Today I was so desperate for a new project to pull the tiny whiners off my knees that I gave them a huge cardboard box and some Sharpies. They ended up just stomping on the bubble wrap inside, much to my headache's eternal sadness. But i…
There's nothing like finally taking that summer vacation and then getting stuck in the hotel while the skies rain down on your plans. To save us from extreme hotel ennui, I make sure we take along a few easy-to-pack games to help us pass…
I admit that I was a little nervous about my 3.5 year old starting preschool this fall because he's the second kid and well, I'm just amazed that he knows how to count to ten. But thanks an ingenious new learning tool, I'm feeling confid…
One of the most all-time hilarious family moments of ours was the time my mom (the awesome elementary educator ) got my kids (the hams) into handmade masks and acted out Little Rabbit Foo Foo for the whole brood. Let's just say a kid's c…
I was absolutely blown away when my four year-old, in a single day, suddenly mastered lowercase letters. No thanks to me, of course. This time, all the credit goes to the new Brain Quest write and erase alphabet book . Filled with 40 pag…
It was a red-letter day in our household when each child was old enough to get his or her own library card. They love picking out books, handing their card over to the librarian and then skipping out with their new reads. What they don't…
My three kids, and even my 2-year-old, are super eager to help me in the kitchen. And surprise, they seem even more eager to consume what I've prepared when they've had a hand (or entire arm as it seems to go) in making it. Granted, they…
I have no trouble getting my kids to go outside on a summer's day, it's getting them to stay outside when the siren song of kids' cartoons and super-exciting video games beckon from the air-conditioned comfort of our home. That's when I,…
This here city mama is lucky that my children have grandparents in the country who grow tomatoes and kale and sweet peas and wild strawberries, so that they can learn that no, vegetables do not come from aisle 3. I've always thought that…
I kind of love that my children love my iPhone, because their love of my iPhone means that I have one more tool for distracting them when we're traveling , or even just making a run to the grocery store, because, seriously, there are onl…
As a budding young ballerina, I was simply in love with A Very Young Dancer by Jill Krementz. I used to just lose myself in those marvelous photos until the pages were as dog-eared as the copies in the used bookstores that now carry it. …
My husband's favorite childhood memory may involve cracking open his brand new Atari game system and having a marathon Pong session, so it's no surprise that he grew up to be a tad tech-obsessed. Which is why I got him a copy of Geek Dad…
While suburban kids have access to pools and lakes and campgrounds, we city folk make do with our own assets when it comes to summer camps for preschoolers--like museum trips and cooking classes and lots and lots of arts and crafts. And …
Yesterday my son had a playdate with a little Chinese girl, coincidentally the same day I downloaded Chinese for Munchkins to my iPhone. The amazed look on her face when I asked them if they had seen a hóu zi or a lóng (a monkey or a dra…
So it's become pretty clear that iPhone apps can be God's technological gift to parents wanting to avoid toddler meltdowns in restaurants and pediatrician offices. Some of my favorite apps for the younger set come courtesy of Duck Duck M…
I scream, you scream, we all scream for... well, okay, I lied. I didn't scream over these adorable soft ice cream-festooned beanbags, but I did squeal just a little bit. The Baby Gardner brings us Lisa Bacigalupi's exclusive hand-stitche…
The mom and pop team behind Smiling Planet has a line of totally adorable melamine-free tableware for kids that we've already introduced you to, that are pretty, safe and eco-positive. And now from The Deane family comes something just a…
You know, you think a block is a block is a block. Then something like Tegu comes around and suddenly those regular blocks your kids play with just seem you know...like regular blocks. If you haven't heard of Tegu, they're the eco-friend…
I have a true story to tell you--a tale of DOG, and DOG, and DOGGIE, MAMA, DOGGIE. At least, that's how it began. My 17-month-old son says only four words, but I can tell that he understands a lot more. Now, thanks to the U Play Mat by P…
Long ago when my parents would drag us on a 10 hour family road trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, my brother and I would occupy ourselves with all sorts of fun travel-friendly activities, none of which included a DVD player. Imagine t…
One of the things about all those pennies laying around at the bottom of drawers or under the couch is that they are, well, laying around doing nothing. Rather than leave those coins to clog up the vacuum cleaner, why not use your extra …
So my girls have grown to like princesses just as everyone promised me they would. It's their genetic imperative and I am powerless to resist it. Uncle, uncle! I give in! Even so, I'm always looking out for imagination-building princess …
I'm a somewhat nervous traveler, but unlike most of our kind, it's not the flying I hate. More like I need to know exactly what we're doing when. My husband, on the other hand, is happy to just plan "camping" and "figure it out when we g…
Even though I homeschool, I'm more than okay with farming out some subjects. Especially if my kids will do them happily on their own, instead of fighting with me for an hour. So, when Headsprout asked if my five year-old beginner reader …