Critter Quest started as a weekend project and turned into something kids actually want to use. Here's how it happened.
My kids — a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old — are not exactly lining up to practice math. So my son and daughter and I co-created a math practice tool together. It started simple and evolved through questions, feedback, and rapid iteration. We shaped the experience together until it felt personal, fun, and motivating.
As a parent, the process of creating, validating, learning, and refining in real time was a ton of fun. Watching the app change because of something my kid said was genuinely one of the better parenting experiences I've had.
Then something happened that surprised me. My kids started asking me throughout the week if they could "do the homework thing" we made together. I know it's mostly because of the rewards in the store — but who cares? They wanted to actually use it.
Have you seen how kids use their iPads? I needed Critter Quest to be somewhere they could actually get to it. So I decided to put it online — which meant I suddenly needed a way to deploy it, a repo, a database, and all the things I didn't know I didn't know.
This is exactly where I would have stopped on a side project like this and let it stay a weird idea on my hard drive. But I kept going. And once it was live, it made no sense to keep it private. If it works for my kids, it might work for yours.
We're starting hyperlocal — built with the West Ada School District curriculum in Ada County, Idaho in mind — but Critter Quest is open to every family who wants it. As more kids use it, it'll keep growing.
Never was, never will be. Kids see math problems, not pop-ups.
We don't collect, store, or sell any personal information about your child.
No freemium upsell. No subscription wall. Free now, free always.
Open the app, pick a name, start playing. Done.
Critter Quest is built for elementary and middle school kids in kindergarten through 6th grade. Every grade has its own problem set that matches what kids are actually learning in school:
Kindergarten — addition and subtraction with small numbers, sight words, letter sounds, and CVC words.
1st & 2nd Grade — addition and subtraction with progressively larger numbers.
3rd Grade — multiplication and division (1–12 times tables), vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.
4th Grade — multi-digit multiplication and division.
5th Grade — larger numbers across all four operations.
6th Grade — integers, negative numbers, and all four operations.
Each session is 10 questions. Kids earn coins for correct answers and collect a critter card at the end — chosen from five animal themes: forest, ocean, farm, jungle, and arctic. The reward system is the point. It's what makes them come back.
Parents get a PIN-protected store where they can set up real rewards kids can buy with their earned coins. That's the part that made my kids ask to do homework on a Tuesday night.
Free, no account needed, works on any device. Takes about 30 seconds to set up a profile and start a quest.
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