3 Year Old Sample Schedule

I have to be honest, I have a schedule for myself as a stay at home mom and it helps me stay motivated and get a lot accomplished during the day & week. I am pretty passionate about daily schedules and enjoy getting a lot accomplished. Schedules have been part of my children’s lives since they were babies and I believe it helps them to thrive and be their best selves. If anything I hope my 3 year old sample schedule encourages you and helps you be the best, intentional mom that you can be.

Do you have a 2 year old? Here is my 2 year old sample schedule you can check out. Schedules are good, but flexibility and margins are good too 🙂

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The following schedule I am sharing is for when we are home all day. If you have read my stay at home mom schedule then you will know that Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are usually my stay at home days while Wednesdays and Fridays are my errand and play date days. Having a schedule simplifies my life, eliminates stress, and helps me stay focused and accomplish a lot.

3 Year Old Sample Schedule

Morning Routine

First thing I do when I get my toddler is we follow our morning routine. It’s usually the same every morning and by having a set routine from the start we can smoothly get dressed, hair fixed, and room cleaned first thing in the morning.

1. Gently wake unless already awake and give hugs
2. Let her get dressed in clothes that are already picked out
3. Fold PJ’s and put them away
4. Comb and fix hair
5. Go to the potty if she hasn’t already
6. Put books away on the shelf
7. Make bed and make sure room is tidy before getting breakfast
8. Set the table for breakfast
9. Eat Breakfast!

Breakfast

Breakfast is usually kept pretty simple. We have cereal or chia pudding with fruit that I’ve made. I also like to put worship music on during breakfast so we can keep the mood light and start our day thinking and worshiping God from the start. She usually initiates prayer before we start eating as well (which is so sweet!).

After breakfast, my 3 year old is responsible for cleaning up after herself. Before she gets off of her seat she will ask if she may get down (it’s never too early to teach manners). She will put dishes on the counter and milk will get put back in the fridge. If there are any spills she is responsible for wiping it up with a towel or washcloth.

Free Play

Since I like to wash dishes or put a load of laundry in after breakfast, my toddler will go to her play kitchen and play. There is also a toy bin that has stuffed animals and other toys that she can freely play with.

Do you need toy ideas for your 3 year old? Make sure to check out this gift guide!

Bible Story & Lesson Time

As a Christian mother the most important thing to do is to teach my children about God. Mothering is a ministry and God placed these children in my care to train them up to love Him. I usually read a children’s devotional and Bible story then move on to some lessons on the alphabet and practice Japanese with them.

Here is one of the Bible story books that I’ve used for my toddler.

https://amzn.to/31tuSAp

Craft Time

Now that my oldest is 3, she is really starting to enjoy crafting and activities. Everyday I rotate between activity books, play-doh, scissor skills books, sticker books, painting, coloring, and stamps. Keep it simple. They don’t need anything fancy and they get excited over the simplest crafts or activities.

Here are some of my 3 year old’s favorites.

https://amzn.to/3gdvSwv

Screen Time

Screen time can be watching a TV show or playing a game on my iPad. Most of the time we do a TV show in Japanese since it’s a little easier for me. While my 3 year old is watching TV I start prepping for lunch and get that all ready by 11. I limit the screen time to about 30 min a day except for Friday which is when we do movie night.

Lunch

Lunch is also kept simple like breakfast. We usually eat leftovers or have sandwiches for lunch. Just like breakfast, my 3 year old will set the table and clean up when she is done eating.

Outdoor Play Time

When the weather is nice we try to play outside as much as possible. We don’t have a lot in our yard, but she is pretty content with picking up flowers, blowing bubbles, or using side walk chalk. We also like to take walks in our neighborhood and chat with the neighbors we see and usually discover neat plants/flowers or find some cool nature items.

My 3 year old likes to take a bucket along to collect her nature discoveries like leaves, sticks, rocks, or acorns. We even found some Easter eggs around Easter!

Here is the play house we have in our yard that my 3 year old LOVES!

https://amzn.to/3eNmKOR

Nap Time Routine

Before nap time comes around we make sure all the toys and any other messes are cleaned up. This is also the time my 3 year old will go potty so she doesn’t have any accidents during her nap and quiet time. After everything is cleaned up and she went to the potty, we read a book together and we sing a song.

Recently my 3 year old loves to request a Disney princess song 😉 For books we either read the books we got from the library or I get the nicer books I keep in another room that only the parents are allowed to get. Many of these books were mine when I was a child and pretty special to me so I call them special books.

Madeline stories used to be my favorite as a child and now my daughter loves them too.

https://amzn.to/2AkiE1K

Nap Time & Quiet Time

Naps got dropped pretty early on which I was surprised by (and to be honest really disappointed) when she was about 2.5 years old. Some days she does fall asleep so I set her up for nap so she can sleep when that does happen. If she doesn’t take a nap she has quiet time where she will stay in her bed and look at books.

Blanket Time

Around 3 p.m. I will take her some quiet activities that she can do on her own during this time. She stays occupied for such a long time and stays quiet that I count it as her taking a nap because I can get some rest during this time or get some things accomplished.

Here are some quiet time activities. Many of these items are listed on The ultimate gift guide for 2 year olds, so feel free to check the post out here.

• Wooden doll house with dolls
• Magnets
• Blocks like legos
• Box of random toys that I rotate
• Puzzles
• Reusable Sticker Books
• Water mat or water wow

This is the water mat that we use at our house. All you need is water!

https://amzn.to/2ZvB74e

Sibling Play Time

Once blanket time is done she will clean up and get a snack. Around this time my 2nd born is also getting snack too, so once they finish they usually play together since they have been apart for the last few hours. Usually they play with the items that my 3 year old just played with during her blanket time. While they play together I get dinner ready for the family.

Dinner

Like breakfast and lunch, my toddler will set the table for the whole family. Then after we eat she helps to clean up too. If dinner gets done early we usually go play outside again to play until it’s time to get ready for bed or read some books.

Night Time Routine

Our night time routine goes like this. We don’t do baths every night, but everything else is the same.

1. Bath time
2. Get changed into pajamas
3. Put dirty clothes in the hamper
4. Brush teeth, comb hair, clean ears, & clip nails (if needed)
5. Get a drink of water & use the potty
6. Bible story with Daddy
7. Prayer and sing a song
8. Lights out!

This is my 3 year old sample schedule that has worked really well for us. I hope it helps, encourages, and inspires you if you have a 3 year old.

What are some activities you do with your 3 year old? Do you have a routine for your toddler?

If you enjoyed this post you won’t want to miss these posts!
2 Year Old Sample Schedule
The Stay At Home Mom Schedule

Here are some books that I learned from and helped me learn about time management and scheduling my day.