Gift Guides>Back to School Tech

Sometimes we think of reading apps as being for little kids, but reading apps for kids in high school and middle school can be extremely helpful. Whether your kids are voracious readers or a bit more reluctant to get lost in a book when …

For those of us with college students (already!), we know how stressful it can be for our kids to get adjusted to a totally new schedule and, often, a new living situation. We even included meditation apps among our recommendations of ap…

We thought it would be a smart idea to put together the best apps for college students, and especially college freshmen. After all, when parents send our kids off to college -- whether close to home or across the country -- you really wa…

We've spent the past several years evaluating the best headphones for students for remote learning, and while kids are back in school, one of the residual effects has been more online learning (and social!) opportunities. Whether kids ar…

This is a sponsored message from Dell If you're looking for a new laptop, computer, or tech accessories, this is a great time, thanks to Dell's Black Friday in July sale . Starting June 30, visit Dell.com/CoolMomTech for big savings off …

I'm always on a quest for the best digital planner for the school year, because I have developed a very bad habit: Every year I get tempted by the beautiful, fun, old-fashioned paper planners I discover on Etsy or in our local stationery…

As a former homeschooling parent, I am a huge fan of math apps for middle school -- and for tweens and teens whatever their grade level. I used to say that I was okay teaching math until around 3rd or 4th grade, and then I needed some he…

On this week's episode of Out Tech Your Kids, we're answering the question we're getting from SO many parents right now: How do I pick the right laptop for my child this year? Chromebook? MacBook? Something else? What kind of functionali…

As a brand-new homeschool mom two years ago, I have to say I geeked out a little over my first "me" purchase: a laminator. Nerd alert, right? But seriously, it's one small gadget that I've used over and over and has been a huge help in m…

For lots of middle school kids, back to school means back to tech. Specifically: school-issued laptops. Of course, when we're thinking about our kids and tech that they don't own themselves, but they're responsible for day-in and day-out…

Last week, my daughter Sage and I had a great time talking with the crew from News12 (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) about our favorite fun, educational apps for grade schoolers that help your kids make the most out of screen time. I'm g…

With my daughter starting high school this year (hold me!), carrying a laptop is one of her requirements, which means she needs a laptop backpack. But, um, have you looked at laptop backpacks? They're not necessarily the most stylish, an…

Every year on Cool Mom Tech, we review and recommend the best reading apps for kids of all ages. This year, we're putting all of our guides in one handy place, so you can bookmark them and reference them more easily. Whether you've got p…

Every year, we put together a pretty comprehensive guide to the best math apps for kids, whether you've got preschoolers or preteens. This year, we're compiling them all in one helpful spot, so you can bookmark this page and reference al…

These audio backpacks I spotted at Spencer's definitely have the cool factor, with everything you need in a back-to-school backpack and something extra: a speaker! Related: The coolest backpacks for preschoolers and little kids I admit t…

Gaming has taken over the world -- or at least our kids' brains, same as it did when we were kids (ahem). But what our kids have that we didn't have back in the day is such an amazing collection of cool gamer school supplies. Whether the…

Since more and more upper and middle schools are requiring laptops or iPads in the classroom, we wanted to take a look at the best laptop bags for kids. Our requirements: They have to offer good support for our kids backs with all that h…

With the new school year upon us, it's always good to have a list of some truly awesome math apps in our back pockets (or really, on our tablets and phones) to help sharpen our kids' numbers skills. So up next in our 2017 back to school …

We're kicking off our Back to School Tech Guide with some of the very best reading apps for kids and whether your kids are just beginning to string together letters to make words or they're tearing their way through Harry Potter for the …

It's back to school time, which also means, back to school shopping time. That's why we launched the first installment of our annual Cool Mom Picks Back to School guide , full of the coolest space accessories for kids. Yay geeks! From sc…

We love finding the best organizational apps for parents each year because honestly? We need them ourselves! If you're anything like me, all household organization seems to disappear over the summer as we fully embrace our laid-back, cas…

Our Back to School tech guide continues with a bevy of the best math apps for kids of all ages. There are so many fantastic options these days -- almost too many to count (ha) -- so we've done the digging for you to uncover lots of the b…

Our back to school 2016 guide continues with our picks for some of the best reading apps for kids. From preschoolers learning ABC basics and sight words, to older kids needing a synonym for obsequious (or uh, maybe that is the synonym?),…

We parents know that science is everywhere and why it's so important. So we always love tracking down some of the best science apps for kids each year, to show kids how fun science can be, and how it's a part of pretty much everything th…

I'm all for getting a jump on back to school shopping even though my kids don't start back for another month or so. And with one kid entering middle school (eep!), I'm thinking a laptop backpack might be the way to go. We're big fans of …

Rounding out our 2015 back to school tech guide: The best math apps. All year long we're on the lookout for the very best of the best math apps for kids of all ages, that we know that parents will appreciate too. (Especially since we're …

