A New Cleaning Game

Our house is a disaster. We have way too much stuff. With everyone being sick for so long, things have just been left for awhile. I was starting to clean up this morning and was trying to get the kids excited about helping - actually, I was really just trying to get Alyssa to help me since Gavin was in school. Alyssa can be the BIGGEST whiner! Today I developed a plan that worked - at least for awhile. I grabbed some empty laundry baskets and told Alyssa they were trains. I told her to push one around the house and it would be the "laundry train". I told her to push it everywhere and whenever she found something that needed to be washed, to put it in the "train" and yell, "choo, choo!" She thought it was fun. We then did it again with the "shoe train" and then with the "toy train". She then emptied the shoe and the toy trains by "delivering" the items to the appropriate bedroom. I did have to compromise and reduce some whining by telling her she didn't have to put everyone's stuff away, she could just toss items into the right bedroom and shut the door.

Funny how little, stupid things can often be the trick with kid cooperation. I am sure this will only work a day or two and then she will think it is dumb and whine again, but I will take what help I can get for now!