Clean-up time goes badly for one reason: children hear it as an instruction from an adult, and instructions invite negotiation. A song fixes that. When the same tune starts every day, the song becomes the signal, and children start moving before you say a word.
This page has 13 clean up songs for preschool. Every one comes with full lyrics and the familiar tune it is sung to, so you can teach it this afternoon without learning anything new. Five are also here as videos, which helps when you want a recorded version playing while you circulate. Most take under a minute to sing.
Before the songs, there is a short section on how to actually run clean-up time with 3 to 5 year olds: the two-minute warning, assigning jobs, and what to do with the child who will not help. The songs work far better with that routine underneath them. If you already use transition songs elsewhere in the day, these slot in the same way.
- How to make clean-up time actually work
- Classic tidy-up songs on tunes every child knows
- Fast 30-second songs for a quick pick-up
- Songs that name a child or a specific job
- Songs for the end of the day
- Clean-up song FAQ
How to make clean-up time actually work
Give a two-minute warning. Say it once, calmly, to the whole room: “Two more minutes, then the clean-up song.” Children who are deep in block play need time to finish a thought. A warning turns the song into something they expected rather than an interruption, and expected things get far less resistance.
Use the same song every day. Pick one and keep it for the whole year. The point is not variety. The point is that the first two notes tell every child what happens next without you giving a direction. New songs are for the second half of the year, or for a specific job like coats at the end of the day.
Keep singing instead of repeating yourself. When a child stalls, the instinct is to stop and say “Maya, blocks.” Do not. Sing the verse again and walk toward the blocks. Singing keeps you calm and keeps the room moving. Verbal directions restart the adult-versus-child dynamic the song was there to remove.
Assign zones or jobs for a big group. With 15 or more children, “clean up” is too vague. Blocks go to the block table group, books to the reading corner group. Name the jobs before you start singing, or use a song that names them for you, like the London Bridge version below. Children work harder on a job with their name on it.
Match the song to the job. If the room takes four minutes to reset, one verse of a 30-second song will not get you there, and everyone learns that the song ends before the job does. Sing it three or four times through, or use a longer song. If it is a few puzzles before snack, a short one is right. Be honest about how long the job takes and pick accordingly.
Handle the refuser without a standoff. Narrate what other children are doing: “Sam is carrying the big blocks. Priya has all the crayons.” Most children join in within a minute because they want to be named too. If not, offer a choice of two jobs: “Blocks or books?” A choice keeps their dignity and keeps you out of an argument. Do not stop the song to deal with one child.
Why singing beats nagging. A song has no tone of voice. It cannot sound annoyed, and it cannot be argued with. It gives the whole room a shared job with a clear end, and it puts you beside the children rather than over them. That is the whole reason this works, and it is why the same approach carries over to lining up and circle time.
If you want a recorded version to play while you move around the room, this is the one most preschool classrooms already know.
Classic tidy-up songs on tunes every child knows
Start here if you are picking your one daily song. These sit on Twinkle Twinkle, Mary Had a Little Lamb and the Barney tune, so even the youngest 3 year olds can sing along on day one. Pick one, and use it every day.
The Clean Up Song (Twinkle, Twinkle)
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
It is time to clean up now.
Clean up, clean up, we know how.
We can clean up; you will see
Just how clean our room can be.
The safest first song for a room of 3 year olds, because every child already knows the tune.
Clean-Up Song (Time to Clean Up Where You Are)
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
Time to clean up where you are.
Put your toy (or whatever you need to clean up) back in it’s place.
Keep a smile upon your face.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
Time to clean up where you are.
Point at the shelf where the toy lives as you sing the third line, so the words and the location land together.
Pick Up
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
Pick up, pick up, pick up toys,
Every little girl and boy.
Look around and you will see,
All the things that shouldn’t be.
Pick up, pick up, pick up toys,
Every little girl and boy.
Pair the third line with a slow turn in place, so children actually scan the floor instead of staring at their own feet.
Tidy Up
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Mary had a little lamb”
Now it’s time to tidy up
tidy up, tidy up
Now it’s time to tidy up
And put our toys away
Short enough for 3 year olds to sing back on the first day; repeat it until the last toy is on the shelf.
The Clean Up Song (Barney Tune)
Submitted by: Doreen Nester
Sung to: “I love you” (Barney Song)
Clean up girls, clean up boys.
Clean up all the blocks and toys!
Don’t forget the dishes and the cups,
That’s the way we all clean up!
Fits the housekeeping corner best, since it names dishes and cups; sing it while children carry them back to the play sink.
Barney Clean Up Song Translated to Spanish
Original Author Unknown
Limpian, limpian
Ya es hora de limpiar.
Limpian, limpian
Pongan todo en su lugar.
Use it in bilingual rooms, or as your second song once the English version is automatic.
