Clean Up Games To Play With Kids:
(Recommended for
Children ages 4-10)
Mary Poppins had fun cleaning with kids, so why can’t
you? Here is a list of 10 games you can
play with your children to get them to clean up. Keep in mind that cleaning is a lot more fun
and efficient for children when an adult is involved so stick around and you’ll
see a vast improvement. Get ready, set,
clean!
1.
“Pick up
whirlwind”: In this game, you and
your kids will go from room to room cleaning as fast as you can before the
timer goes off. First, have your
child(ren) pick the room order and write this down. Second, set your timer for 2 minutes and GO! Clean first room on the list as quickly as you
can before the timer goes off. When the
timer goes off, you must stop immediately and move on to the next room. Reset the timer for 2 more minutes and
quickly clean the 2nd room on the list. Proceed through all the rooms on the
list. By the end, all of the rooms
should look a bit better. **Note: You
can adjust the time limit to account for the work that needs to be done and the
child’s age.
2.
“Toss it!”:
Everything is more fun when you get to throw it, so why not set up a cleaning
activity disguised as making baskets!
Set up a container to catch the thrown items, and make a line that the
kids have to stand behind when they throw the object. You can also award points for making a basket
and create a competition. This game
works best with certain types of clean-up jobs.
Here are some of our favorites:
·
Throw small toys into a container (like blocks, Legos,
Lincoln logs, balls/outside toys, stuffed animals).
·
Trash can often be thrown into the trash can.
·
Folded pairs of socks or underwear can be thrown
into a drawer
·
Game pieces can be thrown into a game box
·
Pencils/markers can be thrown into a drawer or
box
·
Soda Cans and Paper can be smashed/crumpled and
thrown into the recycle bin
·
Hair accessories can be thrown into a
container/drawer (if it is in the bathroom, you’ll want to close the toilet
before throwing)
**Note: While this is a very fun
activity, you will want to remove anything breakable or dangerous before
starting your “Toss It!” game.
3.
“Songs On
the hour”: This one is great if you
are going to be around all day. Every
hour on the hour, you and your child will clean for 2 songs. First, select about 8-12 songs that your
child likes. We want the cleaning time
to be as enjoyable as possible for your child so choosing good songs is
important. These can be played on your
ipod, mobile device, a CD player, etc., but don’t use the radio if you can help
it since you can’t select the song you want or the time it starts. Right on the hour, get the child ready to
start. Make clear what chore he/she is
going to do during the 2-song duration and what chore you are going to do. Then, start the songs and get as much done as
possible during the time. It isn’t a lot
of time so this burst of cleaning shouldn’t be too taxing on your child. Then, when the second song finishes, your
child is off the hook until the next hour strikes. Continue as many rounds as your child has
energy for.
4.
“Tool
Kit”: Kids enjoy cleaning a lot more if they have their choice of cleaning
tools. So, assemble a bunch of cleaning
items (that are age appropriate) and put them in a pile. Your tool kit will vary depending on the room
that you are cleaning. A bathroom tool
kit might include a Magic Eraser, a vinegar/water spray solution with a rag, a
new set of towels, a broom, a mop, and a toilet scrubber with scouring
powder. A tool kit for a living room
might include a Swiffer duster, furniture polish with rag, glass cleaner with
rag, vacuum, a basket to collect
everything that doesn’t belong in the room, and disinfectant spray for door
knobs, light switches, remotes and phones (keep the spray at a distance so as
not to damage these items). Cater your
“tool kit” for your room.
5.
“Card
Catalog”: This game will take a little prep, but once you’ve done it, you
can use it over and over. So the first
thing that you will need to do for this game is get a pack of index cards. Write a quick chore on each card. It may be, “clean the bathroom mirror” or
“clear the dinner table”. Break up
larger jobs into smaller parts. Put a
point value on the bottom of each card—harder, longer, or less-desirable chores
get more points. The mirror might be 1
point whereas cleaning the toilet bowl might be 2 or 3. After you have made a card for every job you
want done, shuffle them and put them in a box (a recipe box works well). Then, set a time limit—I would set it around
20 minutes, but this will vary according to your child’s capacity and your time
constraints. Note the time, and each of
you randomly picks a card. Do the chore
on the card as quickly as possible, then return and get a new card. You do not get to pick which chores you get,
it has to be random. Keep finishing
chores and coming back for a new assignment.
