Wooden Lacing Board — Thread Your Own Patterns

A wooden board pierced with holes and a set of coloured laces. Your child threads a lace in and out to make lines, shapes and pictures across the board. There is no right answer — the board is a surface and the pattern is theirs.

How you play

1. Lay the board flat and pick a lace colour.
2. Push the lace end down through one hole and up through another.
3. Pull it through until it lies flat against the board.
4. Carry on, choosing where each stitch goes, until the pattern is done.
5. Pull the laces out and start something different.

What it builds

• The in-and-out threading action, which is direct preparation for writing
• Both hands working together, one holding and one threading
• Planning a pattern a few stitches ahead
• Persistence, since a long lace takes time to work through

Three ways to play it

• Thread the outline of a shape and let your child fill it in
• Use two colours and alternate them
• Copy a pattern your child made, so they see it from the other side

The details

• Ages: 3–6 years
• Material: wood