In the morning, I get out my 3rd grader's school books and materials for the day. I make her a list of everything I want her to do, including tasks that require my presence. Also, I usually set up one or two little activities for my preschooler to do independently in the same room, but away from my 3rd grader. Both kids get to work while I assist or do house chores or other things. When my preschooler gets bored with her activities I let her just have free play time; no TV, but anything else goes.
Ideally, my 3rd grader has finished all school work by lunch time. After lunch is an hour of quiet time where the girls lay in their bed and may read or take a nap. This is my time to do whatever I need to do; nap, clean, play Candy Crush, etc.
After quiet time, I sit down on the floor with my preschooler and spend some time with her singing, teaching, reading, and playing games. This usually lasts about 20-30 minutes. My older girl is free to join in or do her own thing as long as it's not TV or electronics. This is a fun time of day for her. She can research things that interest her, do art projects, read, and tinker. After our floor time I usually give my preschooler a couple of pages to work on for school and that's it! We try to take a walk every day. That is a great learning time. We go to the library once per week and always come home with 40-50 books. That is what we do in our free time during the days; read, read, read!
