Abstract: A combination of a shoe device (12, FIG. 4) and shoelace (14) for use by young children and the handicapped to learn to tie a shoelace bow, is of simple construction and provides simple guidance. The shoe device is in the form of a plate of cardboard or the like, with markings (60) thereon that represent the front of a shoe. The plate has a pair of holes (20, 22) through which a shoelace can be threaded. A holdown (42) spaced from the holes, can be used to hold down the looped end portion of a shoelace. The holdown can be formed by a cut in the plate which forms a tab with a free end. The plate has greater similarity to a shoe by forming the front portion of the plate with a perimeter (50) that is cut out in the shape of the front half of a child's shoe, with a rounded front end (52) and substantially parallel sides (54, 56), and with the plate being decorated, or marked, to represent the front of a shoe.