SHOW ME YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE

THIS MIGHT NOT BE IN YOUR CURRICULUM, BUT IT'S 

IMPORTANT THAT CHILDREN KNOW SOME BASIC INFORMATION.  

PARENTS ALSO NEED TO KNOW THAT IN SPITE OF TECHNOLOGY, 

 THEIR CHILD NEEDS TO KNOW HIS/HER FULL NAME, 

BIRTHDAY, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER.

Driver's License
Having children make a driver's license might just be the perfect incentive to encourage them to learn their full name, birthday, and address. Use a small photo of each child and attach it to card stock with information similar to the one pictured. Older children can write in the information and younger children can dictate it to an adult.

Hint! It might be helpful to have a hand mirror so children can identify their eye color.

Here are some tips to remind parents how to help their child learn this information at home.

Full Name
Help children learn their full name “The Wheels on the Bus.”
My full name is (first) (middle) (last),
____, ____, ____,
____, ____, ____,
My full name is (first) (middle) (last),
That’s my full name.

Birthday
Birthdays can be sung to “Happy Birthday to You.”
September 24th,

September 24th,
My special birthday
Is September 24th.

Phone Number
Phone numbers can be learned by singing them to “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.”
213-297-4308
213-297-4308

Address
Addresses can be sung to “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”
874 Pine Oak Circle,
874 Pine Oak Circle,
874 Pine Oak Circle,
Cincinnati, Ohio

Zip Code
Learn zip codes by singing them to the tune of “BINGO.”
There is a zip code where I live
And I will sing it to you.
54892,
54892,
54892
Now I know my zip code.

These are good rhymes to transition children, as well as to reinforce birthdays, phone numbers, and addresses.

Apples, pears, peaches, plums,

Tell me when your birthday comes.

Candy, candy, ice cream cone.

Tell me the number of your telephone.

Rabbit, dog, cat, mouse,

Tell me the number on your house.

Hint! Have a “cheat sheet” with the information so you can prompt the children that don’t know.

SHOE SHERIFF IS LOOKING FOR YOU!!!

It’s pretty amazing that children have better technical skills than many adults, but they don’t know how to tie their shoes. Believe it or not, "knows how to tie shoes" was on our checklist in the old days.

When my kids were little I got a big stuffed animal and used an apron to teach them how to tie. The apron strings were much bigger and easier to manipulate than shoestrings.

Here are two poems that might help children with this task.

1-2-3-4 – TYING SHOES
Let’s get ready to tie your shoes.
Over and under. Now, what to do? (Pull strings tight.)
1. Make a loop that looks like a tree. (Make a loop with right string.)
2. The other string is a rabbit you see. (Hold up left string.)
3. The rabbit goes around and in a hole. (Take left string around loop and stick in the hole.)
4. Pull the loops tight and there is your bow! (Take both loops and pull.)

Hint! Take a marker and color one half of the shoe string. It will be easier for children to tell which loop is the "rabbit' and which is the "hole" if they are different colors.


TYING SHOES VERSION 2
Take the 2 strings (Make loops with each string.)
And make two bunny ears.
Over and under
And a knot will appear. (Tie loops in a knot.)
Pull the ears tight
And what do you know? (Pull loops.)
You’ve tied your shoes
And there is your bow!

Hint! One teacher suggested getting a bag and sending home the shoe with a different child each night. It would be a nice reminder that children still do need to know how to tie their shoes in 2023!

SHOE SHERIFF CLUB 
You’ll love this idea from Karen Hansen and Karen Aikin! When children learn to tie their shoes they get to sign their name on a poster that says “Shoe Sheriff Club.” Each day a child on the poster gets to wear a badge and be Shoe Sheriff for the day. If someone’s shoes come untied, they have to go to the Sheriff instead of bothering the teacher.



*Ashley Swedell puts shoes on table legs and if children finish their work early they can practice their tying.

Note! Janet Cantrell has children practice tying using their own leg!




Passport of Accomplishment
Make an award similar to the one below to distribute to children when they learn to tie their shoes.

TYING IS TRYING

It’s pretty amazing what children can do with devices, but many of them lack the ability to tie their shoes. Here are some ideas that you can share with your families to remind them that in 2021 children still need to be able to tie their own shoes!

Shoe Sheriff
When children learn to tie their shoes let them sign their names on the "Shoe Sheriff Club."  If a child needs help tying her shoes remind her to find someone who is a member of the "Shoe Sheriff Club" to help.


Start BIG
When my kids were little I got a big stuffed animal and used an apron to teach them how to tie. The apron strings were much bigger and easier to manipulate than shoestrings.




Here are two poems that might help children with this task:

1-2-3-4 – TYING SHOES
Let’s get ready to tie your shoes.
Over and under. Now, what to do? (Pull strings tight.)
1. Make a loop that looks like a tree. (Make a loop with right string.)
2. The other string is a rabbit you see. (Hold up left string.)
3. The rabbit goes around and in a hole. (Take left string around loop and stick in the hole.)
4. Pull the loops tight and there is your bow! (Take both loops and pull.)

Hint! Take a marker and color one half of the shoe string. It will be easier for children to tell which loop is the "rabbit' and which is the "hole" if they are different colors.

TYING SHOES VERSION 2
Take the 2 strings (Make loops with each string.)
And make two bunny ears.
Over and under
And a knot will appear. (Tie loops in a knot.)
Pull the ears tight
And what do you know? (Pull loops.)
You’ve tied your shoes
And there is your bow!


Shoes on Table Legs
This is an idea that Ashley Swedell shared with me years ago. She put shoes on table legs and if the children finished their work early they could practice tying. It might be a fun way to encourage children to practice at home as well.

                                 

Note!  Janet Cantrell has children practice tying using their own leg!

Passport of Accomplishment
Make an award similar to the one below to distribute to children when they learn to tie their shoes.