Free Printable Lacing Cards for Early Learners

Published:
February 20, 2023

Contributor:
Sara Dennis

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If you’re looking for a fun way to improve your children’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, then you should hand some lacing cards to your kids. Plus, lacing cards make a great addition to a busy bag!

printable lacing cards

Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are wooden threading toys or durable lacing cards made from foam sheets or laminated card stock. They’re a fun educational toy that’s a great way to keep your child busy while developing the pincer grip your child will need for handwriting.

Lacing Card Supplies

  • Cardstock or foam sheets
  • Hole punch
  • Plastic quilting needle
  • Yarn or shoe lace
  • Optional: Laminator

How to Make Your Own Lacing Cards

You can easily make your own DIY lacing cards. Start by printing or drawing a fun shape on white cardstock. You can laminate the cardstock at this point if you’d like. Laminating the card will help it to last longer.

Now, cut the shapes out of the card stock before punching holes around the outside of the card, about 1 inch apart. Be sure to make sure the holes aren’t too close to the side of the card, as the card may tear.

Tie a shoelace or piece of yarn to the card. If you’re using yarn, be sure to attach a plastic quilting needle to the yarn so your young kids can easily sew the yarn through the holes.

Printable Lacing Cards

When you’re looking into making a shaped lacing board for your child, it’s fun to give your kids themed lacing sets. These sets can be based on the alphabet, numbers, shapes, animals, or holidays.

Letter Lacing Cards

Help your children learn the entire alphabet using colorful printable alphabet letters themed lacing cards. This is a wonderful way for children to learn letter recognition.

Alphabet Lacing Cards – Print off uppercase and lowercase letters onto cardstock or paper. If you use regular paper, you will need to laminate the paper to help it hold up to the wear and tear little hands will give it This printable will help your children learn each letter of the alphabet.

Free Alphabet Lacing Cards – You’ll find oversize uppercase and lowercase letters in this printable that’s perfect for kindergarten students. Young children will lace each letter of the alphabet while learning their letters.

Number Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are also a great activity to help your kids learn their numbers and how to count. These learning numbers printables are so much fun for young children to complete and make a great addition to any busy bags you’re putting together.

Number Lacing Free Printable Activity – Crab some card stock and a hole puncher to create this hands-on activity. Kids can learn their numbers while improving their manual dexterity.

Shapes Lacing Printables

Lacing cards featuring shapes are a fantastic way for the preschool-age group to learn fun shapes. You’ll find various shapes to print out and lace, such as circles, triangles, and hearts.

Free Shape Lacing Printable – Your kids will love lacing these printables that come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

Shape Recognition Lacing Cards – You’ll find six different shapes in this collection of cards created for kids in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade.

Animal Lacing Cards

Do your kids love learning about animals? Then they’ll adore these sweet cat and mouse lacing cards.

Cat and Mouse Lacing Cards – The two animal cards feature the head of a mouse, and a cat curled up sleeping.

animal lacing cards

Bug Lacing Cards

If you’re studying insects or doing an insects unit, then these bug lacing activities will be perfect for you. You’ll find insects like a butterfly and a bee for your kids to lace.

Bug Lacing Cards for Preschoolers – These cards make a great addition to morning tubs to keep your preschoolers busy for a few minutes while you work with older children or clean the kitchen.

bug lacing cards for kids

Fall Lacing Printables

Fabulous preschool activities include seasonal lacing cards for your preschool-age children to complete. This fall card features a cute squirrel and an acorn.

Squirrel & Acorn Sewing Cards – Kids will adore lacing this friendly squirrel and acorn sewing card. It’s a gorgeous full-color picture.

fall lacing cards

Spring Lacing Cards

Nothing says spring is here like sewing cards that feature a bird, a flower, and a butterfly! The colorful illustration will give your kids fine motor practice as they complete the cards.

Spring Lacing Cards – These cards are perfect for a three-year-old or even a kindergarten-age child to lace. Be sure to download some free spring coloring pages

spring lacing cards

Holiday Lacing Cards

Don’t stop with seasonal or animal lacing cards for your kids. You can also find some fun lacing cards that will put your children in a festive mood for the various holidays.

Christmas

There are lots of ways to have fun with some Christmas-themed lacing cards. Kids will love lacing various Christmas items, like Christmas trees, candy canes, and gingerbread men.

Christmas Lacing Cards – These cards are super easy to make and will give your young children a satisfying challenge. Just print the templates onto cardstock. Then laminate the illustrations and cut the pictures out. Use a hole puncher to add holes for your children to lace. Finish by tying a shoelace or piece of yarn to the card.

