Grow mascot

Most of what I build is for teachers. SpellTally, CheckTally, TrackTally — they're all tools that solve problems I've had in the classroom. But this one's different. This one started at the dinner table.

The Conversation That Sparked It

My oldest is in Prep this year. She comes home and tells me about her day, and my wife asks me things like "what should we be doing at home to help with reading?" or "is she where she should be with numbers?"

I'm a teacher. I should have a great answer. But honestly? I give the same vague advice I give parents at information night: read with them every night, talk about numbers when you see them, make it fun. It's good advice. It's also not very helpful when you're standing in the kitchen at 5:30pm wondering what "make it fun" actually looks like on a Tuesday.

I started thinking about what parents actually need. Not another app full of screen time games. Not a curriculum document. Just someone saying: "here's a quick thing you can do with your kid tonight that will genuinely help."

What Grow Actually Is

Grow is a free app for parents. No sign-up, no account, no subscription. You open it, pick your child's year level, and you get simple activities across six areas: Reading, Writing, Maths, Thinking, Creativity, and Social Skills.

Each activity takes about 5 to 15 minutes. Most need nothing more than what you've already got at home — a few coins, some paper, or just a conversation. You pick one, do it with your kid, and tap "We practiced this today." That's it.

There's no scoring. No streaks. No gamification guilt. Just a simple way to practice something useful together.

Why No Sign-Up?

Because parents don't need another login to remember.

I've watched enough parents at school events glaze over when someone says "just download the app and create an account." The moment there's a sign-up wall, half the people who would have used it won't bother. And fair enough — they've already got logins for the school portal, the LMS, the communication app, the canteen ordering system, and whatever reading program the school's using this year.

Grow doesn't need your email. It doesn't need a password. You open it and it works. Your year level selection and practice history are saved on your device. If you want to create an account later to sync across devices or connect with your child's teacher, you can. But you don't have to.

The whole point is zero friction. If it takes more than ten seconds to get to an activity, I've failed.

Parent Language, Not Teacher Language

This was the hardest part to get right, and I'm still working on it. Teachers think in curriculum codes and content descriptors. Parents think in "is my kid doing okay with reading?"

Every activity in Grow is written in parent-friendly language. Instead of "Phonemic awareness: segmenting and blending phonemes in single-syllable words," it says something like "Help your child sound out short words." The curriculum link is there if you're curious — tap "Learn more" and you can see exactly what part of the Australian Curriculum you're practising. But it's tucked away, not front and centre.

I want Grow to feel like a parenting app, not a school app. Warm, encouraging, and never making anyone feel like they should be doing more than they are.

What's In It?

Activities are grouped into six categories:

  • Reading — Phonics, sight words, comprehension, reading together
  • Writing — Handwriting practice, spelling games, writing sentences
  • Maths — Counting, number sense, operations, measurement with real objects
  • Thinking — Problem solving, memory games, logic puzzles
  • Creativity — Drawing, making, music, imagination prompts
  • Social Skills — Sharing, emotions, friendship conversations

Each one has clear steps, tells you what you need (usually nothing), and gives you a rough time estimate. Some are conversations you have in the car. Some use coins or blocks from around the house. Some are just prompts to get your kid talking about their thinking.

Built by a Teacher and a Dad

I built Grow because I'm both. I know what the curriculum expects at each year level, and I also know what it's like to be a tired parent who wants to help but doesn't know where to start.

The activities in Grow aren't random. They're aligned to the Australian Curriculum, but designed to feel like normal life, not homework. The goal isn't to turn your kitchen into a classroom. It's to give you a five-minute thing you can do together that actually matters.

It's Free. Properly Free.

No freemium. No "upgrade to unlock Year 3." No ads. Grow is completely free for every year level, every category, every activity. I built it because I wanted it to exist, not because I wanted to monetise parents.

If you're a parent of a Foundation to Year 6 kid in Australia, give it a go. Open grow.tebtally.com on your phone, pick a year level, and try one activity tonight. That's all it takes.

And if you're a teacher — maybe share the link at your next parent information night. It might be the most useful thing you put on that handout.

If you want to read more about why I started building these apps in the first place, here's the full story.