Life with kids at home is a wonderful mess! That’s one reason why it’s important to start teaching children about household skills and cleaning up from a young age. But, household chores aren’t always fun… and kids just wanna have fun! In this article you can find 8 games to teach kids how to clean up.

Doing chores can teach children about responsibility and how to take care of themselves. These are skills that they will need as they grow older and gain independence. Plus, there is less work for caregivers when children actively participate in household chores!  

Chores can be lots of fun with the right attitude. Let’s explore some ideas on how to establish responsibility and make these tasks more exciting for little ones.

Cleaning Up the House

Freeze Dance Clean Up 

• When your child has finished an activity, clean up the materials together while playing the “freeze” game!
• Explain what you have to clean up, then put on a fun ‘tidying up’ song.
• Pause the music every few seconds and make sure your child “freezes” in their spot until the music comes back on! 

Five Minute Cleaning Blast Off 

• Set a timer for five minutes and explain all the things that need to be cleaned up.
• Challenge your child to clean up everything before the timer finishes!
• Remind them to put things back in their proper places so that they can find them next time.
• When it gets to the last ten seconds, say “it’s time to blast off! And count backward together: “10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… BLAST OFF!”
• Want to add an extra challenge? Encourage other family members to participate and see who can tidy up the most things! 

Cleaning Up Music 

• Sing along with the Lingokids characters to make these activities extra fun for your tiny humans.

Bedroom Clean Up

Guessing Game 

• Help your child tidy up their bedroom by providing containers and closet organizers.
• Work together to label the containers with words or pictures and decide where all their belongings should be stored. This encourages a sense of ownership and independence.
• When it’s time to clean up, hand your child a toy and ask: “Does this belong in the bathroom?” … “Does this belong in the refrigerator?” … “Does this belong in the closet?” Keep asking questions until they can place each item in its correct spot.

Cleaning Up Music 

• Listen to the “Bedroom Clean Up” song to help teach kids about the importance of cleaning up their rooms! 

Doing Laundry

Color & Shape Sorting 

• Dump all the dirty laundry into one big pile.
• Tell your child to sort the clothes by colors and make smaller piles: red, white, black, etc.
• Together you can count how many different color piles you made!
• After the washing is done, channel your inner “Marie Kondo” and teach shapes by folding clothes into squares, rectangles, and spheres! 

Kitchen Skills

Shopping List 

• Before you go to the grocery store, encourage your child to help you make a list of items that you need to pick up.
• How many different food groups can they remember? Encourage them to use the names of fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. to get as much practice as possible.
• When you get home, have your child help you unpack the bags and practice their vocabulary skills by sorting all the food groups and putting them into their correct places.

Dinner Countdown 

• Find a groovy song to dance and sing to as everyone helps prepare dinner.
• Challenge all family members to wash their hands, wipe the table, take out plates, get napkins, and put silverware in the correct place before the song finishes!

 Want even more cleaning up content for kids?

Available on our YouTube Channels with additional activities on the Lingokids App!  

Caregivers, what do you think?

Let us know how your tiny tot helps out at home by tagging us on social media!