We've started into our second year of homeschooling this year.  One of the main "issues" (if you will) was to prevent a certain little someone from peeling the drywall off the walls silently while we were studying spelling.  The solution that I went with was to put together little baggies of preschool activities...special toys and crafts that she can *only* do in her highchair during school. 
I wasn't sure how it would go over, because this child...this precious little dumpling, does not like to be contained, confined, or 'entertained' against her will.  That mighty, mighty will of hers that resides in such a wee little body.

We are about to embark on week 6 of school, and her special drawer of toys is one of the things she loves best!  Each toy or craft is packed into a small bag or container.  She gets to choose one activity at a time.  Usually, I get between 5 and 15 minutes out of each set before she says "I'm done!"  She will usually already have the next thing she wants to do in her mind, and she excitedly cleans up the current set of toys, packing them back into the bag to trade for the next activity. 

I tried to choose age-appropriate activities that she could do herself, since I'm usually busy working with the older kids during her activity time.  I chose the drawer for her toys since it is right behind my chair in easy reach, so it's not a hassle at all to reach over and switch out activities for her.  She'll usually switch out between two or three different things, and then it's time for a snack, and we move into the living room together for reading time.  Sometimes, I will take the chair into the living room if she wants to color or do a craft like the big kids are doing.  So far, so good!

I plan on updating and switching out toys a couple of times a year.  Stocking stuffers, party treat bags, Happy Meal toys, and the $ Store or Target $ area are all great places to find goodies for your own sanity drawer.  I've also seen Mama's who are low on space just use a small storage bin to hold the bags of toys.

Here's what is in my sanity drawer at the moment:

• crayons and a coloring book
• big beads and lacing string with a knot in one end
• foam pieces, a small bottle of glue, and construction paper
• a tiny barn with plastic animals
• a wooden puzzle
• a purse filled with fun stuff (a mirror, compact with makeup brush, play jewelry, old i.d. card, large coins)
• small doll with easy to put on clothing and a bottle
• My Little Pony set with brush
• a Cherrios play book
• Animal and Insect flash cards- the Owl is her favorite!
  

The irony here being that these little 'scatter all over the house' toys that used to drive me batty are now a part of my sanity plan.  The math sentence looks like this:
anything + plastic baggies = part of sanity plan

Other great ideas for two and three year olds:

• a slightly damp sponge brush and heavy duty construction paper (the water 'paints' on the paper)
• modeling clay, a rolling pin, a toothpick and some little cookie cutters
• buttons to sort into egg carton cups by color
• toy cars
• blocks
• plastic bugs

What things hold your two and three year old's attention?