Free song download for Grandparents Day: Kids’ music download of the week
Your kids may say Nana or Grandpa or Oma or Nonno, but no matter what they call their grandparents, there's no doubt that the good ones are worth their weight in gold. So on today's Grandparents Day (don't forget to make a call or schedule a Facetime!) which is an...
How to talk to your kids about 9/11
Every year when our kids ask us about 9/11, we turn to BrainPop to help us tackle this challenging topic. This year, we're adding another helpful resource that we discovered on the 9/11 Memorial website that we think you'll want to check out. You'll find a specific...
The big Apple announcement highlights you’ll actually care about: iPhone 6S, Apple TV, a keyboard, and whoa Siri!
The annual Apple announcement always marks the passage of yet another year for those of us in tech -- and is also a reminder of the new, shiny iOS features that my current iPhone now lacks. Each September, we come to expect a flurry of new products, features and...
Accessible playgrounds for kids, on demand. Thanks, internet!
Leave it to NPR and Internet technology to create something as simple and wonderful as Playgrounds for Everyone, a community edited guide helping kids who require handicapped-accessible facilities find them easily. Turns out there actually is no official database like...
21 of the best math apps for kids of all ages: Back to school tech guide
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 the ones paying for them,...
8 of the best reading apps for older kids: Back to School Tech Guide 2015
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. Whether you have an older...
The HeyBC spelling app makes learning very very cute
My kids have been back to school for a couple weeks now, and that means I'm reviewing spelling words with the big kids while I cook dinner every night. My preschooler doesn't want to be left out, so he's asking for "homework" too. That's where those educational apps...
Happy Birthday to You by Charlie Hope: Kids’ music download of the week
My third born is soon turning another year older, a fact that makes me feel both happy and wistful as he is the baby in the family. So though I may be holding back tears as he blows out his birthday candles, I also love that I've found another birthday song to play...
The Sphero BB-8 wins this #ForceFriday thing.
We're as geeked out about Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens as anyone else, but let's all step back for a minute and take a moment of reflection for today's #ForceFriday national day that's really a giant unboxing and marketing event designed to sell a crapton of...
7 of the best YouTube channels to get kids excited about math
Even though our kids will be getting lots of STEM in school these days (at least, we hope so), we love the idea of encouraging their love of learning about science, math, and related subjects outside the classroom too. YouTube can actually be a fantastic resource for...
Code Master teaches online coding skills through a fun offline board game
There seems to be no shortage of websites or online games that will help teach our kids coding so they can be ready to head out into this increasingly technical world. And as much as I love that there are so many online options, sometimes I just don't want to give my...
10 of the best reading apps for young kids and early readers: Back to School Tech Guide 2015
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 starting out, we always welcome any...
Tech Tips & Tricks to Make Life (Way) Easier
How do I get started on Twitter? Cool Mom Tech can help!
If you're wondering how to get started on Twitter or what the heck MT means, just this morning our Editor Liz Gumbinner shared her tips on The Today Show. Take a peek at the video clip to get the skinny on hashtags, retweets, who to follow, and all the basics to get...
The nanny cam for people who are anti-nanny cam
We have a lot of discussion here internally about the ethics and importance of using so-called hidden nanny cams or other security cameras around the house. But one thing we can all agree on: These security cameras are hilarious. If you like conceptual recycled...
Forget where you parked your car? Use your smartphone.
There's no shortage of cool gadgets to help you find lost items, but lost cars? Not so much. I'm not quite sure if it's that I'm getting older or I'm trying to do too many things at once, but lately, I've been forgetting where I park my car. Like even for quick runs...
Even More Coolness. Enjoy!
Kids volume-limiting headphone smackdown: Comparing 6 pairs under $30 to help kids keep that awful YouTube parody song to themselves.
We have officially entered the "please turn that music off" stage of parenting. Yay. (Sarcasm.) We have been lucky to try various kids' headphones over the years, and I've compared some of the top affordable headphones for kids. They're all under $30 and worth...
WonderBox: A game-changer in educational apps for kids
I have a kid who really wants to be creative, but usually needs a good push before he'll dive into a project, and now we've found an app that delivers on that so beautifully. The brand new WonderBox app hails from Duck Duck Moose, one of the first educational app...
Prince’s Starfish and Coffee sung by Maya Rudolph and Renee Stahl: Kids’ music download of the week
Of all the great songs on Renee & Friends' amazing new album Simpatico, the one that I've had running in my head for weeks is a Prince cover featuring the voices of Renee Stahl of kindie band Renee & Jeremy and Maya Rudolph. Yes, that Maya Rudolph. Turns out,...
Build your own bookends for all those back to school books
With all the amazing books for tweens and helpful book recommendation websites we've been sharing on Cool Mom Picks and here on Cool Mom Tech, I'm swimming in books. Which, you know, it could be worse. But that's why I need these build on brick bookends. ...
Tinybop’s The Everything Machine: Budding engineers, your app has arrived
We love it when developers we adore take things up a notch, and that's exactly what Tinybop has done with their wonderful new app, The Everything Machine. The Everything Machine is on a whole new level from what we've seen from Tinybop previously. It incorporates...
16 of the best organizational apps for parents: Back to School Tech Guide 2015
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 family running like a...
The LG GizmoPal phone wristwatch for kids: It could change the way you get in touch. Or yell for them to come home, at least.
Unless you are a parent who just doesn't use a cell phone yourself -- which, huh? -- we guarantee your kids will be begging pretty much by the time they get to kindergarten, and see one classmate who already has one. We don't entirely think that five-year-olds need...
They Might Be Giants’ No! to be followed up by Why? | Kids’ music downloads of the week
One of the very first kids' albums I ever bought was They Might Be Giants' 2002 classic No! to play for my then-toddler daughter. It still ranks up there with some of my favorite albums thanks to songs like Fibber Island, I Am Not Your Broom, John Lee Supertaster, and...
Need recommendations for great books for kids? Bookmark these 5 great websites.
Some of our kids are really picky when it comes to books -- not too long, not too short, with just the right plot points and character types. Then there are the ones who go through books so quickly that we can barely keep up with suggestions for what they should read...
Fable tablet: Can it sit at the table with the other kids’ tablets? Here’s our review.
We're big fans of dedicated kids' tablets around here. We even have a list of our favorite tablets for kids, for those parents who aren't quite ready to hand over a $500 iPad to a preschooler. Even if it is a hand-me-down. And this is why I was excited to try out the...
9 awesomely cool coding projects for kids using the Dot and Dash robots from Wonder Workshop
Recently, I wrote about how totally in love I am with the Dot and Dash Robots from Wonder Workshop. So it makes me extra happy that they have joined us as as our newest Cool Mom Tech sponsor because, well, we all adore them! (Also, so does every kid who comes over and...
Emoji smart phone cases. Because they’re already all over your phone anyway.
Oh c'mon, I know that emoji are already all over your phone. Is there anyone that can still resist the siren call? I think not! That's why I going all-in with one of these emoji smart phone cases. The question is, which one should I get? I like Kate Spade's...