It may sound a tad hokey, but reading really is fundamental to school and life in general, which is why we've worked hard to put together 8 of the very best reading apps for older kids as part of our Back to School Tech Guide 2015. Wheth…

Next up in our Back to School Tech Guide 2015, we're happy to share 10 of the best reading apps for little kids. Because as plenty of us parents know, getting kids hyped about reading isn't always an easy road. So when they're first star…

Let's hear it for organizational apps this time of year! What would we ever do without them? After all, back to school also means getting back to routines, which can highlight some of our old systems for staying organized and keeping the…

Whether your kids are figuring out how to sound out words for the first time, or you have older grade-schoolers who just might choose an educational app over a game from time to time if it's fun enough, educational apps can certainly be …

Scientific curiosity is what's lurking behind all those questions our kids start asking as toddlers. While we parents don't always have all the answers, fortunately there's a ton of cool science apps out there to help indulge that curios…

There's excitement and anxiousness in the air at back to school time, but for many parents, this time of year can also bring about a little dread. As in: Ugh. Here comes the deluge of To-Do lists and classroom paperwork and lunch-packing…

Math: The word alone strikes fear into the hearts of too many kids -- and frankly, too many parents. That's why we think it's so important to find the very best math apps for kids to share with our readers, so we can help our kids get a …

We're so happy to kick off our 2014 back to school tech guide with one of our favorite, and most requested categories: The best educational apps for preschoolers. Now just because your little one isn't in official Big Kid school yet does…

School season is here, no getting around it, and that means independent reading time, kiddie book clubs and classroom reading groups. We've offered up the best math apps for kids , the best science apps for kids , the best preschool apps…

While science may conjure up memories of chem labs and memorizing Newton's Laws, we think kids are ready to explore science as soon as they start asking why the sky is blue. Science has the answer to that perennial kid question, and many…

Along with books, YouTube channels , and educational apps , there are loads of smart and fun websites that both my kids and I agree are worthwhile supplements to their schoolwork. And as I get ready to start my eighth (gulp) year homesch…

Back-to-school is in the air and even young preschoolers can benefit from a little extra help at home with the help of fun educational apps, the latest feature in our Back to School Tech Guide . Some little kids' apps are more educationa…

If you've got a kid going back to school with precious digital cargo, don't just dump it in a standard canvas backpack pocket and hope it makes it home alive. As part of our back to school tech guide , we've narrowed down 6 of the cooles…

We're pretty diligent around here about making sure our kids understand math concepts, and math apps can be a helpful and even fun way to get them excited about it. Year after year, math just keeps building on itself, so it's super impor…

Ah, homework. The bane of many parents' back-to-school existence. With more serious homework comes the requisite serious computer these days, so here are our picks for the best laptops for kids to consider for your student. -Jeana Recent…

Time for the four Rs: Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic, and Really Cool Tech. Here are some of our favorite techy picks for Back to School, all in one handy place. 1. Coolest Laptop Bags for Big Kids - If your kid is taking a laptop or table…

With so many of our big kids using tech gadgets on a daily basis, it seems only natural that they'd use them school. So for our final installment in our Back to School Tech series, we've rounded up some of the best educational apps for b…

Now that the school year has started for nearly all of us, we're starting to realize, whoa, we really need better organization around here. Getting organized at the start of the school year is one of the keys to staying organized--and no…

Our tweens and teens heading back to school aren't satisfied with cute erasers and personalized pencils anymore. They want tech! Aside from all those tablets and phones and laptops they've got 400 good reasons they need, here are a few l…

It's back to school time as you may have heard (ha) so over the next couple of weeks, we'll be serving up a few mini-guides to help get you ready, keep you organized, and get your kids excited. Today's picks: educational apps for the you…

Back to school time for parents means back to school tech . After all, it is time to get back into the organization zone. (Unless you're one of those rare people who stays super organized all the time. In which case...well, don't rub it …

With the back to school season here (surely you've heard by now), over the next couple weeks we'll be putting together these mini guides on back to school tech to help you out with a few must-haves, helpful apps, and cool ideas. Starting…

We know the one thing integral to keeping your sanity during back to school time is organization. Whether you volunteered to be the classroom mom and need to help wrangling 26 families or you're just trying to keep track of your own, we'…

Of course back to school time is mostly about the kids, but we moms and dads need all the help we can get too, to ensure we get the kids out the door on time, all while keeping up with our own busy schedules. While we can't offer you a f…

My iPhone and iPad have a few games to keep my little kids entertained, but as it turns out, they're often more enthralled with the educational apps I've got loaded up. And really, what better way to help reinforce their learning with co…

Getting my kids to do a few math or grammar workbook pages is not easy. But getting them to play an educational app on my iPad? Piece of cake. But not all educational apps are equal. And some are just so great, we sifted through a bunch …

Just because it's back to school time doesn't mean kids should get all the cool gadgets. We're the ones lugging them from soccer to ballet and back home again, so we can sure use all the extra hands we can get to make life a little easie…