Fast 30-second songs for a quick pick-up
These are four lines each. They suit the small resets that happen five times a day: a few puzzles before snack, the playdough table before outside time. Both of them tell children what comes next, which is half the reason they work.
Clean Up Time
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “He’s got the whole world in his hand”
It’s time to put the (toys) away.
It’s time to put the (toys) away.
It’s time to put the (toys) away.
So we can go Outside.
Substitute ( ) for appropriate word
Sing it while walking toward the mess, swapping in whatever is out, and it ends right as outside time starts.
Clean Up Time (Second Version)
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands”
It’s time to put the (toys) away
It’s time to put the (toys) away
It’s time to put the (toys) away
So we can go outside
Substitute ( ) for appropriate word.
The same song as it was submitted a second time; sing one round per toy type (blocks, books, puzzles) so the third line is a real job, not a repeat.
This Is The Way
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “This is the way”
This is the way we pick up our toys,
pick up our toys,
pick up our toys…
This is the way we pick up toys before we have our snack.
Add a scooping motion into an imaginary bin, and keep it for the pick-up right before snack, which the last line already sets up.
Songs that name a child or a specific job
These are the songs for a big group, or for the day when the general song is not landing. One puts a child’s name in the lyric. The other turns “find what is out of place” into a game. Both give a child a job instead of a vague request.
Clean Up Song (London Bridge)
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “London Bridge”
(Name) put the toys away
Toys away, toys away
(Name) put the toys away
It’s cleanup time
Additional Verses:
Substitute toys with puzzles, books, blocks, etc.
Put a different child’s name in each round, and the named child moves first every time.
Out of Place
Submitted by: Sherren Wilson
Putting things in the right place in the centers if often a challenge. I made up this little song to encourage the children to put things in the right place.
Sung to: “Where is thumbkin”
I see something
I see something
Out of place
Out of place
It does not belong there
It does not belong there
Please show me where, show me where.
As I sing this song, my students usually rush to find the item that I am singing about. When someone spots and item that is out of place I usually say something like “very good, so and so found what was out of place. Often times the children spot things that I did not even notice.
Best for 4 and 5 year olds during centers, as a spot-check after the main clean-up rather than instead of it.
If your room responds better to a job with a prop, this one turns tidying into a vacuum-cleaner game and gives every child a clear role.
Songs for the end of the day
The end-of-day reset is the biggest job of the day, and children are tired. These two are longer and frame the work as something the whole room does together, which pairs well with the good manners songs many teachers use at the same point in the routine.
Cooperation Song
Original Author: Unknown
Sung to: “Yankee Doodle”
Cooperation is the thing
We all must learn to do.
It makes life, oh, so nice
And gets the work done, too.
Let’s cooperate today
In our work and play.
Who knows what we can do
If we all work this way?
Best for 4 and 5 year olds at the end of the day, when the whole room needs resetting and you want them to hear it as a team job.
Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere
Sung to: “The Wheels on the Bus”
Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere,
Let’s put things away with care.
Pick up the toys, put them in the bin,
Stack up the blocks, one by one.
Tidy up the books, shelf by shelf,
Neatly arrange them, just like yourself.
Clean up the crayons, put them in their case,
Hang up your coats, in their proper place.
Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere,
Let’s make our space neat and fair.
The longest song here, so save it for the end-of-day reset when coats, crayons and blocks all need to go home at once.
Clean-up song FAQ
How long should clean-up time take in preschool?
Three to five minutes for a full room reset, and under a minute for a single table. If it regularly runs past five minutes, the problem is usually too many toys out at once, not the children. Cut the number of open centers or close one center before the song starts.
Should I use the same clean-up song every day?
Yes. The song only works as a signal if it is the same one every time, the way a bell would be. Save variety for the small jobs, like a coats song at the end of the day. Change your main song once a year at most.
What if a child refuses to help tidy up?
Keep singing and narrate what the other children are doing by name. Most refusers join in because they want to be named too. If that fails, offer a choice of two specific jobs and then move on. A standoff in front of the group costs more than one child’s unfinished job.
At what age can preschoolers clean up independently?
Most 3 year olds can put things away when the job is small and named, like “the blocks in the blue bin.” By 4, most can reset a whole center with a song and a picture label on each shelf. By 5, a room that has used the same routine all year will largely run clean-up itself, with you handling one or two stragglers.
Do I need to play music, or can I just sing?
Just sing. Your voice can slow down, speed up, and add a child’s name, which a recording cannot. A recording is useful when you need both hands free, or when a substitute teacher does not know the song yet. Use the videos above for that, and sing the rest of the time.
More songs for the rest of the day
Clean-up is one transition out of a dozen. The same idea, one fixed song per moment, works for the start of the day with hello songs, for hand washing with health and safety songs, and for every move between activities with the full list of 21 transition songs for preschool. Pick one song per moment, keep it all year, and the day gets quieter.