One Shoe, Then the Other
What you need
- their shoes
How to do it
- Sit down and tap one foot: 'this one first'.
- Do that shoe together, naming the foot as you go.
- Tap the other foot and say 'now this one'.
- Finish with both shoes side by side where they belong.
Why it matters
Two shoes is a sequence, not one job twice, and doing them in the same order each time is what turns it into something a toddler can eventually run through on their own.
What they're learning
- One then the other
- Doing something twice in a fixed order is a small sequence, and sequences are what routines are built from.
- Left and right
- Long before the words mean anything, they learn there are two feet and both need doing.
- Reaching their own feet
- The second foot is often the harder reach, and it gets practised last on purpose.
What to look for
Watch for them offering you the second foot once the first shoe is off.
A tip
Keep the order the same every time. Which foot goes first matters much less than it being the same one.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: do the same foot first every single time
Harder: ask which foot is next and wait for them to show you
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