Cleaning Up With Preschoolers

My sons old preschool had a clean up song that wasn't so bad- We sang everything to 'Frere Jacques" the clean up song went was: "time to clean up, time to clean up, put away, put away, everybody's helping, everybody's helping, time to work, time to work." Something amazing happened when the teacher sang it- like she flipped a switch on a remote and they almost always started immediately cleaning.

Great comments from the parenting perspective, but here's one for the husband part. I'm a part-time WAHM and had to go on a business trip during the week a few months ago. So, my husband had to take off work and care for the kids for 3 days. It was the first time he'd ever cared for them alone for more than a few hours. It greatly changed his attitude towards the household chores. In my case it worked because he was also unsuccessful at getting everything done every day, but even if yours succeeds then you can say, with sincerity, "That's fantastic! Since you are so much better at getting X done than I am, I'd love it if you can take over that job" As long as you aren't resentful that he's better at some particular chore than you are, it's a win-win. You just have to figure out how to get away from home for a few days haha!

I love that your 4 year old loves Reel Big Fish.

We started the clean-up song early, and my 2 year old will sing it as he cleans :) Adorable! I also use short and clear sentances about my expectations. Like "first cleaning then play time." I feel like a complete moron, but it works well. I also find that there is nothing wrong with a little reward ensentive. If I want him to do something I will offer a task that he loves as a reward.

Great ideas! Although we're not HUGE on Barney, we too sing the clean up song. Dora also has one, and we just change some words to include our girls names. I also make it a "Challenge" for my oldest. I set it up like a game show, do an intro, tell her the rules and count while she cleans. Lastly, we let the kids get 3 toys out (including parts, if they're playing with blocks then all the blocks as a whole count as 1 toy), and before they can get more out we have them pick up one whole toy, or a certain number of toys in order to get more out, that way our house isn't trashed, especially since we keep toys in our living room and it's right off our entrance in plain view when people visit.

My three kids learned early on to put their things away when an activity was finished, if not the toy etc went into a bag marked "Do Not Open For ___ Days". I then posted the number of days in the blank space, for the toddlers it was one day and when they got older the days would increase. They knew not to touch the bag until the days space was blank. They even got in the habit of telling their friends to help them clean up or the toy would go in the dreaded "bag".

As for meal planning, I would plan a weeks worth of menu's and grocery list on Sunday night when everyone was in bed. The menu was posted on the refrig so everyone knew what was coming. If, as they got older, and had a meeting or sports event they had to mark the menu box so I knew how many to cook for (2 boys and a girl). That way I had only a weekly shopping to do. My friends used to check out the menus and ask if they could come for dinner on a certain night too. Jenn's suggestion of a crock pot is an excellent one and can be used year round. Let the little ones help clean veggies, take them to the grocery store and let them pick out fruit (I'd show them two apples and let them pick the one they wanted). Wherever possible include them in the process of choosing and making decisions but provide guidelines.