stuff, consider throwing warp on there.
You should be able to do this in the config.sys:
set autorunworkplace=c:\\os2\\mdos\\winos2\\progman.exe
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - IIRC
which will use the Windows 3.1 program manager as the main shell, though I have to admit I haven't tried it. You can use the File -> Run menu item in Program Manager to fire up PMShell.exe if you need to administer the system (add printers, configure networking, that sort of thing). The only thing you'll need to do is to make sure that the device=c:\\tcpip\\bin\\vdostcp.sys (or some such) is in the config.sys so that you can have internetworking under Windows.
It should let her run all the software she knows, and provide her with the advantages of a real OS.