Lacing Activity: Christmas Theme – This free printable includes eight pages of Christmas-themed cards for kids between preschool and first grade.

Valentine’s Day

Instead of giving your children candy this year, hand them a sewing card. Using free Valentines crafts like lacing cards is cheap and fun. If you’d like, you can print the cards onto a piece of paper and then trace the hearts onto a cereal box if you don’t have card stock lying around the house.

Valentine’s Day Sewing Cards – You’ll find four different illustrations with a Valentine’s Day theme in this free printable download. The cards will give your kids the threading and lacing practice they need to develop their hand-eye coordination.

Valentine's Day lacing cards

St. Patrick’s Day

Kids of all ages will enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day theme lacing card to complete. These cards are a fabulous way to introduce basic sewing skills.

St. Patrick’s Day Sewing Cards – These sewing cards feature fun pictures such as a pot of gold and a four-leaf clover.

St. Patrick's Day Sewing Cards

Easter

Celebrate Easter with some cute and adorable lacing cards for young children. You’ll find yellow chicks, Easter rabbits, and colorful eggs.

Easter Lacing Cards – Kids will love working on eye-hand coordination while sewing chicks hatching from colorful Easter eggs on Easter morning.

Free Easter Lacing Cards – These free Easter lacing cards are a great addition to your children’s Easter basket this year.

Thanksgiving

If you’re tired of dealing with bored and hungry children waiting for Thanksgiving dinner, put together a few of these Thanksgiving lacing cards. The cards will keep your kids busy and entertained while they’re waiting for the turkey to finish cooking.

Free Thanksgiving Lacing Cards – Kids who are three years of age or older will adore lacing these Thanksgiving cards. Not only are they a great way to keep kids occupied on Thanksgiving, but they’re also a fun addition to a busy bag in November.

Printable Thanksgiving Lacing Card – Your children will love practicing their sewing skills switch a turkey sporting a pilgrim’s hat on Thanksgiving morning. You’ll need some cardstock, scissors, a hole punch, and a shoelace to get started!

Printable Shoe Lacing

If your kids are having trouble learning how to lace and tie their shoes, then you need one of these incredible shoe-lacing cards. The kids will give your children the practice they need to begin tying their own shoes.

Shoe Tying Card – This shoe-tying card features a red shoe for kids to practice their lacing and tying skills while curled up on the sofa or sitting at the table.

Free Printable Shoe Lacing Templates – These templates include three pairs of shoes: a white pair, a red pair, and a blue pair. They’re a great way to help kids learn how to lace and tie their shoes.

Preschool Lacing Cards

Sewing cards for preschoolers focus on cards simple enough for three, four, and five-year-olds to complete. These cards are an excellent way to help your children improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Construction Vehicles Lacing Cards for Preschoolers – Preschoolers are often fascinated by construction vehicles. So, these cards feature different types of vehicles for kids to lace.

preschool lacing cards

More About Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are an excellent addition to any busy bag you’re putting together to keep your kids entertained while you’re running errands or sitting in church. The cards give kids an entertaining challenge to complete while sitting quietly. However, cards do more than keep kids busy. They also teach kids important skills.

What do lacing cards teach?

Lacing cards help children develop the pincer grip they need in order to hold pens and pencils. The lacing also improves fine motor control as well as developing the visual perceptual skills kids need for school.

How do you make preschool lacing cards?

You can make preschool lacing cards by drawing a picture, shape, or letter on a piece of cardstock or an old cereal box. Once the picture is drawn to your satisfaction, cut it out, and punch holes along the side of the picture. Tie a shoelace or a piece of yarn to the picture.

If you’re using yarn, you may need to hand your child a plastic quilting needle to help them stick the yarn through the holes. Another option is to wrap a piece of tape around the yarn.

How to make lacing cards – Step-by-step instructions describing how to make lacing cards for your young children.

how to make lacing cards

How does lacing help preschoolers?

Lacing helps preschools develop their hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, and visual perceptual skills. The lacing also improves children’s attention spans and ability to handle challenging tasks.

Plus, children learn how to lace and tie their shoes in addition to basic sewing skills.

What age are lacing cards for?

While kids of all ages can enjoy lacing cards, the cards are usually used by children in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. They make a great addition to your young child’s curriculum.

Is lacing a fine motor skill?

Yes, lacing is a fine motor skill that helps kids develop the necessary pincer grip they will need to learn to write

What do children learn through threading?

When kids are threading a shoelace through the cards, they are also learning the pincer grip needed to hold a pencil and basic sewing skills. The sewing also helps kids master the skills needed to lace and tie their shoes.

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