Want Ideas For Fun Clean-Up-Time Games?

How many times have you become frustrated when you are trying with all your might to get your child(ren) to clean up and they just won't do it. Perhaps they do it but they throw a fit every time. You feel like you are pulling teeth just to try to make it happen. Have you tried all kinds of fun games to get your kids to work with you during clean-up time but you're out of creative ideas? I'll share a few things that have helped me in this area.

• Play the "roll-away" game. This is where you take a tissue box and decorate it with some bright wrapping paper or colored paper- whatever you have around the house. Then, add pictures of the items that are the hardest to get cleaned up. This could be blocks, books, Legos, etc. Add those pictures to the tissue box. Sing a little song and let the kids take turns in rolling the tissue box and whatever picture(s) end up facing up, those are the things they clean up. It makes it a fun game and before you know it, the room is clean.

• Turn on a song and use it to clean up in a fun way. Sing and dance a little to show some excitement and say in a HAPPY voice "Whoever gets everything cleaned up before the end of the song gets to help with ___" You fill in the blank. This can always be tweaked if you need to, such as whoever finishes first gets to help.

• Another fun way to clean up is to play music and JUMP when a group of items has been picked up. Such as, after putting away all books, jump 4 times. Whenever the kids put all of the Legos away, jump 2 times. If you have active kids, this is great for them.

• Be sure to show lots of PRAISE when you see a job well done. Praise goes so much further than negativity. Instead of finding reasons to criticize a job, give praise for willingness to help. Give praise for a good, I-can-help attitude. This will go very far with the kids.

• Change your kids' perspective of clean up time. Instead of making it seem to be a chore, help them to see the benefit of cleaning up by singing a song like "Time to clear our fun and start over again. Thanks toys!". If your kids see you engaging in the activity in a positive way, they will react positively as well.

I love to find creative ways to do regular tasks. I've enjoyed using riddles to do all kinds of things from planning play dates to having Birthday parties. Have you ever considered how much fun this could be? You should explore the option!

For fun party ideas and to see the cool ways I use riddles visit Http://Age-Appropriate-Riddles.info.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shanyn_Coblentz

Read more ...

Ten Minute Family Clean-Ups

I don't know about you, but in our house we have the best of intentions when it comes to picking up and cleaning. I've never been able to pinpoint the exact time, but somewhere along the way, our good intentions get sidetracked, which quickly spirals to laziness, blame and complete and utter lack of motivation.

We live in a bi-level home that doesn't have much storage. To be exact, we have roughly one square inch of storage, give or take. That said, our kids' rooms can quickly get overrun and all encompassing, making them seem like daunting tasks to tackle.

In a midst of genius and desperation, I came up with a stroke of genius - the 10 minute family clean-up. Let me say that when I announced this concept I was sure it would immediately crash and burn. Much to my surprise and joy, the kids were excited and even motivated! The only way this works is because all four of us were doing our 10 minute clean-up at the exact same time. No one can say "boo" if we're all working together at the same time. We make it enjoyable by playing upbeat music - sometimes we take requests prior to the start of the 10 minutes.

Now I know 10 minutes is not much time. But, when four people are all working at the same time, 40 minutes worth of work is accomplished each night in 10 minute increments giving us 70 minutes each week per person. In that short amount of time, we get close to 5 hours worth of cleaning done between the four of us. What does that equate to? One weekend worth of cleaning by your average mom. Since we are accomplishing this task in 10 minutes each day, we are able to fully enjoy the weekend instead of spending it dusting, cleaning and arguing about chores.

Admittedly, some times we go over our time. This is strictly by choice. When the timer goes off, we are done. And yes, to make it fair we use a timer. Since we have started our 10 minute clean-ups we have noticed an increase in family time, more relaxed weekends and a tidier home. What's not to love, right?

If this works for you, please let me know! Did you have any tweaks to make it a success for your family. Please share your experiences! I always love to hear what works for you and your family!

I came up with a stroke of genius - the 10 minute family clean-up. Let me say that when I announced this concept I was sure it would immediately crash and burn. Much to my surprise and joy, the kids were excited and even motivated...

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_S_Santaguida

Read more ...