My Big Art Show: the fun family card game that might turn your kids into art history whizzes.

by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings

Two of my kids have now outgrown some of my own favorite childhood board games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders — classic versions only, please. (And yes, I admit I do like Candy Land. Don’t ask why.) My kids are now into the kind of strategy board...

Break out the new crayons for this awesome coloring book from indie illustrator Laura Palmer

by Kate Etue | DIY

Who doesn’t need more coloring books in their lives? Well, okay, if you look in my kids’ craft drawer, maybe we don’t. But, we do need awesome ones. The cheap, thin, licensed ones can get tossed and we’ll replace them with cool, creative...

Fight boredom with the huge, and hugely fun, coloring poster from Pirasta

by Christina Refford | DIY

I’ve been fighting boredom this summer with a bunch of magic markers and one really huge (like, seriously huge) and cleverly illustrated coloring poster for kids from a new company called Pirasta. And the beauty of these posters is that there’s room for...

11 beautiful pop-up books to bring reading to life in 3D, no technology required

by Kate Etue | Books for Kids

Now that my kids are finally all old enough to know better than to rip out the cut-art from a pop-up book as I flip the pages for them, I’ve been looking around to find some new pop-up books to read to them. And wow, there are some really, really beautiful...

Wonderful custom artwork for babies, kids, and kids at heart.

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor

I still think that a great piece of personalized art can be one of the best baby shower gifts, provided you know the parents’ taste. And uh, the kid’s name. Of course. But I think this new discovery should fit the bill for lots of families and lots of...

From Apricity to Zephyr: Posters that teach vocabulary, one SAT word at a time

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor

I admit I was pretty proud of my fourth-grader when she helped me finish the New York Time’s Monday crossword, but then she was employing words like llama and Naples. Then I saw British designer Mark Watson’s graphic dictionary poster series that he...

Cool summer camps for kids that go way beyond swimming and archery

by Julie | Family Travel

With spring break in the rearview mirror, our kids are already looking forward to heading off to camp. So we thought it would be fun to explore the coolest summer camps out there. We were blown away by what we found — from camps with long histories and cool new...

Owls and mushrooms and hedgehogs, oh my!

by Christina Refford | Art + Decor

If you’re looking to bring some happy new artwork to your child’s nursery, or think it would make an awesome baby gift for some other lucky child, I’ve discovered a wonderfully affordable option that I absolutely love, in Woodland Friends. This...

11 of our very favorite travel toys and books for kids to help make those miles pass quickly

by Christina Refford | Family Travel, Toys + Playthings

If Spring Break or Easter has you heading out by plane, train, or automobile, you may be wondering how to keep your kids happily occupied beyond the iPad, as you travel from Point A to Point B. And since we all know how hard it is to hear “are we there...

Custom dolls from your kids’ drawings. Now that’s a keepsake.

by PJ Feinstein | Toys + Playthings

My three-year-old son brings artwork home from nursery school by the armful — if you consider a couple of paint drops on construction paper to be art, that is. Every so often, however, he creates something that actually resembles a person, place, or thing, and I...