This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SharpieClearview My disclosure
Got kids? Then you know that life gets messy. When kids are in the picture, chores are a part of life. Instead of groans and moans at chore time, make your kiddos smile with cleaning teams!
We have six kiddos around here. Yes — one, two, three, four, five and six. Everyone stops and counts. Nope, we’re not just like the Duggars, they have 13 more. Yes, they are all mine. No, no twins. No, they are not all one year apart. In fact, most of them are two years apart — except for my youngest two. Now, that all the popular question are answered, let’s move on!
Having this many kids really can make chores fun. Many times my girls turn on music, and pretend they are orphans cleaning the orphanage. The younger kids often put pillowcases on and don them as capes. They are SUPER-CLEANERS! But, one of my favorite ways to get the kiddos cleaning is breaking them up into teams.
We normally put them in color-coded teams. That way I can just say, “OK, team blue get going!” or “Team orange — great job!” I get to be coach and cheerleader during team cleaning days!
When the kids clean in teams, we also dress them alike. Sometimes they wear the same color, the same scarf, headband or they wear matching outfits. It’s up to them! Whatever makes their cleaning day more fun!
One more item that makes our team cleaning days fun is highlighters! Sharpie Clearview are my favorite, and I try to grab as many colored highlighters as possible. The more colors the better! That way we can chose colors based on the “color mood” of my kiddos that day!
After the cleaning team has completed a chore on their list, they can use the Sharpie highlighters to highlight the completed chore. Once, I check the completed chore, they can also have a sticker on their chore sheet.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a bunch of kiddos like our family, you can break up into mommy/daddy teams too! Kids love the parents to get involved! Mom and sister can be on a team, and daddy and brother on the other. Here are some fun tips to help you make cleaning teams a success!
How to Make Cleaning Teams a Success
- Choose team members that work well together. Some of my kids get along better with certain personailties. If I want our cleaning day to be a success, I team up kiddos whose personalities complement each other.
- Set a timer. Giving kids a time limit on their chores keeps everyone moving.
- Dress alike. Wear the same color, same shirts, matching hairbands, matching socks or whatever teammates can use to match! It may seem silly to some, but when you dress for success, you’ll get the job done! :)
- Don’t overwhelm your kids. Don’t hand a five-year old a list of ten chores. It’s overwhelming. Stick to three or four.
- Be specific. Instead of saying, “clean the living room” try “Straighten bookshelves, vacuum the rug, and dust the end tables.” Most kids respond better to specified tasks than generalizations.
- Make your charts fun. Use Sharpie highlighters and fun stickers to make checking off the chores fun!
- Offer rewards. It doesn’t have to be toys or money, but you can always offer a hug, stickers, candy or some fun-time together. Hard work should always be praised and rewarded!
How do you make chore time a success? Have you ever tried cleaning in teams? Let us know in the comments!
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SharpieClearview My disclosure
