I’ve never heard anyone say, “Mom, can I please help with the laundry?” or “Would it be ok if I do all the dishes tonight after dinner?” No one really loves doing those things in my house, but I do feel more productive when they get done; and it feels even better to do them as a family. It’s nice to feel everyone has contributed to having our house run a little more smoothly, especially these days when we’re all at home more than we’re used to.
They’re called chores for a reason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to make us miserable. Here are a few things I’ve done that make these household jobs a little more fun for everyone - and they work well for most ages.
Laundry -- Turn it into a game. Have your child find all the items that start with a specific letter. S is a great one (socks, sweaters, shirts). Or have him/her sort the socks by color or size. Or find the matching pairs. The person with the most - wins!
Setting the Table -- Have your child make place cards and then set the table. There are also lots of fun Holiday napkin folding ideas. While setting the table, my son recently realized the order of the silverware is alphabetical. Fork, Knife, Spoon. I thought that was pretty cool! If your kids want to get into the puzzling spirit, have them anagram their names on the place cards.
Sorting Toys -- Have your kids pick how they want their toys sorted. Maybe it’s by color, size, theme, or alphabetical? No matter what they decide, the toys get cleaned up. Besides, putting all of a certain category of toys in one bin and another category in another bin is much less overwhelming (and more fun) than cleaning everything at once!
Cleaning Up Room -- It is super overwhelming for my kids when they are told to “clean your room”. Sometimes, just breaking it down into smaller tasks makes it more manageable and therefore more fun. Here’s a list of “smaller” tasks that you can give them one at a time to get the job done. Or create your own ideas.
Pick up all the clothes
Put away all the items that are blue
Put all the books back on the bookshelf
Put away anything that starts with the letter “M”
Clean up all the toys with legs
Helpful hints:
Set a timer for each task or time them to see how long each one takes.
Play music and dance or sing while you’re cleaning. “Let’s see how much we can get done by the end of 2 songs!”
What creative ideas do you have to make chores more fun? Have a specific chore that is NO FUN in your home? Comment below to get and give ideas!