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Fostering Cleanliness through Everyday Moments
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I have a song I play on the Alexa. It’s called the clean up song. The song sings clean up, clean up and everybody cleans up. This helps the kids to start cleaning when the song starts and stops.
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I like to use a sing-songy voice to make cleaning more fun. One example of this that I use often is whisper chanting, “Put it in the basket, put it in the basket”.
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A creative way we incorporate cleanliness with learning is we have a poster with pictures of times you should wash your hands such as after using the bathroom, before you eat, after touching your nose or mouth, etc. and we often refer to the poster throughout the day.
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Toddlers really like to help cleaning the table, so after an activity, I give them all paper towels and they can help with the “rinse” step, or sometimes older kids with the soap step. (But never the sanitize step)
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In my past classroom we had job charts and each student was assigned a job and when that job would be completed, they would get some type of point for that job, they also got the choice to volunteer for more jobs if they wanted and this helped maintain order and cleanliness.
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I’ve traced their hands on gallon Ziploc bags and then put glitter glue and green beads in the bag that they had to wipe away / “clean” their hands on the bags.
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agree
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1. Glitter Germs Game• Put a little glitter on the children’s hands and explain that these are “germs.”• Have them touch objects or shake hands to see how easily germs spread.• Then practice proper handwashing to “wash the germs away.”• Kids LOVE this because it’s visual, sparkly, and silly.2. Handwashing Song & Dance• Create a short, catchy handwashing song (or use a familiar tune like “Twinkle, Twinkle”).• Add simple motions like scrubbing palms, between fingers, and the backs of hands.• This helps children remember the steps without feeling rushed.3. Clean‑Up Races• Set a timer and challenge children to clean up their area before the bell rings.• Make it cooperative instead of competitive: “Let’s see if our whole class can beat the timer.”• This builds responsibility and teamwork.4. “Clean or Not Clean?” Sorting Game• Show pictures of clean vs. messy items (or use real classroom objects).• Children sort them into two baskets.• This helps them understand what “clean” looks like and why it matters.5. Toy Washing Station• Set up a bin with warm, soapy water and let children wash plastic toys with sponges.• Add bubbles, aprons, and pretend “cleaning badges.”• Great for sensory play AND hygiene learning.6. Mirror Check Station• Place a small mirror near the sink.• Encourage children to check their faces, wipe their noses, or fix messy hair.• This builds independence and self‑care skills.7. “Healthy Habits” Puppet Show• Use puppets to act out simple hygiene routines like covering coughs, washing hands, or throwing tissues away.• Kids learn best when the lesson feels like a story.• They turn routines into play.• They build independence and responsibility.• They help children understand why cleanliness matters.• They make hygiene feel positive instead of something they “have to do.”
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We race to see who can clean up their area the quickest when we are putting our toys away.
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We sing and song before we start the lunch the song is about wash your hand and kids love to sing after they wash hands with soap than place mats as than eat food.
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I have a song I sing when hand washing with kids. They absolutely love it and love singing.
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when hand washing i often make a game of it by asking the kids who can wash their hands the fastest. this often caused them to rub their hands as fast as they can while laughing.
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After each art activity we do we take each child to the sink and clean out their tray and paint brush.And also wash their hands.
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We sing a song that we made up called wash your hands to the tune of baby shark. So we say wash your hands do do do do do do do wash your hands do and so on
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when my students first come into class we have them wash their hands, as they do this we sind a song just long enough for them to soap up, wash hands and rinse they love it and thinks it fun
