Cleaning Activity

Sweeping / Mopping
Our toddler loves to help clean up. She wants to be the one to sweep and mop, which is kind of tricky. I have to quickly do the work first and tell her that she can have a turn when I finish. Then I give her the broom or mop. I have her stand on a dry towel when I hand her the mop so she doesn't slip on the wet floor.

Putting Clothes Away
When I put clothes away I try to get our toddler involved. I give her socks or something she can put away, then we walk into her room together and I show her where the items go that she is holding. I give her a lot of praise after she helps and she seems to really enjoy helping.

Washing
Sometimes when I'm cleaning up in the kitchen, I will hand our toddler a dry rag and ask her if she would like to wash something specific. She really enjoys helping out in this way.

Putting Dishes Away
Lately, I have been putting the silverware organizer on the door of our dish washer so that our toddler can unload the silverware and put it away easily. She isn't able to put the utensils in the right direction or even in the right spot within our organizer, but I let her unload the utensils the best that she can. Then I put the organizer back in our drawer and quickly move things around into the correct place. This has been fun for her. I unload the rest of the dishes.

Toys
I sing a song when we put toys away that goes "toys away, toys away, lets put all the toys away." Sometimes I'll sing another song that goes "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean up, cleanup, everybody do your share."