The New Play Area

Finally, James has his own designated "play area" in our living room. Since our house has an open floor plan, I chose to put his play area in a corner of our living room. That way, I can peep in on him and he can see me as I work around the house. After researching several kinds of baby gates online, I chose this one because it doesn't look like he's in "baby jail" and the neutral tones go well with our house. The gate serves two purposes: Keeps James IN and the dogs OUT.

To start off, I put in a container of board books, some stuffed animals and his favorite toys. Right now, he just needs a safe space to learn to crawl around in.

As you can see, the mirror has become the focal point of his play area! His dad says that he is just like me! Should I be offended?

Here's Daddy and James, laughing it up before dinner.

Now, I have to decide what kind of artwork I want to put on the large wall above his mirror. I want something that is interesting, educational, and interactive, yet doesn't look like it belongs in a classroom, since this is the middle of our living room. I'm resisting the temptation to paint the wall with blackboard paint (for writing on with chalk) because I don't want James getting in the habit of writing on the walls! I'm thinking that a large world map would be cool. Or maybe something with the alphabet. Or maybe some stencils with math computations (guess who's idea that was!) Hint: his name rhymes with mill.
So, anyone have any suggestions????