Full disclosure, we do take Lana to Gymboree Art Level 1 on the weekends. We recently swapped from the Play and Learn class after she turned 18 months and due to the timing and how it hit her nap schedule.
That being said, lately, I feel as though I default to iPad and TV while trying to prep dinner. Sometimes, we cook “together” but I worry considerably when she is under my feet while the stove is going and I have my hands on a knife. We had an incident months ago where she grabbed a knife on the counter and sliced her index finger a little bit, so I am overly cautious now. After perusing Amazon and Zulily one day (another story for another day, but I am an online shopper to the nth degree due to being a working mom with multiple balls in the air at any given time, hehe hear my rationalizations for the plethora of boxes that show up at our doorstep?), I spotted the Alex Jr. Tots Art Start kits. Most of them are geared for 18m+ so I grabbed a couple via Zulily and waited the obligatory 2-3 weeks for arrival. They showed up on Tuesday! Tuesday night, before I could even get the box open, Ladybug had spotted the package and was eagerly trying to assist me as I opened the box. I pulled out one of the simpler kits, setup Lana up near the end of the kitchen and she created art while I cooked. It was a nice way to still spend time with her but keep her from being under my feet and potentially in harm’s way.
Sure you could buy your own craft stuff, but I don’t have the space nor the time to really think it out, at least not for now. Perhaps after working through these kits and going to Gymboree’s Art class for a bit, I will be able to do it all myself, but for now, this is AWESOME mommy and me time while I work on getting dinner on the table after a long day at work.
I have no affiliation with Gymboree nor Alex Jr. but here are a couple of the kits that we have now in the house:
nappies + milk 
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