This year we're teaching the kids more about the joy of giving , so I wanted them to think of something they could make for their (mostly girl) cousins. Then along came the jewelry making kits from Bijoux in a Box and bam, problem solved…
It seems like App-mania is sweeping the nation and our neighbors to the north are responsible for a fantastic new one called NFB Film , as in National Film Board of Canada. Best of all, it's free. The NFB App is packed with channels of e…
Want an awesome holiday gift for a two-year old? Something he'll love and cherish and want to play with every free second? And it's also got to be totally affordable? Here's the idea of the century - and don't laugh. Children's scissors …
Personally I'm a fan of the Deglingos dolls, though I understand the quirky hedgehogs and crazy-eyed lobsters aren't everyone's cup of stuffed animal tea. But the brand new Woodours bears from the same French company, Ebulobo, I'd imagin…
I confess; I made my own baby food. But just so we're clear, I was less a domestic goddess and more a garden-variety control freak. I spent late nights cooking and chopping and freezing, and honestly, I took no joy in it whatsoever. Bori…
My kids love "writing books," and I love that they're being creative, but I don't always love the Don Music-esque cries of, No, it's supposed to be a yak and I can't draw it right! I'll never get it! Can you draw it for me? (Answer: No, …
If you've purchased a Baby Einstein DVD any time in the last five years, you're entitled to a full refund, due to the work of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood which thinks that mayyyybe they don't exactly make babies into Ein…
I have to admit getting a little flush of pride knowing my daughters are willing to pick up earthworms and tickle those pillbugs until they roll into tight little balls. At least for now. So I was happy to see that The Bug Book and Bottl…
Hearing my six year old singing songs like Meet the Elements or Photosynthesis makes my geeky-heart's day, especially considering they are songs from my old favorites They Might Be Giants, on their new kids' CD & DVD combo Here Comes Sci…
When products claim to make your newborn baby smarter, I can't help to be skeptical. Sure, I want the best for my kids but part of me wonders whether I really need a bunch of special educational toys and other gear to give them the upper…
I always thought that LEGOs were cute for making walls and towers, maybe the occasional weird angular horses or something. I honestly had no idea that now you could make, oh, say...the Guggenheim Museum . Right in time for the NY landmar…
Give us a few cold rainy days and my kids will be climbing the walls and snarling at all my attempts to cheer them up. So I'm stashing away the downloadable Monster Mania ebook from Make and Takes to help me out with a few easy craft ide…
I firmly believe that anyone who does not love Mr. Rogers has no soul. So when I got word that PBS Kids is hooking up the next generation with my own generation's favorite TV icon, I was so happy, I took off my shoes and put on some snea…
My kids expected another silly cartoon as we settled in to watch Disneynature: EARTH on DVD, but their quiet focus told me that, even without talking zebras, the night's selection had been a hit. We had skipped EARTH when it first appear…
Of course every parent thinks every scribble their child does is a collectible masterpiece, but in the case of the Coloring Can Be Funny coloring book, I think it's kinda true. Talented, ?ber-hip artist, S. Britt, turned a bunch of his w…
Even though I realize that the amazing Charley Harper Coloring Book is intended for younger audiences, it's so sophisticated that I can't help but want to save a couple of pages for me. American illustrator Charley Harper's "minimal real…
With all the building toys in my three-kid household, I find it amusing that their new favorite is a box of same-sized, non-painted, rectangular pieces of wood from CitiBlocs . You can almost hear all the other blocks protesting, "But I'…
As a child, I'd spend three long days driving to visit my grandmother each summer and, out of boredom, would pretend my bare hands and feet were puppets. Pretty pathetic, but times were tough and it was too hot in our hatchback to go the…
I have such fond memories of scoring US Open tickets a kid, roaming the grounds, and sitting slack-jawed in awe of all the incredible talent. (This was the McEnroe days. I'm that old. ) But back then, they didn't have anything like the a…
We're so happy to announce the twelve winners of the Shutterfly learning photobook contest. Each was drawn at random and yet, all so clever. Suddenly we want to go make like a hundred Shutterfly DIY photobooks ourselves. Thanks so much t…
We've been huge fans over the years of Shutterfly 's photobooks which make affordable gifts guaranteed to bring the tears (in a good way). And now they're getting the word out about the ability to turn the photobooks into make-your-own p…
Kids these days have it so easy: Cell phones, computers, and cartoons on TV twenty-four hours a day. Technology has even made studying a cinch. No more Encyclopedia Britannica -- now it's all about search engines. But flashcards are one …
My days of drawing rock band logos on my knees are long gone, but life would have been a lot easier if the non-toxic Tee Juice fabric markers were around back then. My son and his friends tried them out during the world's best playdate ,…
We don't own a lot of kids' DVDs in my house, primarily since it's so hard to know if we will get our money's worth or they will be watched twice before my daughter gets bored and just wants to throw the disk around. But one completely w…