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Dad Field Manual · Field card 14 · ChoresIdea · not yet tested

Toy cleanup race: picture bins, a song and a timer

A toddler can't follow "clean up your room," but they can put the car in the bin with the car picture on it. Fifteen minutes to set up the bins, then a few minutes every day for the race.

Time
15 min
Cost
$0
Ages
1 to 4
Where
Where the toys live

What you need

  • Three to five open bins or baskets, no lids
  • Pictures for the labels: cut from toy boxes, drawn by you, or printed
  • Clear packing tape
  • A kitchen timer or a phone timer

Before you start

  • Open bins beat a lidded chest. For a toy chest, CPSC says the lid support should hold the lid open in any position, and air holes shouldn't be blocked.
  • Small parts stay out if a child under 3 is playing. AAP says to avoid toys with small or detachable parts and keep older siblings' toys away from little ones.
  • Coins and batteries go to you, not the bin. AAP lists both as choking hazards, and button batteries can burn inside the body if swallowed.
  • Bins on the floor or a low shelf, so nobody climbs furniture to reach them.

Steps

  1. Make the picture bins. Tape a picture of what goes inside on the front of each bin.
  2. Teach one cleanup song. Sing the same short cleanup song every time, so it becomes the signal to start.
  3. Set the timer and say go. Set a 3- to 5-minute timer and say, "Can we beat the timer? Go."
  4. One toy, one bin, one cheer. Hand over one toy, name its bin, and cheer when it lands.
  5. Stop when the timer rings. Stop at the timer, say what they did, and finish with a high five.
  6. Same time, every day. Run the race at the same time every day, with the same song and timer.

If it stalls

  • If they dump a bin instead of filling it, make that part of the game: dump it, then race to fill it back up before the timer.
  • If they wander off, shrink the job: "Just the three blocks by your foot." Then stop and cheer.
Beat the timer? Days in a row
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date