Don’t get me wrong – I love Velcro. I use it all the time. Velcro is especially useful for those quick-change costumes for

The Big Shoe

our performances. We use it on the calendar so the students can attach the month, day, and weather. The invention of Velcro even makes a great lesson for the kids on creativity and persistence.

 

However, Velcro fasteners on shoes eventually have to give way to shoelaces. That is where the “BIG SHOE” enters the Our Little Leaders class.

Our Little Leaders, our JK-SK class, learn to tie shoes as part of our Real Life Skills curriculum. We supply big shoes with lases that are easy for their little fingers to manipulate. They practice tying shoelaces so that when they leave for grade one, they are proficient enough to graduate to “big kid’s shoes.”

To many JK-SK students, tying shoes is almost magical. Watch them the first time, and you will see them mush the laces together, twist them a bit, and pull their fingers away – expecting a knot. That is how they see this monumental feat – sheer magic.

The confidence and pride they have when they actually accomplish this Herculean task is a joy to behold.

Just one of the amazing milestones Our Little Leaders experience all the time at Riverbend Academy.