Make It a Game!

Here are some easy and fun ways to make cleanup or a transitions into a game! Making a game out of an activity can often help promote cooperation and turn a “no” into a “yes!”
  1. Pretend that a container is a basketball net, and cheer when children “make a basket” by placing items in it.
  2. Pretend that a bag or toy box is a hungry, talking mouth that needs to be fed. For example, use a deep or funny voice to say, “I’m still hungry; feed me!” or “Delicious! More cars, please!” as children place toys inside to feed it.
  3. Park toys on a shelf (or line them up in a box), and pretend that it is a parking garage.
  4. Drive, fly, and skid toys of ramps and into containers.
  5. Pretend a lid on a box or container is a mechanical door that is closing very slowly. Add your own motorized sound effects, and announce that all of the toys need to get inside before the door closes completely.
  6. Pretend toys or objects are going to sleep, and whisper, “Goodnight, let’s tuck you in… Everybody get in bed. Shh, don’t wake them up!”
  7. Animate toys so they seem alive and excited to go into containers, for example, “I’m falling in the bag… Weeeee, it’s a long way down!” or “I’m jumping in the water…. 1, 2, 3, jump! Splash! Come on, guys, jump in!”
  8. Race to see who or which team can clean up the fastest. Can the children put all the pieces back in the bucket faster than their caregiver? Ready, set, go!
  9. Create a fun way for children to move their bodies from one place to another: jump to…, tiptoe to…, walk backwards to…
  10. Choose an animal action to move to the next place or activity: jump like a rabbit, slither like a snake, chomp like an alligator, or swing like a monkey.
Family cleaning up

From the Connect with Me: Promoting Early Social & Emotional Development course series. Available for free at cliengage.org.

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