back to school

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…

While looking around for cool printable lunch box notes for our back to school guide, I stumbled across these wildly awesome optical illusion flash cards at Mr. Printables. As a kid, I couldn't get enough of optical illusions and now my …

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…

You may already know we are big fans of Tattly, the way cool temporary tattoos we first told you about at their launch three years ago. (See? Ear to the ground over here.) Well, they've grown hugely since then with literally hundreds of …

From what we're hearing from our readers, more of your kids are heading back to school with gadgets in hand. While we'd always recommend a case like an Otterbox for pure protection, my kids also have my old iPhone hanging around the hous…

I have mentioned my penchant for frugality and the rush I get when I snag a good deal. (Yes, I said rush). Which is why a neat money-saving shopping app called Flipp will most definitely be on my phone come back-to-school shopping season…

As we start thinking back to school time we've got desk organization on our brains. It's like my annual New Year's tech resolution, although I always seem to make it (again) in late summer. Now that my kids are getting to the age where t…

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…

Like so many of you, I'm committed to supporting my kids' school. Whether it's volunteering my time in the classroom, designing yearbook pages, or just sending permission slips back on time, I'm happy to do what I can. And for the next f…

Don't know about you, but we tend to be sticklers for capturing those first day back to school photos of our kids in their thoughtfully planned new outfits and shiny new backpacks. Of course they're often hastily captured as we race out …

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…

When your kids are old enough to head back to school with a laptop or tablet in that backpack, a dandy new flash drive to go with it is a must. Especially when the coolest ones happen to be on sale. At Mimobot , their popular character f…

Obsessed with Pinterest as we are? Follow us ! Then check out our five most popular pins from this week. 1. Keep these awesome educational channels for kids on YouTube bookmarked to help your kids get ready for back to school. 2. Here's …

If you're as obsessed with Pinterest as we are, make sure you're following us . Then check out our 5 favorite pins from this week. 1. A cool app for iOS and Android that's a dream for parents like us who take tons of smartphone photos. 2…

If you're reading this post, you already get an A, just for showing up. But if you really want a heap of gold stars, we hope you'll subscribe to Cool Mom Tech . This month, three subscribers will each win a back-to-school prize pack wort…

New sneakers, new backback, new pencils..yes, the new school year is starting up for the kiddos. But this week, we're going way, w-a-y back for a Chuck Berry song that has been rocking kids out the door for over fifty years. Chuck Berry'…

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…

Back-to-school shopping is here, big time, and if any of you have a big ticket item on your list, like a laptop or new printer, make sure you check out the ShopAdvisor app before making the purchase. This handy little app acts like your …