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Shea Lennon
Helping busy women fall in love with reading.

our daily schedule and at-home resources

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There was a brief time after Jona was born that I thought I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I imagined play dates at the park and Pinterest-inspired crafts, and reading or working on my own creative projects during nap-time. (SAHMs, I know you’re laughing your butts off at me right now.) When Jona became a toddler, I snapped out of that delusion and happily dropped him off at daycare each day. I soon learned that I’m not cut out for stay-at-home-mom-hood.

So when Kansas announced schools were closed for the rest of the year, and we needed to keep Violet home from daycare as well, I panicked a little. I liked going to work every day; Jona and Violet liked school and daycare. However, once I realized this was our life for the foreseeable future, I made a plan.

I felt a little overwhelmed by all the resources out there, so I decided to just try a few things out instead of visiting all the websites. I made a daily schedule–not only for my own sanity, but after two days of being schedule free the kids were at my ankles like little chihuahuas.

Here is the schedule that has been working for us, plus a few activities and resources we’ve used. For the first month I was working, so I tried to find more things the kids could do independently, but since I’ve been on furlough I’ve looked for a few activities I could do with them as well.

our daily schedule

{7:00-ish} kids wake-up, breakfast, playtime

I get up early and still treasure my morning quiet time. Jona’s usually up by 7 (at least) but Violet sometimes sleeps later. He likes to have some time to build Legos before we start school. 

{9:00} school time


 Jona – He has first grade curriculum that was provided by our school district, and his teacher made a schedule we could follow for going through the lessons. In addition to that, here are some additional resources we’ve used: 

  • Epic – This site is for online books and videos, and Jona loves it. They also have books that are read aloud, which is nice for books that are above reading level, or if he’s in the mood to be read to. Jona’s teacher gave us login information, but it’s also free for 30 days for parents.
  • Prodigy – This is a free online math “video game” for kids. 
  • Scholastic – Their Learn at Home site offers free lessons for Pre-K through grade 9 for 4 weeks. Beyond the books and little games, I like that they link to additional resources that may be fun. 
  • Star Wars workbooks – We got a math and reading version for Jona earlier this year, and while the reading one is a little easy for him, they have been good for getting some pencil-to-paper time in. 

Violet – At three, she doesn’t need a robust school curriculum–learning through play is fine. However, don’t try to tell her that. She wants to do school too, just like her brother. 

  • Reading Eggs – This was another online program offering a 30 day free trial, so we signed up so Violet could have “school” on the computer too. She’s doing the program for kids age 3-5 and it’s teaching her letter sounds and beginning reading skills. I’m pretty impressed actually, she is starting to recognize lots of letter sounds and making words like cat and mat. 
  • Math Seeds – This is the math component of the Reading Eggs program, and it follows a similar structure, teaching basic numbers and shapes. 
  • Scholastic – We did the Pre-K lessons with her. 
  • Highlights Workbooks – We got her a Preschool Workbook and a Wipe Off version (ended up with both because of an Easter-related shipping issue). She practices tracing lines and letters, but her favorite pages are the hidden pictures. 

{10:00} Jona class call, Violet play time

Sometimes Violet likes to join his call, but if she doesn’t she plays or continues with “school” activites.

  • I draw lines (straight, zigzag, curvy) on a page for her to practice cutting (or find printables) 
  • I give her a grocery store ad and have her cut out pictures of food to glue onto paper
  • I print out coloring pages or letter tracing pages
  • She practices writing her name (and Jona’s, Aaron’s, and my names too) 

{11:30} lunch time

We’ve been letting the kids watch a National Geographic show (National Parks, Penguins, Dolphins, etc.) during lunch. I use this time to have a quiet moment to read. 

{12:30} read-aloud

I’ve been reading the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to Jona, and sometimes Violet joins us. If not, Aaron reads to her for a bit. 

{1:00} quiet time


 Jona – I have him read for 15 minutes, and then he plays in his room with, you guessed it, Legos. He doesn’t usually need much from me, but there are a couple of Lego resources I found. 


 Violet – I’ve mentioned before that I found some things to keep her occupied, now she wants an “activity” daily. 

  • Buttons – I have a jar full of buttons and she has all kinds of fun playing with them
  • Dinosaur washing – I fill up a small tub with soapy water, and put down lots of towels. She washes her little dinosaur figurines with an old toothbrush. 
  • Lego pattern stacking – I can’t find the exact version I printed out, but there are lots of options out there for both Duplos and regular Legos. 
  • Letter clothespins – I wrote capital letters on clothespins and had her match them to flash cards or to a paper plate with lowercase letters written around the outside. 

{2:00} screen time

They usually watch part of a movie or a show on Netflix. 

{3:00} snack, then “daily activity”

We have an extra kiddo a few days a week – we’re helping with childcare, not having a playdate.

I thought it might break things up a little to have them do something a little different each day.

{3:30 or 4:00} outside time

If the weather’s nice, we’ll stay outside until dinner, if not they’ll come in and play for a bit while I cook. 

This is a lot, but having our day broken down pretty specifically helps me stay organized, and it also helps with the kids’ attitudes and behavior. They know what to expect throughout the day, so there’s less time complaining about being bored (not that it doesn’t still happen).

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