Spring Break at Home: 6 Techniques to Occupy Kids When You Work From Home (and Still Pretend to Have It Together)

Hey there mamas!

Spring break used to mean something entirely different. Before motherhood, it hinted at sunshine, slow mornings, and maybe a cute fruity drink with a tiny umbrella in it. Now it means the kids are home for a full week while you’re somehow still expected to work, answer emails, behave professionally on Zoom, and maintain the illusion that the situation is under control. Spring break for work‑from‑home moms is not a vacation—it’s a delicate operation powered by coffee, improvisation, and the quiet hope that bedtime will eventually arrive.

Still, even in the chaos, there’s a way to make this week cozy, warm, and filled with those surprising little golden moments that remind us why we do all this. Here are six mama-tested, WFH‑approved techniques that can help you keep your kids happily occupied while you keep your sanity—and your job.

1. The “Mini Chef Hour” — Your Secret Meeting Time

Letting kids “cook” might feel like a risk, but it’s one worth taking. Setting them up with a bowl, a few simple ingredients, and the authority of a tiny chef buys you real, focused work time. Children adore the independence of stirring, sprinkling, and creating their own masterpieces, even if the final product looks more like modern art than food. While they’re fully immersed in their culinary experiments, you get a peaceful 30–45 minutes to answer emails or join a meeting without someone tugging your sleeve. Plus, once kids create something themselves, they proudly talk about it for hours, which extends the entertainment long after the mixing bowl has been washed.

2. The Living‑Room Camping Setup — Your Soft‑Focus Zoom Background

When you’re working from home, the living room often becomes a multifunctional space: office, playground, cafeteria, and emotional support headquarters. During spring break, turning this space into a campsite can work wonders. A blanket over two chairs, a string of Christmas lights, a pile of pillows, and suddenly your kids are no longer in your work zone—they’re in the wilderness. From inside their cozy fort, they can read, draw, tell “campfire stories,” or munch on snacks while you quietly mute yourself on Zoom. They genuinely believe they are in a different universe, and the bonus is that forts often keep them contained long enough for you to finish a task… or five.

3. The Energy Burn Ritual — For Everyone’s Mental Health

Kids have a supernatural talent for accumulating energy when they’re indoors all day, and if they don’t burn that energy, it finds creative and destructive ways to escape. This is why the Energy Extermination Ritual is essential. Whether it’s balloon volleyball, sock‑skating down the hallway, animal races, or a dance session with music you loved before motherhood rearranged your playlists, these quick bursts of activity release the wiggles and reset the entire house. Schedule two of these “energy breaks” during the day—one in the morning, one in the afternoon—and you’ll notice how much easier it is for them to settle into quieter play afterwards. A calm child is an achievable dream, but only once the chaos has been physically exercised out of their little bodies.

4. Quiet Time — The WFH Mom’s Sacred Hour

Quiet time is not just a strategy; it’s a personal preservation technique. Even if your kids are older or younger, quiet time is a gift to everyone involved. Set each child up in their own cozy corner with sticker books, puzzles, coloring pages, audiobooks, or a basket of small toys. Add a snack and, most importantly, a timer. Timers are magical creatures; kids listen to them in ways they never listen to us. When the timer says “Quiet time begins,” they suddenly accept it like a commandment from the universe. This hour becomes your window to focus deeply—whether on a project, your inbox, or just enjoying a cup of coffee you don’t need to reheat three times.

5. Backyard (or Balcony) Explorer Missions — Outdoor Peace, Indoor Productivity

If your workday requires deep concentration, sending the kids outside is your winning move. You don’t need a big backyard; even a small outdoor area or a walk around the block works wonders. Create a scavenger hunt with items like “something tiny,” “something soft,” or “something that looks like it survived a Canadian winter.” Kids love searching for treasures, and the best part is that they feel proud and purposeful while doing it. This little adventure buys you enough silence to finish important tasks, and when they return with their findings, you can take a short break to enjoy their discoveries before sending them on the next “mission.”

6. The Mom’s Choice Hour — Because Your Calm Is Contagious

This is the technique we often forget: choosing one activity you love and inviting your kids to join. Whether it’s painting, baking, gardening, journaling, or organizing a drawer (no judgment—organizing can be therapeutic), something magical happens when kids see us doing something we genuinely enjoy. It slows the energy of the household and naturally draws them into a quieter, more focused rhythm. My daughter becomes her calmest self when she sees me painting, and without saying a word, she settles beside me, creating her own little masterpiece. Sometimes the best way to entertain kids is to simply let them join in your own moment of peace.

Working from home during spring break is an art form—one made up of strategy, humor, compromise, chaos, and small moments of unexpected joy. You’re not just a mom this week; you’re a chef, camp counselor, project manager, mediator, entertainer, and full‑time professional. It’s a lot, and you’re doing it beautifully, even on the days when it doesn’t feel that way.

So be gentle with yourself, embrace the imperfect moments, and remember that cozy, meaningful memories often show up in weeks exactly like this. And if all else fails, there is always chocolate… and the universal peace treaty known as bedtime!

Love, Katerina