When you finish one chore, put it in your own pile. Hopefully you will each complete a bunch of
chores and will have a stack of cards by the end of the time limit. When time is up, each of you will count up
your points. Whoever has the most points
is the winner. If you want, you can
attach a reward to it. Some examples may
be, for each point your child gets, he/she gets to stay up 1 minute past
bedtime (10 points = 10 minutes extra staying up time). Or, that could be how many chocolate chips or
stickers your child gets. Kids love to
be twirled around, so it could even be a twirl for every 2 points.
6.
“Tidy
Train Stop” – For this one you will need a laundry basket. Thread a 5 foot rope or ribbon through some
of the holes in the basket and tie the two ends together on the outside of the
basket. You have now made a great handle
to drag your laundry basket along. Start
in the first room, by picking up all of the items that don’t belong in the room
and put them into the basket. Before the
laundry basket “train” can go to its next stop, all of the items that belong in
room 1 have to be put away. Next, the
child gets to drag the train to the next room.
All of the items in the basket that go in this room have to be put
away. All of the items that don’t belong
in that room get put in the train. All
of the items in the room that belong in that room have to be put away before
the train can go to its next stop. Then,
on to the next room. Off the train, on
the train, and the rest picked up. Eventually
you will stop in all of the rooms. With
the final load, return to the first room and put away the last items remaining
in the laundry basket “train”. Horray! You
are done! If your child enjoys it, you
can add train sound effects.
7.
“20 item
Jar” For this, get a jar and some things to put in it. Large pompoms, acorns, large marshmallows, or
something else roughly that size will work perfectly. Have a large pile of the “fillers” next to
the jar. Now, you and your child need to
decide what the reward will be when the jar is filled up. You could do a puzzle together, you could go
for a bike ride together, you could download a new app your child would like,
etc. To play this game, you one “filler”
for every 20 items that you put away.
Likewise, you get one item for every small job you do (like wiping off
the stove or making a bed). You can go
anywhere in the house to put away/do your 20 items, but you have to complete 20
before putting your filler in the jar.
Eventually all of the easy stuff will be picked up and it will get a
little harder and slower to get your fillers.
When the jar is full, it’s reward time!
8.
“The
Collector”: For this game, you will want to have some kind of collection
bin. You could use the “train” from the
“Tidy Train Stop” game, but any box will do.
The point of this game is to collect and put away one type of item at a
time. As the supervisor, you will be the
caller, or the person who calls out the type of item to be collected. First, select a type of item and call it out. For example, you will say something like,
“Pick up all of the shoes and put them away.” Then when the shoes are all
picked up, you may call out “books”. In
a child’s room some great collection items are shoes, books, dirty/hamper
clothes, clean clothes, papers, trash, stuffed animals, toys, blankets, art
supplies, balls, jewelry, etc. Choose
the item categories that make sense for the room you are cleaning. Your child is done collecting when the room
is tidy.
9.
“TV
Commercial”: This one may work best for slightly older children, and it may
be helpful for your child to watch an infomercial or QVC for a few
minutes. In this game, your child is
going to demonstrate cleaning methods and try to sell you a product. This will take a little practice, but after a
while it can be a lot of fun. Here is an
example of what your child might say while doing the dishes…
“Have you ever been annoyed by a sink-full
of disgusting, smelly dishes? Have you
been plagued with spaghetti sauce plates and baked-on, caked-on casserole gunk? Well if you answered yes to any of these
questions, I have a product that can change your life! This product here (the dishwasher) is called
the “Handy Dandy Miracle Dish Doer”. It
will change your world! This is how it works…”
(Your child would then put in all of the dishes explaining how you are
doing it, what will happen to each dish, and how it will save you lots of
work.)
Have your child keep talking until all of
the dishes are in the dishwasher.
Towards the end of the commercial, your child can add payment
information like pricing, shipping and handling, and any catchy extras thrown
in (like “free dish soap with every purchase”).
You can help your child along by asking questions that prompt different
answers or explanations. This exercise
can help your child figure out the steps of a process, help with rhetoric, and
it helps take your child’s mind off of how he/she has to do a boring job.
10.
“In a Silly Manner”: Ok, for this one, it is all about how you
clean up, not what you clean up. For
this clean up game, write silly ways to clean.
Some possibilities include with the “clean up item” on your head, hopping
on one leg, with eyes closed, walking backwards, pick up the item with your
toes, twirl three times before picking
up the item and putting it away, etc. As
you can imagine, this can get really silly really fast. Some of the ways can encourage faster clean
up than others, but they are all fun, and chances are, you’ll create some
family memories.
