reading with kids

Even though my two older kids aren't as tied to a specific bedtime routine as when they were younger, reading in bed together is something that we still all love doing. And with a husband who travels frequently, it's so neat that the Sto…

Whether your kids are figuring out how to sound out words for the first time, or you have older grade-schoolers who just might choose an educational app over a game from time to time if it's fun enough, educational apps can certainly be …

This is a sponsored message from our partner Reading Eggs. It's back to school time, and that means new threads, fresh kicks, and time to turn reading from an easy summer hobby back into an essential skill. Whether you've got younger kid…

H i Cool Mom Tech, I just got a NOOK for my five-year-old. Any suggestions for inexpensive learning apps? - reader, via Facebook Ooh, lucky kid you've got. Having a fun device like the NOOK is certainly a great way to encourage reading a…

As much as I love fun, educational apps for kids , I might get even more excited about finding great books to add to our family iPad. Especially original stories without any licensed characters trying to sell me on a cartoon to match a d…

If you haven't tried Zoobean yet, you're missing out. It's a great resource for personalized kids' book recommendations and now we're excited to announce that they've just launched a digital membership option, making it that much easier …

We're huge fans of the Endless Alphabet app around here. I mean, it was created by the same team of people who made Sesame Street's The Monster at the End of this Book , one of my childhood favorites. So I'm excited they've launched the …

Shakespeare's plays are some of the most difficult pieces of literature your kids will study in school. English has changed significantly over the last 400 years, so try being 10 and having to know what the Bard meant by phrases like "Fi…

We see a lot of apps for kids here at Cool Mom Tech. A lot. Which means when we feature an app on our site, we really love it. Great for you, but tough when we're trying to narrow down our favorite kids' apps for 2013. Here, the cream of…

Tablets are at the top of so many kids' wish lists this Christmas, even for the littlest ones in our homes. For the preschool set who is just starting to learn about technology, the intuitive design of touch-directed devices are amazing.…

When I started working in children's publishing over a decade ago, I would never have imagined that children's authors would be able to create an interactive book experience for kids like what Hullabalu , creators of the über-successful …

Along with books, YouTube channels , and educational apps , there are loads of smart and fun websites that both my kids and I agree are worthwhile supplements to their schoolwork. And as I get ready to start my eighth (gulp) year homesch…

Back-to-school is in the air and even young preschoolers can benefit from a little extra help at home with the help of fun educational apps, the latest feature in our Back to School Tech Guide . Some little kids' apps are more educationa…

My five-year-old son heads to kindergarten in two weeks. (Cue sobbing.) While he talks a blue streak and wields a glue stick like a lightsaber, we're still working on his reading skills. So I was absolutely tickled by how quickly he beca…

The library has always been the classic way to get a ton of books without spending a fortune. Then Kindle and Nook came along, occasionally offering crazy ways to get free ebooks . Now there's a new way to save money on an entire library…

I like bright colors, moving objects and intense battles as much as the next guy, but my favorite incarnation of the virtual world is when it's used for education. Particularly if bright colors and moving objects are part of the learning…

If you could see how bananas my grade-school-age kids just went over an "alphabet app," you might think they were watching some ridiculous YouTube video. Surely an eight and ten year old couldn't be hysterically laughing while playing an…

Watching my daughter have to think hard while she is playing with an educational app makes me smile big. And being able to finally take advantage of the booming educational app market is a joy when presented with some of the amazing opti…

"A wonderful app! It's better than rap! 'If I Ran the Circus' makes me smile like a sap!" Um... sorry. There's just something about announcing a new Seuss app that forces me to rhyme, albeit badly. We've talked at length about our affect…

I just got a bunk bed for my kids and was trying to figure out a good clip-on reading light that could just clip onto the sides of the bed. Have you come across anything like that? Thanks! -Maryann Funny enough Maryann, I could have writ…

If you loved the cool notebooks we highlighted last week as part of our 3 Springpad Notebooks that you're going to love series , then hold onto your hats. We've put together more awesome smart notebooks that showcase how powerful this we…

You haven't lived until you've seen a video of your head superimposed on the body of an elf, dancing in a winter wonderland. Such is the magic of Elf Yourself by the hilarious company JibJab , a.k.a. the Spiridelli brothers. Now that the…

I love sharing old storybooks I've saved from my childhood, though brittle bindings and fragile pages mean it's definitely a "look but don't touch" type of story time. But in the case of this charming one-hundred year old, new-to-me stor…

As a mom of a child with a learning disability in reading, technology has been a huge help. But most of the reading apps out there are geared toward young children who are learning to read, not 9 year olds. I just stumbled across the Whi…