Lacing Cards for Preschoolers

This is Day 9 of the Fun Summer Worksheets for Preschoolers series! You can check out the other posts in the series to find fun no-prep lessons to keep your preschooler learning all summer long! Summer is the perfect time to work on life skills in your homeschool, and for us, an important life skill is sewing. I created these lacing cards for preschoolers to make practicing fun. They are great for working on fine motor skills too, and I can’t wait to share them with you!

These activities were designed for kids in preschool, to help them learn about sewing and practice their fine motor skills. They can be adapted for toddlers through 1st graders using the suggestions included in these plans!

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What You Need:

• The printable lacing cards for preschoolers (get them below!)
• A single hole punch
• A string to use for lacing (shoelaces work really well because the stiff ends make it easier to thread them through the holes and prevent the ends from fraying)

Use the Lacing Cards for Preschoolers Again and Again

Use the following tips to make your lacing cards thicker and more durable. The more sturdy the lacing cards, the easier they will be for your child to use. This will also help them to hold up well to repeated use by your child!

• Print the pages on thick cardstock to make them more durable.
• Laminate the pages with a single sheet laminator and laminating pouches.

Favorite Resources for Teaching Preschoolers about Lacing their Shoes

Prepare

These lacing cards for preschoolers are easy to prepare, and once they are created, your child can use them over and over again!

• Gather your supplies.
• Print the lacing cards for preschoolers on thick cardstock.
• Laminate the lacing cards for extra durability.
• Cut out the lacing card images.
• Use a single hole punch to punch holes as marked on the image.
• Tie a string or shoelace to one of the holes.

How to Use the Lacing Cards for Preschoolers

These lacing cards for preschoolers are a great way to teach kids the important life skill of sewing. There are two different stitches that kids can use when they are sewing their lacing cards.

Overhand Stitch

Overhand stitch is usually the easiest stitch for young children to start with. In an overhand stitch, kids pull the string through each hole the same way.

For example, they could pull the string through the first hole from top to bottom. Then, they would pull the string through the next hole from top to bottom. They would continue working around the shape, pulling the string through every hole from top to bottom.

When done correctly, overhand stitch will make a series of loops around the edges of the lacing card.

Running Stitch

An alternative to the overhand stitch is the running stitch. Some kids find running stitch easier to learn because it is easier to prevent the string from getting tangled. In a running stitch, kids pull the string up through one hole, then down into the next in an alternating pattern.

In a running stitch, kids would start by pulling the string up through the first hole from bottom to top. Then, the string would be on top of the lacing card. At the next hole, they would pull the string down from top to bottom. Then, the string would be on the bottom of the card. Kids would then pull the string up from bottom to top at the next hole.

Running stitch looks like a series of dashed lines around the edges of the lacing card.

Lacing Skills

In addition to learning the important life skill of sewing, lacing cards are a great way for kids to practice their fine motor skills. Any activity that uses the small muscles in the hands, like lacing a lacing card, is great for building those muscles. And, kids must develop their fine motor muscle strength to be able to learn handwriting later on. You can also develop fine motor skills with activities, like this preschool block challenge.

Adapt the Lacing Cards for Preschoolers for Your Kids:

For Younger Kids:

Work together.

Younger kids may need some help with getting the string through the holes, or with pulling the stitches tight. You or an older sibling can sit with your child and help them know where to put the string and how to pull it through the holes.

Practice Fine Motor Skills.

Lacing cards are a great way to practice fine motor skills with young preschoolers, but there are lots of other ways to practice fine motor skills without using a pencil. These paper tearing activities for kids are a fun way to build fine motor skills and practice using glue as well.

Another favorite way to build fine motor muscles is with play dough. Try this calming lavender play dough recipe that you can make at home!

For Older Kids:

Add more holes.

Use a single hole punch to punch additional holes in the lacing card. This will make lacing the card take longer for an older child.

Experiment with other stitches.

Older kids may also enjoy researching other kinds of sewing stitches and trying them out on their lacing cards. Kids might even like to create their own sewing stitches!

Fun Sewing Crafts for Kids

What Your Child Will Learn from the Lacing Cards for Preschoolers

These lacing cards are a great way for preschoolers to learn about and develop:

• Sewing skills and life skills
• Sewing stitches
• Fine motor skills

Get the Lacing Cards for Preschoolers!

Check out the other posts in the Fun Summer Worksheets for Preschoolers series here to find more fun activity ideas for your homeschool!