Educational activities for children this summer? Reader Q & A
Hi Cool Mom Picks! Any suggestions for workbooks or activities to help prepare my child–and keep them out of my hair (ha)–for the summer between kindergarten and first grade? -Chaitali Ahhhh, summer! No school lunches to pack, no buses to catch, and...
6 of the coolest printable birthday crowns for the true ruler of the household
We’ve got a lot of summer birthdays for the kids in my family, so party planning is definitely top of mind for me these days. But I realized, as I’ve looked around the web, that while there are lots of gorgeous handmade birthday crowns on Etsy or...
Retro-cool printable gift boxes full of summer fun. And yummy treats.
We’ve been smitten by Claudine Hellmuth’s clever gift boxes that look like ovens and popsicles for a while now. So we just visited her Etsy shop again, and wow, she has so many fun printable gift boxes at her site now that I’m tempted to give away...
10 fun summery crafts for kids that can keep the boredom away.
Oh, summer. The kids wait and wait and wait for it, and then, how many minutes in are they complaining about how hot it is? Or how you won’t take them to the pool (for the second time that day)? Or that they’re simply bored? So we’ve tracked down a...
Free summer printables that make you want to get crafty. Or eat ice cream.
I am so digging these adorable free summer printables that I just spotted at Oh Happy Day, courtesy of talented designer Amy Moss. I love the idea of printing a whole bunch on card stock and stockpiling gift tags for summer birthday parties — which will also...
What’s better than custom portraits of your kids? Free custom portraits of your kids.
I always feel so grateful to those amazingly talented illustrators and graphic designers who create free printables that we get to share with you. We’ve found so many cool ones over the years. But the one I’m really excited to have discovered are...
12 fantastically messy projects for kids that let you be That Fun Parent
They may be growing up oh-so-fast, but our elementary-school aged kids are more than happy to get as messy as their toddler selves used to, especially when it’s all in good fun. Our tip: Every so often, it’s okay to get messy. So throw on the play clothes,...
7 of the best DIY teacher gift ideas to make gift cards more personal
Back in December, when we asked teachers for the Best Teacher Gift Ideas, by far the most cherished gift mentioned was a handwritten note or card from their students. Just a few words to let them know that all their hard work made a difference to our kids; according...
18 of the most fabulous Mother’s Day printables for last-minute thoughts that still count a lot
When it comes to showing moms our unending appreciation for all the hard work they’ve put in for us over the years—especially now that we get it a little better ourselves—we always want to make Mother’s Day incredibly special. And yet, sometimes…we...
May Day: One holiday worth bringing back
Yes there are about a zillion so-called Hallmark holidays out there, but hearing stories from my own mom about May Day celebrations of her childhood make me yearn just a little for it. Dancing? Singing? Cake? Pretty ribbons? What’s not to love? So it seems Mari...
7 of the coolest affordable photo gifts for Mother’s Day, all under $50
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, you may be like us, thinking hm, I have 8 bazillion amazing photos on my computer and my smart phone — maybe I can finally do something with them? Like say turning them into some really cool but affordable photo...
