✓ Spring cleaning: how to get help from the little ones

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Are you looking for creative ways to get your kids to help as you beautify your home this spring? Just make sure you assign age-appropriate tasks that can be accomplished in minutes. If you get kids to participate you do from early years and keep things fun, they will enjoy participating as it gives them a great sense of accomplishment, partnership, independence and responsibility.

Spring Cleaning: Music!

Nothing makes time go by faster and puts people in a good mood than some upbeat tunes. Your kids will dance and sing in a neater place. With younger children, you can play the "wax museum", where the children have to stand still in place like a wax statue every time the music stops. This simple balance, coordination and reflex test can turn any task, whether it's picking up toys or tidying up the dining table, into a game full of giggles.

Spring cleaning: go skating

Let your children glide on the cleanest floors. Ask your children to put on old pairs of socks and "skate" around the house, picking up the dust with their feet. Find out who can accumulate the biggest dust balls. Just make sure there are no sharp edges or fragile objects nearby that children can injure themselves if they fall. And make sure you collect all your dust balls in a garbage bag as you go so they don't jump to the floor again! Children love this game

Spring cleaning: put the wax, remove the wax

Show your child how to clean the windows, mirrors and even the family car using Mr. Miyagi's simple technique (from the movies "The Karate Kid") of moving his right hand in a clockwise circular motion and his left hand in a circular, counterclockwise motion. It will test your child's ability to follow directions, as well as improve coordination, endurance and upper body strength. It is important to use non-toxic and preferably "green" cleaners, especially when children lend a hand.

Spring cleaning: follow the leader

Give each child an apron and slip an old rag or towel and a bottle filled with a non-toxic cleaning fluid into their pockets. The designated leader must walk through the house and make multiple stops to clean or store an item and the rest of the group must follow suit. Change leader every five minutes.

Spring Cleaning: Host a fashion show

This activity is useful for a few laughs and also acts as a way to clear old or unsuitable clothes from the closet. Regardless of your appearance, be sure to flaunt every outfit with a modeling attitude that befits the runway. In advance, agree that the majority vote determines whether the dress (or parts of it) remains or is thrown away. When you're done, donate the clothing to charity.

Spring Cleaning: Sort the games

Organize toys, books, and electronic games. When children's belongings have specific places to store, children are more likely to put them away when they are done playing. The clear, covered containers are great because they keep dust out, they're stackable and space-saving, they're portable and allow your kids to see what's inside without having to read the labels. Ask your child to order similar toys with similar toys: cars and trucks in one, dolls in another, etc. Books can be organized in many ways, including by size, author or topic. Ask your child to consult her personal library and select five books she is willing to get rid of. But first let your child play the role of a storyteller and have him read one or two of his favorite books. Set aside an extra one or two for reading before bedtime that night. Unwanted items can be donated to charity or sold to second-hand retailers.

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