Failure is hard for kids, but it's essential to their growth . That's why teaching growth-mindset for kids has become so popular lately in parenting circles. Parents are increasingly moving away from helicoptering (yay!) and instead, giv…
Today is Earth Day, and my kids love the Earth Day challenge to turn off all electricity for one hour. So we're planning to turn off the lights, cuddle up by our battery-powered lanterns -- or the fireplace, if this cold weather doesn't …
You know, we joke a lot about how hard it is to convince our kids to do their homework, because — well, it usually is. But the truth is that we understand -- it's hard to do our own work when we're not in a workspace we love and look for…
Summer break will be here in just a minute, but there are some things you can start planning now to help make sure your kids don't hit the summer slide on their reading and math skills over the break. Research shows that most kids lose a…
We're big fans of supporting quality journalism, especially in this age of where fake news is running rampant. Because, facts matter. (Not that this is a big stake in the ground, mamas. I mean, is any normal person really like, "Whoo! Fa…
We've always made it our mission to encourage kids to keep the art of handwriting alive, and to help parents looking to do the same. So we've put together some really terrific handwriting practice printables for kids of all ages . Yes, e…
If you're feeling a bit #clambitious about that bucket of shells you and your kids collected on your beach vacation, we've got good news for you. Here, we've rounded up some of our favorite seashell art projects for those summer finds, g…
Of all the toys that have passed through the hands of my three kids over the past dozen or so years, there is no question that LEGO bricks have been the most enduring and versatile. From their first little plastic bucket of mixed bricks,…
We are not the parents who are going to put together a list of back to school crafts that require 6 kinds of sandpaper and a drawer full of spare x-rays to turn into DIY stencils. (Seriously. We've seen this.) Like most of you, we're loo…
Imagine if you didn't have electricity at home and your kids had to go out and sit under a street lamp on a deserted street, alone each night, in order to finish their homework. That's exactly what a lot of kids face in other parts of th…
I want to answer my kids' questions and help them with their homework, but I can't always drop everything to help them find the answer rightthisverysecondplease-- nor do I want my younger ones doing a Google search on their own. Instead,…
With so many amazing modern building blocks out there, it's not hard to find a set that I'd love to give to my kids. But I've just discovered SumBlox , the most incredibly original set of durable beech wood blocks that mixes math learnin…
Our favorite picture books inspire our kids to come up with stories of their own, though I'm especially excited about the Little Red Writing book , which also teaches them the how to construct the story so that it's entertaining and fun.…
I know I'm not the only parent who wonders how do you explain Thanksgiving to kids, beyond, "well, we eat turkey and stuffing and Uncle Fred always drinks too much of his special juice." (That's hyperbolic by the way; I don't have an Unc…
Lately my kids and I have been snuggling up on the couch in front of the fireplace and browsing through a stunning new coffee table book featuring exquisite hand-drawn maps of countries around the world. It's delightfully wonderful. I re…
Finding just the right books for your child can be, well, challenging--especially if your kid is as finicky about what she reads as what she eats: No peas, broccoli, or dumb princess books, thank you. So I love this cool, custom service …
Ah, summer. It's amazing what extra time you find when you're not shuttling the kids back and forth to a zillion activities and games. We've been playing a lot of board games at our house--and some of our favorites come from a great comp…
With all the talk about getting rid of cursive handwriting in schools, this writer is a little panicky. Fortunately my kids are showing the inclination anyway. Which is in part why I'm loving these awesome personalized placemats to help …
My kids can remember who was the first president, who ended slavery, and who was president during the Great Depression. But there are so many other great stories and interesting personality quirks about these leaders of our nation; the c…
With the Inauguration coming up, a lot of us will be watching and following the day's events on TV. That also means a lot of questions from curious kids about...well, all kinds of things. There are a lot of books that talk about politics…
Schoolhouse Rock for me, is more than just a part of my childhood, it's a part of my family. As a kid, my dad worked at the ad agency with creator David McCall, and the other writers and art directors who brought us this genius education…
What's faster than a speeding Mario with a star, stronger than a Wookie with a grudge, and able to build a lava-lamp egg timer in her kitchen? It's Geek Mom, and she's here to entertain, educate, and spread the fun of geekery to families…
Do you have a recommendation for a good "Books I've Read" journal or notebook for kids? -Suzanne, via Facebook Book logs or journals are a great way to give kids tangible pride in all the reading they've done, as well as a place to look …
"Free" is one of our favorite words. And now you can spell it out in three fancy dimensions, thanks to this clever series of papercraft templates. And did we mention that they're totally free? And that M is for Monster? Digitprop is a we…