summer activities Archives

4 funny novels for summer giving us the comic relief we desperately need right now

I don’t know about you, but I’m either needing to project my primal scream into Iceland or get a really good, belly-aching laugh in with a funny new summer novel. We’re in the final stretch of summer at my house before school starts (whatever that...

Scrambling for summer activities? These fun, affordable online coding camps for kids just got even more affordable.

by Cool Mom Staff | Entertainment + Media, Kids

This is a sponsored message from Coding with Kids With all the gaming kids are doing this summer, it’s pretty cool that there’s a way parents can help turn their love for say, Roblox or Minecraft, into an educational STEM opportunity — all at an...

Check out these 4 fun games that my older and younger kids like playing together.

by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings

For my kids, their siblings have been their only playmates for months. And hey! Now that we’re heading into yet another weekend during Covid, that means finding a few more family activities. Our default is to sit around the table and play card games or board...

10 of the coolest backyard water toys we’ve found, to help kids beat the heat this summer

by Kate Etue | Toys + Playthings

Happy summer, friends! If you’re facing pool closures or limits in your neighborhoods this summer (gah!) then you’re likely looking for some fun backyard water toys to help your kids enjoy the summer months without melting while they’re outside....

These are the 5 fun card games for kids that our family is loving right now. Ready to change things up?

by Kate Etue | Kids, Party Ideas, Toys + Playthings

We’ve all had a lot of (ahem) together time recently, and we’re honestly starting to get a bit bored the same board games. There’s only so many rounds of Apples to Apples I can play before it’s not so funny anymore. So lately, we’ve...

5 smart and easy tips for your first backyard campout with the kids.

by Kate Etue | Tips + Tricks

We’ve still got a lot of summer left for camping out with the kids! If you love the idea, but you’re not sure you’re ready to head out into the wilderness with the family just yet, a backyard campout is a great place to start. If it goes wrong...

This amazing DIY rocket craft is perfect for kids now obsessed with the moon landing.

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor, DIY, Toys + Playthings

If your kids got as excited as ours did following all of the cool space-themed events this weekend, you can check out our roundup of our favorite space themed toys and kids’ gifts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. But if you’re...

25 beautifully illustrated free printable summer coloring pages for kids. We found them!

by Caroline Siegrist | DIY

It’s been a while since we put together some of our favorite free printable summer coloring pages for our kids. With the weather fairly unbearable around the country right now, seemed like a good time to find some new printable coloring pages with summer themes...

7 fantastic new summer books by women authors to add to your beach tote, stat

by Caroline Siegrist | Books for Adults

Summer is one of the rare times each year that I have time to read for pleasure, and this year I am taking full advantage with these new books, all by women authors. It’s such a diverse group of writers, offering diverse perspectives and themes, and wow, I...

These 8 cool new kids’ activity books are screen-free boredom busters for every interest

by Kate Etue | Kids

We’re already hearing, “I’m bored,” from the kids this summer, which is where we turn to all the cool kids’ activity books available. Having a stash around our house for them to choose from is one trick that’s helped around our...

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).