Every evening when I come home, I am torn between rolling around on the ground with my toddler or getting her dinner on the stove. Now, I do both at once.

Melissa and Doug's magnetic letters ($10) allow her to learn her ABCs and colors while I start chopping. In between slicing and dicing, I look down to her and ask, "Where's your blue letter F?" She scrambles around, finds it and places it on the "board." I cheer her on and we both clap. Mission accomplished: fun and learning time spent together.