A day making art projects and playing games is fun — but more often than not these fun activities leave a mess in their wake. And for a mom who already has so much to do, it can be frustrating to have to clean up on top of everything else.
The burden of having to tidy up the house and keep it clean doesn’t have to solely rest on your shoulders. Teaching your kids to clean can help them form a culture of keeping things tidy, even in your absence.
In fact — it can even be fun. Playing cleaning games can help your kids learn that cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. Below, we’ve listed some fun cleaning games that you can try out at home.
Dust Racing
Kids love racing games — and even better, they’re easy to set up. Simply outline a series of cleaning activities and assign them to your kids. Let them know that they’ll be competing for the fastest time, and keep track on this printable score-keeping sheet. To spice things up, play racing sounds in the background to set the mood for the race.
Double 007 Missions
Let your kids star in their own spy movie by making them a cleaning special agent with these mission cards. On each mission card, write a task like sweeping, mopping, or cleaning countertops — with each completed task, they get closer to defeating the Dust Bunny. Dress up your kids in secret agent attire to make them feel the vibe.
The Clean Lantern
Kids want to be the hero of the day! Turn them into their very own Clean Lantern superhero by giving them a cape and using this printable mask and superhero badge. Arm them with brooms, a spray bottle and other cleaning supplies, and set them out on a mission to save your home from dirt.
Some other cleaning game ideas are the following:
- Play music while you clean, and every so often pause the tunes. When the music stops, your kids have to become statues!
- Turn a broomstick or mop into a microphone and perform your very own karaoke concert.
- Play animal charades and have your kids act out an animal while they clean the house — take turns guessing which animal everyone is embodying!
Say goodbye to the days of hectic cleaning and the stress of having to tidy up after work. Making cleaning days a fun, family activity can teach your kids to be tidy even when you aren’t around — and before long, they’ll not only start helping out around the house, but they’ll start enjoying it too.
