Great Moments in Music: The Barney Clean Up Song

No matter what people have to say about the big purple dinosaur, I have to say that Barney has a rockin' clean up song. Or, that is, he used to. My days with preschool kids around are long enough ago that we sang the catchy song he sang in the early seasons of Barney and Friends:


Clean up, clean up,
Everybody everywhere,
Clean up, clean up,
Everybody do your share.


It's a simple song, with a singsongy tune, but boy does it work on preschoolers. At that age, cleaning up is just another game for them. Sing the song and they know what to do! In fact, if you don't sing the song for them, they'll sing it for you. One little boy I used to babysit was still learning to talk, but his "mee mup, mee mup" was pretty unmistakable when it was time to put the toys away.

I've been serving in the nursery at church for the past several months, and guess which song sticks the best when it's time to pick up?

And with all my recent exposure to Barney's "Clean Up" song, what do you think the first song was that came to my mind the other day when we fixed the car and reached the point where it was time to put the tools away? You guessed it. All my husband did was say, "Let's clean up now," and the song just sailed from my lips. I'm sure it raised morale immensely.

Everyone has their own opinions about Barney, and I do have to say that I haven't missed watching his show since my son grew out of it years ago. (Actually, it would be pretty scary if I did miss it.) But something I love about Barney and Friends is how they make cleaning up part of the game. They have fun, sing songs, and they clean up before they go. It goes to show that even little kids can learn big things if they're taught in a way that resonates with them.