Tips + Tricks Archives | Page 5 of 29

Here’s why we’ll be doing April Fool’s Day pranks with our kids tomorrow. Shhh, don’t tell them!

If you’ve lost track of days like we have, then you might not know that it’s April Fool’s Day tomorrow. Which used to mean all sorts of crazy Internet pranks (us included – like this one, and this one… just to link a couple), and ones...

6 sweet “I miss you” gift ideas to help stay connected you with friends and family

by Kristen Chase | Tips + Tricks

Huddle up, friends, because I’m about to give away a bunch of my secret gift ideas that I send to folks when I want to tell them how much I’m missing them. And when you’re under a shelter-in-place order thanks to this Coronavirus crisis, that’s...

5 deschooling tips for new homeschooling parents, and how it will keep you from feeling like a total failure.

by Christina Refford | Tips + Tricks

I know a lot of parents have jumped right into homeschooling their kids (or, schooling-from-home might be more accurate) so that they won’t get too far behind in their studies. But with news that Virginia has canceled school for the rest of the academic year due...

All the best free classes and memberships online right now: Get fit, learn a language, read a book, have family movie night…

by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Tips + Tricks

We’ve all been seeing our social feeds fill up with amazing “OMG THIS IS FREE RIGHT NOW!” posts from friends, and it’s hard to keep track of it all! Between the online story time for kids, the Club Quarantine virtual dance parties, the museum...

Creating a homeschool schedule: 8 different ideas to help you figure out what will work best for you.

by Liz Gumbinner | Kids, Tips + Tricks

Hi! Total homeschooling newbie here, and now here I am, trying to create a homeschool schedule — or some semblance of one — to help keep us sane. Um, it’s not easy. For background, I am the parent who thought I could wing it with newborn nap...

10 simple writing exercises for kids that don’t even feel like schoolwork

by Kristen Chase | Tips + Tricks

As we all scramble to grapple with the new normal of our kids home from school, I’m thankful for the teachers in my life who have been doing this job for years. I can always count on them for great ideas, like these 10 writing exercises, from a friend and former...

The best homeschooling resources right now for newbies: ELA, science, math, and social studies home learning.

by Kate Etue | Tech CMP-Style, Tips + Tricks

With all the school closures right now, we know so many of you are looking for the best homeschooling resources. (Like, a lot of you!) We hear you! So first, I suggest you read my post on a homeschooling mom’s tips for teaching your kids at home during school...

A homeschool mom’s tips on homeschooling your kids during school closures. You can do this!

by Kate Etue | Thinking : Parent, Tips + Tricks

So, school’s been cancelled for the indefinite future and you’re about to become a homeschooling parent, maybe for the first time. Now that you’re stuck at home with the kids for the next two, four…ten weeks, what in the world are you going to...

The most reassuring, helpful, and detailed expert tips for talking to kids about Coronavirus and managing their concerns | Spawned Special Episode 193

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Podcast, Tips + Tricks

As the COVID-19/Coronavirus outbreak has increased, and life as we know it seems to be changing by the second beyond our control, parents are really struggling. A lot. I knew right away we needed to have a conversation with Dr. Ken Ginsburg, pediatrician and...

Beyond canned foods and toilet paper: A family guide to unexpected items to stock up on in case of a quarantine

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Storage + Organization, Tips + Tricks

Let’s be honest: We don’t each need 600 rolls of toilet paper on hand right now. Not that that’s stopping some people! But after a really stressful week of a COVID-19 scare involving a quarantined relative in D.C., it did put the situation in stark...

Think before you make your own hand sanitizer. (And we have a resource for finding some without the price gouging)

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Tips + Tricks

As COVID-19 / Coronavirus anxiety ramps up, the store shelves are picked fairly clean of hand sanitizer and so many of my friends are talking about making their own hand sanitizer. While we still caution against panic, hand sanitizer is a good thing to have on hand....

How to teach your kids how to wash their hands. Yes, there is a right and wrong way.

by Cool Mom Staff | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Tips + Tricks

Even though we’re nearing the end of cold and flu season (hooray!), we parents, in particular, are surrounded by a whole lot of bugs on a regular basis, regardless of what season it is. And if you’ve been watching the news, then you’ve probably got...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.