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Making a Plan

The boy who built a plan

Play this lessonNarrated out loud. No account, works offline.

Also available in Spanish. The app stops after two lessons a day and suggests something to do away from the screen.

What it teaches

These are the lines the lesson comes back to, and the ones a child actually remembers afterwards.

An activity has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Finishing feels good. Wandering doesn't.

How it starts

Story time. Last one. This is about a boy called Jonah and an empty Saturday, which sounds like nothing and is actually the whole point.

How the lesson goes

What Jonah had been doing

  1. Picking things up and putting them down
  2. Starting things and leaving them
  3. Asking what's for lunch, repeatedly

Building one — three questions

  1. What am I making or doing?
  2. What do I need, and where is it?
  3. How will I know when it's finished?

Jonah's Saturday plan

  1. Build the tallest tower — until it falls
  2. Draw every animal in the garden — all six
  3. Make a card for Grandma — post it

Structure for a whole day

  1. Something with your body
  2. Something with your hands
  3. Something with a person

The question at the end

What makes something a real activity instead of just wandering?

For the grown-up

Every lesson ends by handing the child something to do off the screen, and telling you what was taught so you can use the same words.

Try this today: Write down three things for today: one with your body, one with your hands, one with a person. Each needs a clear ending.

Then: Show the paper to a grown-up, then go and start the first one.

More in Story Time

The whole library is free

Twenty-four narrated lessons for ages 4 to 9, in English and Spanish. No account, no sign-up, no ads, and nothing your child does in the app ever leaves the device — you can check that yourself with the network tab open. Open the lessons.