Do you find getting your kids to pick you up around the house difficult? Oftentimes, teaching children how to clean up after themselves is a chore in itself! The key to getting your kids involved in household chores and cleaning is to make it fun! We have compiled a list of 22 fun and easy cleaning activities to make life easier for you and your family. Whether they are toddlers or pre-teens, the following games and activities are fun for children of all ages!
1. Dice Cleaning Game
This super fun and creative game will get your kids cleaning in no time! All you need is a die and a list of six spaces or items in your home that need cleaning. Your child rolls the die and completes the given activity for the corresponding number from the list.
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2. Cleaning Pretend Play
If your child loves dressing up, then this is the perfect activity for them! Simply have your child pick their favorite character to dress up as and pretend to be them as they are cleaning. Allowing them to play make-believe will take the cleaning off of their mind and just have fun while still cleaning.
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3. Jenga Cleaning Game
For this activity, you will need a set of Jenga blocks. On each one, you can write a household chore for your child to complete. The one they pull is the chore they have to complete! Not only will this get your child cleaning, but it’s a great activity for fine motor skills.
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4. Board Game Chores
If you want to get really creative, consider buying or using an old board game like candy land. On some of the spaces, write down the household chores you want your child to complete. You can also add some fun spaces such as a sticker or candy space to keep things exciting.
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5. Use a To-Do & Done Chart
Visual aids are perfect for both adults and children. There’s nothing like the feeling of checking off something on a to-do list or, in this case, moving the picture to the “done” side! These charts are just what your child needs to get motivated. Consider making multiple charts for different areas of the house.
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6. Listen to a Clean Up Song
This is a great clean up song for not only parents but teachers as well. This song will get your kids dancing and having fun as they clean up their toys. Try making this into a routine and playing this song every time it’s time to clean up! Soon enough, you’ll be able to just play the song and your child will know it’s time to start cleaning.
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7. Timed Cleaning Challenge
One active idea is to set a time challenge to see how much cleaning your child can do in a certain amount of time! Perhaps the more they do, the greater the reward. Another idea is to use the timer and have your children race each other or you to see who can pick up the most!
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8. Cleaning Treasure Hunt
Before your kids start cleaning, go around the room or house and hide different rewards such as stickers, candy, and coins. As the kids clean, they can keep the treasure. This will teach your child to clean in all areas and to be thorough while cleaning.
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9. Little Helper Cleaning Toys
Another idea is to get your kid their very own cleaning supplies! It would be so fun for them to have their own broom or mop to get cleaned with. Having their own supplies will make them feel more like an adult. The best part? The vacuum actually works!
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10. Simon Says with Cleaning
All kids love Simon Says so put a new twist on the classic game by adding simple instructions for cleaning. For example, you can say “Simon Says to put the red truck in the bin”. Make sure to add some fun instructions too! Also, try letting your child be the Simon and give directions to you.
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11. Sorting by Color
This activity is perfect for little toddlers. Have kids clean and organize their toys by color! Not only is this teaching them the important life skills of cleaning but they are also reinforcing their color recognition skills.
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12. Clean with the Kids
Get your kids motivated by cleaning alongside them. Consider having everyone work together on each chore rather than everyone doing their own separate thing. Children really do watch everything the adults in their lives do so seeing you clean with them will make all the difference.
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13. Let them Clean what they like Best
Just like every adult, every kid is different and likes different chores more than others. If your child prefers sweeping over washing the dishes, encourage them to sweep! Since it’s something they actually like to do, this will make the cleaning process much easier and more motivating for your child.
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14. The Magic Piece
This activity is great for both parents and teachers alike! As you are cleaning with your kids, decide on one object: namely the magic or mystery object. The kids need to clean up as much as they can so that they’re hopefully the ones who find the object. At the end of cleaning, you can reveal what it was, and whoever cleaned it up gets a prize!
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15. Cleaning Bingo
Try a game of cleaning Bingo to motivate young learners. When your child completes one of the chores, they can cross it off or put a token over that square. After they get five in a row, they can get a prize!
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16. I Spy Cleaning
Give an I Spy statement to your kids. For example, “I spy a green t-shirt that needs to be picked up”. They have to listen and follow your directions. Allow your child to give I Spy directions as well.
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17. Cleaning Dance Party
A super fun and active way to get your kids cleaned is to put on some of their favorite music and have a dance party while you clean! You can also turn this into a freeze dance by pausing the music every once in a while and having them freeze in a goofy stance.
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18. Chore Chart
There are many different types of comprehensive chore charts available on Teachers Pay Teachers. This is the perfect way to keep track of all of their work and tick off tasks as they go.
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19. Play Find My Stuff
Give your child their own laundry basket and explain that when you say go, they will have to run around the house and find anything that is theirs and not put away and put it in the basket. Once they find everything, they need to put it away.
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20. Sort and Pair
Give your child a laundry basket full of clothes and have them fold and sort the clothing items for each family member or pair the mismatched socks together. Try having them sort by color before washing. This is a great opportunity for color practice and will help you with laundry!
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21. Play Dust Ball Derby
This game is relatively simple; whoever finds the biggest dust ball gets to choose a movie to watch or a game to play!
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22. Create Household Currency
Although this takes a bit more effort to put into practice, the results will be worth it! Like monopoly money, create a household currency. To make it even more appealing, consider putting your pet’s face or one of the parents in the circle on the bill. After your kid does a chore, they can get a $1 bill. After they reach a certain amount, they can turn their cash in for a reward.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
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