Mary Poppins?

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.  You find the fun and SNAP! the job's a game."

Some of you may be singing the first line of the song right now  ("And every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake...), I know I am!  Anyway, yesterday the kid's room really needed straightened up.  I didn't make them stay on top of it when we had company last week and this week I have been distracted with sick kids and various other things so last night, I decided to make a game of cleaning it back up.  I wrote a word or phrase on small slips of paper, folded them and put them in a cup.  I had each one pick out one slip and then I set the timer for 3 minutes and they had to go in the room and ONLY pick up and put away those things.  The first time Alley got Shoes and Liam got Doll Things.  I helped and supervised.  After 3 rounds, the room was pretty much back to normal, all without grumbling and complaining.  This morning they told Michael all about it, even saying it was FUN!  I think they at least realized that the job wasn't so overwhelming when they could break it down into smaller jobs and race the clock at the same time.  Maybe I should try that myself...One Load of Laundry, Vacuum the Bedrooms,  Give Spelling Test...  :)