Whenever preschool goes on summer break and my toddler is home an extra two days a week, my house tends to start looking like a tornado ran through it as we spend more time playing at home. My oldest son is almost four, and with summer break on the horizon, it seemed like the perfect time to find some feasible chores for him to do.
When thinking about which chores would be an appropriate fit for your preschooler, it’s important to consider:
- What motivates them.
- Finding things that are easily enforceable and that you can follow through with.
- Setting aside a time of day to have them complete their list of chores so that it becomes a more natural part of your daily routine, and there is less pushback because they know what is expected of them.
- Make it fun! Even though they are responsibilities, you can still help out in facilitating a way to make their chores fun! You can turn anything into a game, a race or an opportunity to connect with your kids. Use this time to connect with your kids so that they innately look forward to this time of day.
- It’s OK to help them! As long as your child is still participating in the chore along with you, it’s perfectly OK for you to help them out if they ask.
Chores to Give Preschoolers During the Summer
Wiping things down
Literally. It doesn’t even have to be a good clean or a sufficient polish. Just give them a paper towel or a microfiber cloth and a spray bottle of water and let them go at it. I was shocked at how much fun my 3 year old had simply just spraying our wooden cabinets with water and wiping it off.
Sorting/folding laundry
Give them the easy stuff. Matching socks, putting underwear away in the drawer. Maybe show them how to fold their shirts or pants.
Loading and unloading washer/dryer
This is my almost 2 year old’s favorite chore to help me with. He moves all of the wet clothes from the washer over to the dryer, shuts the door and then gets to delight in the blinking, beeping buttons that start the cycle.
Watering plants
Both of my kids are obsessed with this task. Does it take a lot of patience for me to watch them clumsily spill water all over the floor as their little hands try to master the art of pouring and quick reflexes? Absolutely. But the look on 
their faces of pride and accomplishment afterwards is so so worth it.
Filling up the bird feeder
Another super easy way to get the kids involved. We fill up ours in the front lawn on the grass so the spilled bird seed doesn’t make a mess.
Getting the mail
For my kids, this is the equivalent of going on a quest for buried treasure. Getting the keys, finding the right one that unlocks our box and fighting over who gets to carry the letters and packages back home. Such a simple task that elicits such joy. I envy so much kids’ ability to turn the most mundane tasks into an adventure.
Sweeping the floor
Is the floor actually getting clean? Nope. Are all of the crumbs from breakfast still scattered through the kitchen? Yep. But that Melissa and Doug broom and mop are getting their money’s worth and the kids are learning responsibility! A win, win!
Helping prep a small side
One of the best purchases we ever made was a set of kid’s knives from Amazon. My boys love helping cut up apples, strawberries and other parts of the meal which makes them feel like they were involved in prepping dinner.
Pulling weeds/trimming bushes/leaf blowing
Lawn and landscaping chores are some of easiest ones to execute. There isn’t any risk of mess since you are outside and there really isn’t any way for them to goof up? My oldest LIVES for using the leaf blower to clean out the garage or driveway. He also feels super important when I bestow upon him a pair of loppers and he goes around “trimming” our bushes which is essentially just cutting random leaves off but I praise him for manicuring our lawn so beautifully.
It can be so difficult to include your littles in household chores when it’s so much easier and efficient for us to just do those things ourselves. Especially when sometimes their involvement means a bigger mess for you. But including your kids in on household tasks and responsibilities teaches them so much more than just how to clean up after themselves or checking some box. It teaches them accountability, what it means to be part of a family unit and the deep sense of pride and accomplishment when they doing something helpful all by themselves.
Use this summer as your opportunity to assign the chores and get your littles involved in the daily rhythm of the house!
