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Meet the Winners of the 3rd Annual Global Folklorist Challenge

The winners in the 3rd annual Global Folklorist Challenge were announced this week and they are an impressive bunch. If you don’t know, the Folklorist Challenge, sponsored by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, asks students to identify a form of folklore in their community and document it by interviewing a tradition bearer […]

How to Stay in the Present

Last year around this time, I posted a blog about holiday shopping, or more accurately, holiday overspending. In it, I repeated some good advice that I got and still abide by: When it comes to gifts, try the rule of four for your kids: one gift they want, one gift they need, one gift […]

Ice, Ice, Baby: Frosted Window Craft with Your Kids

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. As I do every year. I heard much of the Midwest got slammed with snow recently, and they probably don’t understand my desire for it. In truth, I don’t love snow, but having a white Christmas is so rare where I live that you’ll have better luck spotting a […]

Tooting Our Own Horn: Cricket Receives Awards

My mother always told me that most of the time it is better to let other people “toot your horn” for you. But since a few people have tooted our horn in the form of awards, I thought it might be OK for me to shout the good news from the rooftops. This month […]

Nothing Says Holidays Like a Vintage Holiday Cover

If, like me, you were lucky enough to grow up as a CRICKET Magazine reader, you probably measured the time of year and the various holiday seasons by the covers that adorned your monthly delivery of CRICKET. In particular, the December covers always managed to bring a feeling of joy and celebration to my mailbox. […]

That Kid Who Sits Across from Your Kid

The seating chart was changed in my daughter’s elementary school classroom last week and ever since I have heard daily stories about the boy who now sits across from her: about how he is mean to her, how he threw (multiple) pencils at her, how he called her names, how every time she opens her […]

Girl, You Need to Beehive Yourself

This is my daughter’s third year of First Lego League. If you tuned in last year, you’ll know her team made the state finals. This year, they came close – they are the alternate team for states. For those of you unfamiliar with First Lego League, it’s not just building with block toys—there are three […]

What Do Origami and Elephants Have in Common?

The Story Behind the Origami Originally, the folks at the Bronx Zoo set out to collect 35,000 elephants representing the heartbreaking number of 35,000 elephants (96 per day) killed each year for their ivory tusks. The overall goal of the initiative is to help gain a wider awareness of the elephant ivory trafficking crisis […]

Happily Ever Heifer

Every year we get one holiday catalog that trumps all others. You might think it’s the latest phonebook-sized toy catalog, but you’d be wrong. Our household anxiously awaits for the annual Heifer International catalog, because each holiday, my daughters pour over it deciding between cows, goats, sheep, donkeys rabbits, fish, and more. If you […]

Getting in the Spirit of #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is upon us, and all of us at Cricket Media are thankful to YOU, our customers, for giving your children the gift of reading. Of all the gifts you can bestow on your children, this truly is one that will last a lifetime. With the knowledge that this gift belongs in the hands (and […]