On Your Mark, Get Set, Get the Kids to Clean! 
by Melody Daisson - ldsmom10@juno.com 

Clean-up games with your children can greatly reduce 
the stress that comes with teaching kids to pick up 
after themselves. Over the past few years, I have 
adapted traditional games and made up a few games 
of my own to entice my kids into helping around the 
house. The time spent cleaning up not only gets the 
house organized, but allows time for us to enjoy being 
together! Below are some games we play to clean up 
and have fun at the same time. 

Mother May I?: In this game, one of the children or I 
assume the role of the "mother." The mother assigns 
a certain number of tasks to be completed. For 
instance, the mother may ask Johnny to pick up 
seven toys off the floor and put them away. Johnny 
then responds, "Mother, May I?" The mother grants 
permission and Johnny puts the seven toys away. If 
Johnny forgets to say "Mother, may I?" then he must 
pick up seven additional toys. I have three children, 
and we take turns being Mother. When it is the boys 
turn, we address them as Father instead of mother! 
Simon Says: A slight deviation of "Mother May I." One 
person acts as Simon, giving commands such as, 
"Simon says pick up all the doll clothes" or "pick up 
the doll clothes." If Simon did not say it, then the 
person responding to the command has to pick up 
an additional two items. We take turns being Simon 
until the room we are cleaning is completely picked 
up. If the kids want to, we play a real game of Simon 
Says after we finish our chores. 

Beat the Clock!: This game is my six year old son's 
favorite. We set the egg timer for a set amount of 
time, and race around trying to get the chores 
finished before it goes off. When the timer rings, 
we yell "freeze!" Everyone must stop and freeze in 
the position they were in when the timer went off. 
Giggles are sure to follow! If we do beat the clock 
and have everything picked up, we treat ourselves 
to a yummy dessert! A variation of this game is to 
use a regular clock. Children learning to tell time 
can be told that they have five minutes until they 
have to freeze or that they will stop at 2:45. The 
goal is twofold: to get the chores finished and 
help them improve in telling tome. 

C-L-E-A-N: Another favorite in our house is to play 
C-L-E-A-N. It is similar to the basketball game 
HORSE. When we clean up the playroom, we play 
this game by marking positions around the 
basketball hoop (you can use a wastebasket). C is 
close to the basket. The player shoots the ball into 
the hoop. If the shot is missed, the player has to 
pick up and put away 7 items and it is the next 
players turn. If the ball goes through the hoop, he 
advances to :L, a slightly harder position. If he 
misses here, he only has to pick up five items. The 
penalty for missing on E is picking up three items. 
Missing on A or N results in picking up five or seven 
items. If the player makes all the shots, he may 
choose how many items to pick up for that round. 
Mom always chooses at least ten to get the work 
finished faster! 

Learning games: Other games that get the work 
done and reinforce education skills are sorting 
items by color as they are put away, counting 
items by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10;s, and putting away 
items that begin with a certain letter. 

Getting kids to cooperate in household chores is not 
an easy task. By playing games as you work, children 
are more willing to help and the job is completed free 
of arguments and stress! 
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Melody Daisson is a freelance writer and mother of 
three. Her part-time occupation is a professional 
genealogist.