Learning

Kids are constantly learning and building skills as they engage the world. It’s hard to tell exactly what they are learning at any given moment, but here’s a look at some of the learning that could happen when young children lace.

• Visual Tracking-Children learn to track objects with their eyes
• Hand-Eye Coordination–Children learn to coordinate hand movement with eye movement
• Small Muscle Strength–Builds the small muscles in the hand and wrist
• Small Muscle Control–Children develop control over the small muscles in the hand and wrist
• Sensory Awareness–Develops the sense of touch as children interact with different textures
• Pattern Recognition–Children learn to create and recognize patterns
• Social Skills–Kids learn social skills like sharing, waiting for turns, and cooperation
• Language Skills–Kids lacing together is a rich opportunity to engage in conversation

Most of the above items are pre-reading and pre-writing skills, which are valuable to hone before leaving preschool for a more formal learning environment.

Lacers

There are plenty of available and affordable lacing toys (like these and these (affiliate links)) on the interwebs, but I have a bias for homemade DIY stuff like these lacers I’ve made over the years:

If you opt for store-bought lacers, look for both preschooler-tough and interesting items. Much of what’s on the market won’t stand up to heavy use and is boring. For example, look for engaging shapes and textures beyond smooth plastic.

DIY Ideas

There are also plenty of loose parts that lend themselves to this activity:

• Colanders
• Beads
• Breakfast Cereal
• Pasta
• Keys
• Washers
• Nuts
• PVC Pipe Fittings
• Wiffle Balls
• Paperclips
• Thread Spools
• Coffee Creamer Lids

Lacers

What should you lace with? Here are a few ideas:

• Yarn
• String
• Leather Laces
• Shoe Laces
• Bamboo Skewers
• Plastic Lanyards
• Twine
• Long Grass Blades
• Ribbon
• Wire
• Rope
• Pipe Cleaners

Using a variety of materials keeps the activity interesting, exposes kids to different materials (and words to name and describe those materials), and inspires creativity.

Other Thoughts

When I was a kid, this was a sit-inside-at-a-table activity. It doesn’t have to be. Consider:

• Taking laces and lacers outside.
• Make it OK for kids to stand up, lay down, or even walk around while lacing
• Integrate the activity into block play, dramatic play, art projects, water play, and other parts of the day
• Lacing is a great riding-in-the-car activity

Conclusion

Lacers offers young children abundant opportunities for play, exploration, and discovery-based learning. It’s something that kids can do almost anywhere with simple and readily available materials. We here at Playvolution HQ would love to hear your lacer-related ideas, thoughts, questions, and experiences in the comments.

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