The end of the school year is jam-packed with must-dos. This means there’s often a growing list of things you can’t quite get to before the last day of school—like classroom cleaning.
Before you send those students of yours off into the summer, we want you to tell yourself this: I do not have to clean my classroom alone. Repeat that. I do not have to clean my classroom alone.
Instead, we suggest you steal a move from Kendyl York’s playbook. She’s a second grade teacher, and she recently held a cleaning contest in her classroom. Take a look at the results she posted on TikTok
It’s the “dirtiest wipe challenge” for the win
@kendyl_york my room is so clean after this! I picked a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winner! #fyp #teacher #tecaherlife #teachertok #teachersbelike #teachersoftiktok #cleantok #competition #viral #foryou #endoftheschoolyear #teacherfyp #cleanclassroom #summercountdown
The three students with the dirtiest wipes received top honors of first, second, and third place. While most people loved the idea, there were a few naysayers.
One person posted in the comments, “Our students shouldn’t be made to clean in school.”
Kendyl responded by saying, “Oh they are not made. They ask me every day to sweep, clean, etc., and actually argue about who gets to. They love helping.”
A few people wrote about how teachers and students shouldn’t have the responsibility of cleaning, but several people talked about how this could be teaching kids valuable life skills.
A custodian even chimed in with a big “Thank you!” to the students.
Kendyl reports her classroom was very clean and ready for summer once they were all done.
Do you have any end-of-year classroom hacks? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
Plus, check out our must-have list of classroom cleaning supplies.
