family activities Archives | Page 2 of 6

Make a foster kid’s holiday dreams come true with Daymaker

by Kate Etue | Causes and General Do-Gooding

We love finding wonderful ways that we can give back and help kids who need it most, especially during the holiday season, which is why we were happy to discover Daymaker. By connecting foster children with people like us via their gift-giving website, they’re...

7 fun STEM activities for the whole family. Because we all need STEM, not just the kids.

by Cool Mom Staff | Tech Toys and Random Fun

It’s fantastic to see the popularity of STEM over the last couple of years, with so many options that are truly inspiring kids to pursue their geeky passions. But we parents know that one of the best ways to get excited about something is to be excited about it...

Awesome, easy emoji activities and gear you need right now, because The Emoji Movie!

by Kate Etue | Entertainment

Are your kids as smiling-face-with-hands excited to see The Emoji Movie as ours are? We’ve already bought our tickets for opening day tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait to start celebrating our love for everything emoji, right? While...

The best solar eclipse glasses for your family, in every price range. Because you like your retinas.

by Kate Etue | Tips and Tricks

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re geeking out over the total solar eclipse that’s coming on August 21. Where you live will determine what you see, but here in Nashville, viewing will be at a premium with almost 3 minutes of darkness in the middle of...

These DIY galaxy Easter eggs are out of this world.

by Kate Etue | DIY

My kids love decorating Easter eggs, but now that they’re hitting their tweens they’re getting a little more creative. That’s why I can’t wait to try these DIY galaxy Easter eggs at Dream a Little Bigger. And, based on the tutorial, they look...

7 smart, cool coding books for kids that have us saying, “Go get on your screens!”

by Kate Etue | Kids

After seeing what Kristen’s kids did with Bitsbox, a cool coding subscription box for kids we featured awhile ago (and who was a sponsor over the holidays), my kids are now obsessed with the idea of creating their own apps. In fact, it’s...

Cakewalk: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Fun Apps

The kids have been out of school for a bit and chances are you’ve heard the “bored” word at least once. Or maybe you have a toddler who is ready for a new activity approximately every three-and-a-half minutes. Either way, check out the free Cakewalk...

Yuggler for parents: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Lifestyle Apps

It’s Sunday morning and your kids’ friends just had to cancel their afternoon playdate. Or, you are on vacation with your toddler, and rain has just ruined your plans to visit that cool new park you read about online. What to do? Well, nowadays, there are...

Two fun, creative, and (mostly) free apps for kids to keep them engaged when they’re stuck indoors.

by Christina Refford | Fun Apps

If you’re tearing through the list of snow day activities to keep the kids occupied when you’re stuck indoors, allow us help you with two beautifully designed, really fun new apps we’ve discovered from Seedling. As in, the same company whose...

Our 11 coolest new tech toys of 2015: Editors best of the year

by Cool Mom Staff | Editors' Picks of the Year, Tech Toys and Random Fun

Okay, so this is the post in our editors’ top picks of the year series we know a lot of our readers have been waiting for: The coolest tech toys of 2015. There are so many amazing trends we’re seeing here: Coding is becoming more accessible to even...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.