Kid-friendly Chicago activities: The best museum exhibits for kids
This year my husband and I loaded everyone up (even the grandparents) for a long weekend over fall break, and flew to Chicago, one of my very favorite cities, in search of some awesome kid-friendly activities. Our focus: checking out all the must-see exhibits for kids...
Cool historical shirts for kids, because some of our superheroes are real
I’m the first to freak out over great superhero shirts for my kids (and myself), but there’s something to be said for actual heroes from history. Sure, Thor has a rad hammer, but Abraham Lincoln did real good in the world. So we’re digging these...
History wasn’t always fun and games. Except when it is.
I’ve come to understand that for tweens, creating a love of history is often about making it as salacious and entertaining as possible. The British creators of Horrible Histories have nailed that genre, with a successful series of illustrated Horrible Histories...
Josephine: A children’s book as complex, vibrant, and endearing as Josephine Baker herself.
It’s clear that Josephine Baker is one of those few celebrity icons who transcends generations. My parents loved her, I loved her, and now my girls love her thanks to the new book, Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. And despite it being a book for...
The building blocks of our nation. Way more fun than that sounds.
I remember one of the first times I was interviewed by a media outlet, and they surprised me with an off-topic question: What’s the best safe toy for a child? I paused, then stammered, “Uh…blocks.” Not my finest moment. But the truth is, I do...
Free Birds movie review: Thanksgiving is not for turkeys.
Let me start out this review with a spoiler alert: although Free Birds is a buddy film and the buddies are dudes, the strongest and most intelligent character by far is a girl. And a turkey. And she has a lazy eye. And let me go on to say that I’ll definitely be...
The greatest quotes from the greatest female role models: Bookmark The Reconstructionists, stat.
As we move to empower our daughters, to help them find strong role models (you know, whose accomplishments don’t include “twerking”), and to get them excited about their potential, I’m so delighted to find a new website that helps do those very...
Honoring Black History Month with poetry
In honor of Black History Month, I’ve started sharing a beautifully illustrated new book with my kids that introduces them to 200 years of poetry from some of the most influential African-American poets. Even more than a history book, these words will paint a...A book to help kids look at the Presidents in a whole new way
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 challenge is how to remember...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!
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.
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