Clean Up Time
Picking up isn’t a fun job for some children, but it’s a job that won’t go away, so why not make it fun for all.
Getting in to a pick up routine every day helps children learn the times for pick up and what is expected from them. They will soon learn that they don’t move on to the next activity until the room is clean. Sometimes when a new child starts they may not be accustomed to picking up and they won’t like this rule. Here are a few things I’ve tried and had success with.
Kids love to play so I use games to turn work into fun as we learn to clean up. Use things like picking up one, two, or three toys. You can ask who can find a red toy, or a big toy, or a round or square toy to put away. Challenge them by saying “I bet you can’t find a bus to put away” works well too. If you are creative enough you can get everything picked up and they will have fun doing it too.
Songs work great too. You don’t need a song from one of your books, you can make up anything and put it to the music of your choice or you can try rapping. The funnier it is the more they love it and the room will be clean before you know it. If you have trouble remembering the words to a pick up song you can use recipe cards to help you out. These games work great while waiting to start an activity or just before lunch.
If you are on a tight schedule and want things picked up quickly try using a timer and have a pick up race. A chocolate chip makes a good reward for all the winners. I like to ask them to pick up specific things, not just tell them to pick up the toys! I may say “It’s time to put the cars and trucks back in their own tubs please!” That way the children know exactly what you mean. It’s also important when you ask everyone to
pick up that you help too. You must lead by example. When the children see you helping they feel like jumping right in to help. The only time I don’t practice this is when they are busy cleaning up for lunch and I’m feeding the infants, so sometimes they are on their own too!
I keep all my toys in tubs according to likeness. The children soon learn what toys go into what tub and if anyone messes it up they don’t waste any time letting me know. By using tubs of toys and only bringing out one or two at a time I can keep the day care area clean and organized and we can always find what we want. After thirty years in this business I’ve built up quite a collection of toys and using tubs keeps them clean, protects them from damage and makes it easy to pick everything up and store it away.
Cleaning up isn’t just for toys that need to be kept clean; our homes need cleaning every week too! Children love to help, so maybe at the end of the week give each child a dust cloth or duster and let them go. Older children love to wash their dolly dishes in the sink, or give each child a cloth that’s wet to wipe down spots on the wall or paneling. Every little bit helps make our load lighter and this is fun for the little ones. It makes my Fridays go by faster too!
On the days you wipe down puzzles do four to six at a time and after the pieces are dry, mix them all up and let your older children put them together. This will be quite a challenge for the ones who thought the puzzles were getting too easy for them.
Have fun with whatever ideas you come up with for clean up time and don’t make this time of the day a power struggle.
Patti Jo Lawrenz
pjltips@aol.com
