I still remember how much hard work it was for my kids to learn to read, with all the painfully slow sounding-out of words one-by-one. It sometimes seems that kids are so busy trying to figure out what the letters say that they can't eve…
These days, there's just no way we could head back to school without a little (okay, a lot of) help from technology. That's why we've put together our second annual Cool Mom Tech Back to School Guide , which launched this week. You'll fi…
I've always liked BuiltNY's lunch totes, so much so that I own a few of them myself. I can assure you they've all stood the test of time. And the test of peanut butter. Now they're offering new kid's lunchboxes and brand new reusable san…
It makes perfect sense that Caspar Babypants, the kindie music favorite whose song titles include My Flea Has Dogs and Stompy the Bear , would create an alphabet book with prose way beyond A is for Apple . But what really makes this pict…
With school starting soon--or for some it's already started--books are being bought and soon, books will be lost. There's nothing like a "this book belongs to..." label to make sure that the rightful owner remains the rightful owner. Esp…
Since a shiny new box of crayons is de rigeur for back to school season, I am loving this awesome set of crayons that might make a perfect "You'll do great, honey!" gift for a new preschooler or kindergartener. And of course, her mom can…
If you caught our Editor-in-Chief Liz Gumbinner on NBC's TODAY this morning talking about the coolest back to school gear for kids, you've come to the right place. You'll find all the items featured on the show, plus over 100 more awesom…
This boutique line of hand-embroidered shirts brings together three of our favorite things: Star Wars, babies, and sock legs. Also, Wookiees. The new Morfs line from welovefine includes five Star Wars shirts for infants and toddlers that…
We're so thrilled to tell you that we're celebrating the launch of our Back to School Shopping Guide on NBC's Today Show tomorrow morning. Whoo! Our Editor-in-Chief Liz will be highlighting some of the coolest picks from our guide, like …
While we're all still on this post-Olympic London kick (man, aren't you dying to go right now?) it was great timing that we discovered this brand new children's line straight out of London. [ don't miss a fantastic limited time discount …
For all the complaining I do about the tiny bricks scattered all over the living room floor, I adore LEGO bricks for how much they fully engage my kids even more than the latest video game. So we're delighted to you a very Happy 80th Bir…
Last year we discovered the super awesome Sock it To Me knee socks, which we even included in our holiday gift guide . (We still think those Derby Girl socks are a pretty darn cool gift.) But while some of the designs were decidedly kid-…
The summer is almost officially over and that means one thing: The launch of our sixth annual Back to School Shopping Guide , featuring close to 150 goodies that will help make your little and big kids' school year the coolest one yet. Y…
One of my very favorite things about the just-finished London Olympics was seeing all the gorgeous footage of the city itself. It's made me even more determined to get my kids over to see Big Ben, London Bridge and their picturesque city…
If your kid has a thing for Star Wars clothes, you'll be glad to know that America's favorite droid is now available in hoodie form. When asked for his response, R2D2 said, "BOOOP BEE ZOOP" and wiggled a little as if dancing to the celeb…
Though enjoying the Olympics means that we are all watching about 2000x as much television as we normally would on a nice summer's day, I love how inspired my kids' play has become. Whether they are turning the couch cushions into hurdle…
Reading the recent Cool Mom Picks post about awesome family-friendly bicycles had me dreamily clicking through images of families on bikes and imagining myself pedaling my kids through our neighborhood. Only, with the most awesome bike h…
We're happy to introduce you to our new sponsor, Wittlebee . We think you'll like them! The hard thing about buying nice kids' clothes is facing the inevitable: the clothes will be outgrown. Quickly. What that means is yet another trip t…
When I go shopping for three kids' clothes for Back to School---or "fall" as we homeschoolers call it---I am always on the lookout for cool, unique styles that my kids won't see on all of their peers but that won't also blow my entire bu…
My love for Bensimon sneakers is no secret; I wear my own purple pair almost every day. And the kids' styles are simply adorable. So when their new style collaboration with Bakker Made With Love, well my only wish, after I recovered from…
Once again, we're super happy to be working with Old Navy --and not just because it's so fun/weird to see Jason Priestly in their new TV ads . If you haven't checked out their insanely good sale online yet (seriously, there is a lot unde…
If you'll be doing some packing before you hit the road this summer, chances are you don't want the kids to help too much, lest you end up with six pairs of socks and no pants in their suitcases. So try channeling their I can help! persi…
Imagination is in no short supply around these parts. One of our toys can have half a dozen alter egos and we love and encourage the unstoppable creative flow. And so when we were introduced to the Clump-O-Lump crew of stuffed animals th…
There's something that seems to be universally fascinating to kiddos, generation after generation, about playing doctor - and by that, I mean the kind with stethoscopes and tongue depressors and a plethora of toilet paper "bandages." My …