Shoe Tying Rhymes for Kids: 6 That Work (Matched to Each Method)

You are sitting on the floor with a child and a shoelace, and you need the words. Here they are, first, before anything else.

A shoe tying rhyme for kids only works if it matches the method you are actually teaching — a bunny ears rhyme will confuse a child learning loop, swoop and pull. Below are six rhymes sorted by method, how to pick the right one, and the step most people skip: how to fade the rhyme out once your child no longer needs it.

The rhymes, at a glance

• Bunny ears method: "Bunny ears, bunny ears" and a shorter version for younger kids
• Loop, swoop and pull: the teepee rhyme and the criss-cross song
• Around the tree method: the tree and rabbit rhyme
• Children who need fewer words: the six-word cue

Why a rhyme helps a child tie shoes

Tying a bow is a sequence of about eight actions that a child has to hold in mind while their hands are fully occupied. That is a heavy load on working memory, and it is the single most common reason a child stops halfway through and looks up at you blankly.

A rhyme moves part of that load somewhere else. Rhythm and rhyme are far easier to recall than an abstract list of steps, so the words carry the sequence while the hands handle the movement. Parenting authorities including raisingchildren.net.au recommend pairing pictures and rhymes with the physical steps for exactly this reason.

If your child forgets the steps mid-knot, our guide to working memory and shoe tying explains what is happening underneath.

Rhymes for the bunny ears method

Bunny ears, bunny ears

Bunny ears, bunny ears, standing up tall.
Cross them over, don't let them fall.
Through the hole and out the other side,
Pull them tight and off you ride.

Four lines, four actions. Use this once your child can already make two loops. The full bunny ears method walks through each step the rhyme refers to.

The short version for younger children

Two bunny ears.
Cross and through.
Pull them tight.
All done, you!

For four- and five-year-olds, or any child who loses the thread of a longer rhyme. Eight words of instruction beats twenty-eight when attention is the constraint.

Rhymes for the loop, swoop and pull method

The teepee rhyme

Build a teepee, come inside.
Close it tight so we can hide.
Over the mountain and around we go.
Here's my arrow and here's my bow.

The oldest and most widely circulated of the shoe tying rhymes. "Build a teepee" is the initial X, "close it tight" is the starting knot, "over the mountain" is the wrap, and "here's my arrow, here's my bow" is pushing the loop through and pulling. The steps it maps to are in our full task analysis of shoe tying.

The criss-cross song

Criss-cross, go under the bridge.
Now you've got to pull it tight.
Make a loop but keep a long tail,
That is how to do it right.
Take the other string and wrap it round the loop,
Push it through the little hole,
Now you've got the scoop.

Longer, and sung rather than chanted, which suits children who respond better to melody than to rhythm. Best for kids who already have the starting knot and are stuck on the wrap.

Rhymes for the around-the-tree method

Around the tree the rabbit ran.
He popped in the hole as fast as he can.
Pull him out and pull him tight,
Now your shoe is looking right.

The tree is the standing loop; the rabbit is the working lace. This one only makes sense if you have physically shown your child which part is the tree — say it while pointing, at least for the first week.

A cue for children who need fewer words

Cross. Under. Loop. Around. Through. Pull.

Not a rhyme at all, and that is the point. Some children — particularly those already overloaded by the physical task, or who find long verbal instructions distracting rather than helpful — do better with six single words delivered in a steady rhythm. Say one word per action, every time, identically.

How to pick the right rhyme for your child

• Match the method first. This is the mistake almost everyone makes. If you are teaching bunny ears, a teepee rhyme actively contradicts what your child's hands are doing.
• Shorter for younger. Under six, use four lines or fewer.
• Musical child? Use the sung version. Rhythm-driven child? Use the chant.
• Overwhelmed child? Use the six-word cue. More words is not more help.

How to use a rhyme so it actually sticks

Say it while they do it, not before

Reciting the rhyme first and then asking your child to tie makes them recall two things instead of one. Say each line as their hands perform that action, so the words and the movement fuse.

One rhyme only

Pick one and tell everyone else — the other parent, the grandparents, the teacher — which one you are using. Three competing rhymes is worse than none.

Let your child finish the line

Once they know it, pause before the last word. "Through the hole and out the other ___." Finishing the line pulls the sequence out of their own memory rather than yours, which is what you are actually training.

How to fade the rhyme out

This is the step nobody mentions, and it matters. A child who can only tie shoes while an adult chants at them has not finished learning. Fading is standard practice in occupational therapy, and the American Occupational Therapy Association describes cueing and cue reduction as core to teaching daily-living skills.

Fade in this order:

1. You say the whole rhyme out loud.
2. You say it, but pause and let your child fill in the last word of each line.
3. Your child says it out loud with you.
4. Your child says it alone.
5. Your child whispers it.
6. Your child says it in their head — you will see their lips move.
7. Nothing. Just hands.

Move down one level only when the current one is easy. Most children take two to four weeks to travel the whole ladder, and it is normal to slide back a level when they are tired.

When a rhyme is not the missing piece

Rhymes solve memory problems. They do nothing for a child whose hands cannot yet hold a loop under tension, or who cannot get their fingers to execute a plan they can clearly describe.

If your child can recite the rhyme perfectly and still cannot tie the bow, the bottleneck is physical, not verbal. In that case, look at backward chaining — teaching the last step first — or at the underlying coordination described in our motor planning guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best shoe tying rhyme for kids?
The one that matches your method. For bunny ears, use "Bunny ears, bunny ears." For loop, swoop and pull, use the teepee rhyme. There is no single best rhyme independent of the method you are teaching.

At what age should I start using a rhyme?
Around four, once your child can make and hold a loop with two hands. Before that, a rhyme is just a song — pleasant, but not attached to anything their hands can do yet.

Is a shoe tying song better than a rhyme?
For some children, yes. Melody gives an extra memory hook, and children who learn well from music often prefer it. Children who find music distracting do better with a spoken chant. Try one for a week before switching.

My child says the rhyme but still can't tie. Why?
Because the rhyme is solving a memory problem your child may not have. If they can recite it and still cannot tie, the difficulty is in their hands or their motor planning, and a different approach will help more.

Where can I find a printable version?
Copy the rhyme you have chosen into a large font, print it, and tape it where your child practices. A single rhyme on one page beats a printable pack of six — the whole point is that they only learn one.

Should the teacher use the same rhyme I do?
Yes, and it is worth a short email to ask. A child hearing one rhyme at home and a different one at school has to maintain two sequences for the same task.

Pairing the words with something they can see

A rhyme gives your child something to hear. Most children learn this faster when they also have something to see. "Cross the red one over the blue one" is concrete in a way that "cross this one over that one" never is, which is why two-color laces pair so well with any of these rhymes.

And if your child knows the words, knows the steps, and still loses the loop before they can finish, the Training Ties shoe-tying tool holds that first loop steady while they work. It gives them the repetitions they need on the step that is actually hard, so the rhyme has something to attach to.