Best Apps

My house is filled with readers. If it's made of paper, we'll probably read it. So it may seem strange that I'm very excited about a brand new interactive book app. But once you see the new City Nights app for iPad from Tidepool Publishi…

There are plenty of educational apps for kids , and then there's Kiko's Thinking Time for iOS, a free educational app for kids that's -- wait for it -- legitimately based on neuroscience. As a mom, I'm fascinated by the science behind Ki…

We dress up every other part of our smart phones, from gorgeous cases to pretty wallpaper. So why shouldn't your keyboard get a little makeover too? We found 3 fun keyboard apps to perk up your phone and make it look cooler than ever. 1.…

We've already declared that 2015 is the Year of Better Sleep , so here we are with even more helpful techie ways for all of us to get those good Z's. I tried two more of the latest sleep tracking apps to see whether they'd be a good fit …

The weather is so crazy lately that I wouldn't be surprised if the actual forecast was cloudy with a chance of meatballs, or some other spherical meat product. We all need a sense of humor with weather like this, and while we have a grea…

Sometimes the best part of editing a digital photo is messing around with fun filters. And with all of the photo editing apps that we've recommended, filter options are overflowing. So it's always refreshing to find a new photo app that …

There's a new obsession in my house: trivia apps. We're battling for bragging rights over questions like, What was the real name of novelist George Orwell? Or, W hat color is young Anna's nightgown in Frozen? Frankly, I think it's perfec…

We parents hear all the time about the importance of reading for kids. Fortunately there's a huge range of topics in outstanding kids' books to engage kids, from wizardry to classroom adventures to spy novels to fairy tales re-told. But …

While my NYC school kids are home today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I know that sadly, it's still not recognized nationally the way we recognize, say, the mythology of Columbus Day. (I'll refrain from going off on that one.) …

It's hard to believe that in many places around the country, we're halfway through the school year. But if your kids are like mine, that also means they've been drilling their math facts for months, and they could probably use a change o…

When I spotted the free 1+2=3 app in the App Store and it asked me if I was smarter than a first grader, my interest was definitely piqued. And well, after playing pretty much non-stop for the past couple of days, I see why it gets such …

Not all kids' magazines are created equal, and one that's risen to the top of our reading list lately is Anorak . The art is modern and cool, the stories interesting, and the jokes witty. And now this British mag. known as "The Happy Mag…

I have some great news about TripIt , the lifesaving, can't-live-without-it travel itinerary app that I recommend to everyone I know. In fact, it just saved me $300 a ticket on our trip to Las Vegas for CES last week, thanks to an auto-a…

I'm patting myself on the back for finally sitting down this weekend and sending out the thank you notes for holiday gifts that, yeah, I probably should have sent a bit earlier. But then, it was the holidays! I'm a busy working parent! I…

Everyone likes singing karaoke. Well, everyone except maybe my husband, who prefers to do a Leonard Cohen-style speak-singing thing when it's his turn up at the mic. Still, even he would get a kick out of Hook'd , a fun social music app …

When it comes to fun educational apps for kids, the folks behind Cool Mom Tech faves Endless Alphabet and Endless Reader just won't quit. (Guess that's where the whole endless thing comes into play, huh?) The creative development team at…

Let me guess: If you add one more item to your to-do list, it's going to burst into flames and take you with it, right? I know. I'm right there with you. That's why I'm loving the MyTime app and website. MyTime takes a help me help you a…

Well wasn't I delighted when I went to update all my out-of-date apps (another resolution), and clicked on Aviary in the App store (also in Google Play for Android ) which is one of my very favorite free photo editing apps. It was then t…

While gift cards won't necessarily elicit tears of joy, they actually can make a lot of sense. Gift cards are a great choice for people you want to recognize, but don't know well enough to choose a personal gift, or for when you have a l…

It's not often that we have good news for procrastinators, but if you haven't yet mailed your holiday cards, then today is your lucky day. Because we just discovered 20Stamps , an awesome iOS app that lets you design your own customized …

To be honest, I was a little hesitant when I first downloaded the Pepi Ride app . But then I turned it over to my 5-and-half-year-old son, and this doubting mama loved his reaction. Pepi Ride is a fun intro to video games. There's no rea…

In my book, shopping isn't really shopping unless you're getting a deal. Doubly so when it come to the crazy holiday shopping season that officially kicks off this week. There are plenty of apps for holiday shopping, and websites with pr…

All three of my kids have a slight obsession with the weather. I'm sure some of their curiosity is due to the downright weird weather we often see here in Colorado, so it's no wonder my youngest is really enjoying the MarcoPolo Weather a…

Let's face it: Our kids and these tiny screens are going to be together for the long haul. Might as well teach the ins and outs of all things digital from early on, right? I'm talking about coding for kids: teaching children how to speak…