“I can’t find the soccer ball,” said Indi.
“I can’t find my library book,” said Tex.
“And I can’t find my homework binder,” said their sister, Arizona.
“Maybe our cats took them,” said Tex, smiling.
“Yeah,” Indi giggled. “Maybe Charlie and Cow play soccer, read books, and do homework when we’re not looking.”
“Or maybe this room is too messy to find anything,” said Dad. “I’d say it’s time for the cleanup dance.”
“What’s that?” the kids asked together.
“We set the timer for 10 minutes,” said Dad, “then turn on some happy music and do the cleanup dance!”
Soon, everybody was dancing and cleaning and laughing.
“Hooray!” said Arizona. “My homework binder was hiding under this pillow.”
“Look, Tex,” said Indi. “Your book was in the game basket.”
“And here’s the soccer ball,” Tex said as the timer buzzed.
“Wow!” said Indi. “The cleanup dance makes cleaning fun!”
“I’m glad you think so,” said Mom, dancing into the room. “Next can we do a cleanup dance with the breakfast dishes?”