Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images
I am not great at delegating. Whew . . . I said it. When it comes to working with children, I am learning how to teach my children while delegating responsibilities to them.
Sometimes allowing them to help is more work than just doing it myself, but I need to teach them to contribute.
In my family, the key is to make cleaning fun. From my many experiments, I will share in this series some strategies that work in my household.
Please share in the comments what you have found to work in yours as I’m learning and love the extra help.
How to Make Cleaning Fun for Children
- Create a Game – Part 1a and 1b
- Provide a Tool – Part 2
- Give Non-monetary Rewards – Part 3
Part 1: Create a Game
My children love to play games. From matching to Candy Land to Sorry!, my children thrive on the goal of reaching the finish line. Moving this natural desire for accomplishment from a board to our house not only shows them how to apply their knowledge in one area to another, but also how to confidently take on new tasks.
Though any task can convert to a game, we play the following games while keeping our house organized and cleaned up:
Who Makes the Most Points?
With our top-loading washing machine, I love the extra help adding clothes to the washer. With the open washer acting as a basketball goal and backboard, my son and older daughter see how many items they can accurately “shoot” into the washing machine.
Though the tasks takes a bit longer than if I just loaded the clothes, those moments are filled with laughter, giggling, and “scores.”
A benefit for me is letting my children exert their energy while I monitor the process. They have a blast and enjoy helping. As they discover that household tasks are fun, they want to help more. 🙂
For a variation, allow children to pickup their dirty clothes and another clothes or towels around the house and “shoot” them into the laundry hamper or basket.
Where’s the Match?
My older daughter loves patterns, games, and puzzles. She sees patterns in everyday life, and I enjoy finding ways to encourage her and strengthen her desire to learn. A game she loves to play is matching the socks. When the basket of clean laundry arrives via Dad, brother, or Mom, she runs to find the socks.
At the beginning, I had her put them all in a pile. I then checked that all the socks were inside-out, then she began matching them. As she has grown, she is beginning to correct the socks before matching. This game has become her own in our house because “how dare anyone take her socks.” 🙂
In using time wisely, games like Who makes the most points? and Where’s the match? help to make cleaning fun for children. Empowered with the rules and the goal, they can seize the task and accomplish it while having fun.
In next week’s installment, I will share two additional games my children enjoy which helps me save energy and time. Happy playing while accomplishing!
Question: What tasks do your children find fun?