Shaving Cream: Not just for dads anymore

It’s going on 10 days with 100+ degree temperatures, it’s too hot for the kids to even play in the pool, and you’re all going a little crazy in the air conditioning 24/7. What’s a mom to do?

How about Shaving Cream Art?

We did this this afternoon, and my son had a blast (even better, he thought I was really cool for letting him make a mess with his dad’s shaving cream on the counter. Bonus points for me!). The benefits are multiple: besides just being FUN, it provides tactile stimulation for little hands, it can be done indoors on any clean and wide countertop (or even the floor), the cleanup is minimal and quick, it smells really good (people will think you actually cleaned your kitchen) AND, best of all, you won’t feel guilty for not being able to find a place on the fridge to hang more of your kids’ art. This art is temporary, so there’s nothing to hang! The fun is all in the moment, and when it’s gone, it will fade away just like the shaving cream itself. But I guarantee you’ll remember it. And so will your kids.

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Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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Have you read?