Mo Willems gets animated

Mo Willems gets animated

The list of children’s books I’ve loved to read to my kids is l-o-n-g though I’ve always had a particular fondness for the books of author and illustrator Mo Willems. Unless you live under a rock, or a pile of newborn diapers, you are probably...
Puzzles with multiple soutions

Puzzles with multiple soutions

My kids are all puzzle fans, as evidenced by the thousands of cardboard and wooden pieces strewn about my floor at any given time of the day. But we’ve yet to see anything like the new multiple solution shape puzzles from one of our fave kid’s gear and...
9/11: A day to remember, through service

9/11: A day to remember, through service

I have struggled with how to explain September 11th to my children ever since they were old enough to understand that something big and terrible happened that day nine years ago.I still struggle, but now that this has also become a National Day of Service, I like the...
Coloring meets funhouse mirror magic

Coloring meets funhouse mirror magic

I’m not going to lie to you: When I opened the Morph-O-Scopes Kit box my daughter received for her birthday one year, I was unimpressed. Some crayons. A shiny cup. And a bunch of coloring pages with a hole in the center, the images all stretched out and weird...
Fred’s XYZ Blocks FTW!

Fred’s XYZ Blocks FTW!

CMP loves to turn ABC into ROFL, and we are totally digging on these XYZ Blocks by Fred & Friends. They stack, tumble, and teach letters just as well as more traditional blocks, but they’re beautiful, unusual, and entertaining, too. E is for Earthworm, Q is...
Planting the seeds of greatness (and also tomatoes)

Planting the seeds of greatness (and also tomatoes)

Right now, I’m looking at the wilted, brown leaves of my dying container garden and ruing the white-hot Atlanta sun. I’m pretty sure we spent $30 on supplies that produced four very small tomatoes and one hideous cucumber. But the joy on my kid’s...
Stuffed animals that help real animals

Stuffed animals that help real animals

Thanks to a certain animated show, my daughter now ties her stuffed animals to chairs and then attempts to save them using only teamwork and a pom-pom hat. It’s not my cup of tea, but I do like the idea of encouraging kids to help animals, which is why I like...