A child filling a pot with water while a child behind her prepares strawberries

Chore Club by Whirlpool

Parents across the country are caring for their families in new ways as home becomes school for millions of children. That’s why we’re helping you turn everyday chores into fun ways to teach everyday lessons that have proven benefits into adulthood.

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Kitchen activities

Turn your kitchen into a classroom with cooking, baking and cleaning chores that reinforce concepts from school.

A child kneading dough on a kitchen countertop

Cloud dough

Work on your child’s fine motor skills with this easy recipe for cloud dough.

Prep time: 5 mins | Total quality time: 30 mins

Ingredients

8 cups flour
1 cup oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, baby oil)

Step 1

Have your child hand-mix the ingredients.

Step 2

Let your child play with the dough in different ways. Squishing, squeezing, fluffing, rolling and cutting shapes can all help develop fine motor skills.

A little boy holding a potted plant in front of a windowsill container garden

Mini veggie garden

Teach your kids responsibility and the basics of plants with a veggie garden made from food scraps.

Step 1

Fill a bowl with a few inches of water. Talk with your child about how plants need water and sunlight to grow.

Step 2

Place the root end of cabbage, green onions, celery, basil or lettuce into the water.

Step 3

Have your child observe what has changed each day. Check the water every few days, replacing it as needed. When the plants grow large enough, it’s time to harvest.

A toddler sorting trail mix in a muffin tin

Trail unmix

Work on sorting and fine motor skills while enjoying a nice snack. Learning to sort shapes and colors is a building block for their future math skills, and might be a nice change of pace for your zillionth snack of the day.

Suggested ingredients

Nuts, raisins, pretzels, cereal, chocolate, dried fruit, granola, or chips

Step 1

Pour trail mix into a bowl.

Step 2

Let your kids sort the ingredients into the cups of a muffin tin.

Step 3

Have your kids combine their personal favorites into their ultimate mix for snack time.

A child topping a pizza with cheese and pepperoni

Fractions by the slice

Turn make-your-own pizza night into a mini math class by practicing their halves and fourths with favorite toppings.

1/2 pepperoni

+ 1/4 cheese

+ 1/4 mushrooms

= 1 full pizza

A child drinking a smoothie from a mason jar

Make-ahead smoothie jars

Teach them healthy eating habits and build toward independence by assembling make-ahead smoothie jars together.

Step 1

Start with a clean mason jar.

Step 2

Have your child add fruit. They can pick from bananas, strawberries or whatever you have on hand.

Step 3

Have them add a veggie. You can offer spinach, kale, cauliflower or zucchini.

Step 4

Let them add a protein of their choice. Nut butter and Greek yogurt are both great options.

Step 5

Seal and store the mason jar in the freezer. Just add water or your favorite kind of milk and blend when you’re ready to eat.

A young boy putting away a stack of bowls in the cabinet

Sorting in Spanish

Teach your kids Spanish and build memory skills while they help empty the dishwasher. Have them repeat the name of each dish in English and Spanish as you work together to put everything away.

Tenedor

Fork

Vaso

Cup

Espátula

Spatula

Plato

Plate

Tazón

Bowl

Cuchara

Spoon

Taza

Mug

A girl sweeping crumbs into a taped square on the floor

Sweep and score

Help your child build their hand-eye coordination and dexterity by making a game out of sweeping.

Step 1

Make a goal by placing some painter’s tape on the floor in the shape of a square.

Step 2

Give your kid a broom and have them sweep crumbs into the square to score.

A young child setting the table with plates, silverware and glasses

Ready set count

Practice counting while setting the table for dinner with your kids.

Step 1

Ask your child to count how many people will be sitting at the table.

Step 2

Have them count out the right number of plates, glasses, forks, spoons and knives.

Step 3

Reinforce the concepts of left side (fork) and right side (knife and spoon) as they set the table.

A child with a sandwich cut into the shape of a car

Cookie cutter sandwiches

Teach your kids lunchtime independence with a simple trick.

Step 1

Lay out the sandwich supplies and let your kids stack their own ingredients (leaving off crunchy pieces like lettuce).

Step 2

Have your kids place the sandwich on a cutting board then press down with a cookie cutter.

Step 3

Add veggies and other crunchy ingredients to your sandwich and eat!

Young children pouring baking ingredients into a glass bowl

1-2-3 cookies

Reinforce addition and subtraction skills while measuring out baking ingredients. Help your kids figure out the amount of each ingredient, then measure and bake together.

Prep time: 20 mins | Total quality time: 32 mins

Ingredient math

2 - ½ = ? sticks butter

0 + 2 = ? eggs

2 + ¼ = ? cups flour

½ + ½ = ? tsp salt

1 - ¼ = ? cup brown sugar

⅓ + ⅓ = ? cup granulated sugar

½ + ⅔ = ? tsp vanilla

1 + 0 = ? tsp baking soda

1 + 1 - 1 = ? bag chocolate chips

Cooking instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients until smooth.
3. Spoon rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet.
4. Bake 12 minutes or until golden at the edges.

Laundry activities

Help your kids learn age-appropriate laundry chores that turn into important life skills.

A child sitting on a bed while folding small towels

Towel shapes

Teach your kids about shapes by having them fold towels with you. Name the shape as you fold and talk about how many sides and corners you see on each.

A photograph of a towel outlined with a gold rectangle shape