I discovered these great place mats a while ago and got one for my daughter, and since then I’ve been back to buy several more, plus some for gifts!  The kid-friendly place mats are a great activity on their own, but especially helpful during that dinner hour crunch.  Plop your kid at the table, give her some dry-erase markers and a Brainymat, and you’ll have her entertained (and nearby!) while you cook. We even make games out of them, such as:  find all the letters in your name and circle them in blue, etc.

For younger kids, there are things like shapes and ballerinas, and for older kids there are addition and subtraction, world maps, and more.

-Rebecca