Everything you need to get started and use every feature.
Shows and Chores is a website, but it's built to look and feel like an app. Adding any page to your home screen gives you a full-screen experience with no browser toolbar — just tap the icon and you're in.
Important: This is not an app store download. It's a website bookmark that runs full-screen. You won't find it in the App Store or Google Play. That's intentional — it means instant updates, no app review delays, and no tracking.
Shows and Chores has several different pages, and each one is a separate link that gets its own home screen icon. You don't bookmark one page and navigate to the others — each portal is its own "app." Here's what you might bookmark depending on your role:
showsandchores.com/parent.html — Your main hub. Log chores, view analytics, manage settings. Requires your login. Bookmark this on your phone and/or your co-parent's phone.
Each kid gets their own unique link from the parent portal's Settings tab. These are separate URLs — bookmark each one on the right kid's device. No login needed. Name the bookmark after the kid: "Atlas's Chores," "Athena's Chores."
teachers.showsandchores.com/teacher.html — Classroom tracker for teachers. Separate login, separate data. Teachers bookmark this on their device.
showsandchores.com/demo.html — Fully interactive demo. No login. Anyone exploring the app can bookmark this, or use a personalized URL like demo.html?name=maddie.
You can have multiple icons on the same device. A parent might have the parent portal icon AND a kid dashboard icon on the family iPad. A teacher might have the teacher portal AND the demo. Each one opens independently — they don't interfere with each other.
The steps below work for any of the portals above. Navigate to the page you want to bookmark, then follow the steps for your device.
Open Safari (this only works in Safari on iOS — not Chrome or Firefox).
Navigate to the page you want to bookmark. If it requires login (parent or teacher portal), sign in first.
Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up) at the bottom of Safari.
Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen."
Give it a name that makes sense — "Shows & Chores" for the parent portal, "Atlas's Chores" for a kid dashboard, "Classroom" for the teacher portal. Tap Add.
An icon appears on your home screen. Tap it and the page opens full-screen — no Safari toolbar, no address bar. Repeat for each portal you want quick access to.
Open Chrome on your Android device.
Navigate to the page you want to bookmark. Sign in if needed.
Tap the three dots menu (top right) and tap "Add to Home screen" or "Install app."
Name it and tap Add. Chrome may also show an install prompt automatically.
The icon appears on your home screen. Tap it and it opens full-screen, app-style. Repeat for each portal.
Open Chrome and navigate to the page you want.
Look for the install icon in the address bar (a small monitor with a down arrow), or go to three dots menu → "Install."
Click Install. It creates a shortcut that opens in its own window without browser chrome.
Just bookmark the page. The full-screen experience is mainly a mobile benefit — on desktop, the regular browser works great.
Go to showsandchores.com/parent.html and click "Create account."
Enter your email and choose a password (6+ characters). This is your parent login. Only adults create accounts — kids never need one.
You'll land on the setup wizard (see next section).
Already have an account? Just enter your email and password and tap Sign In. Your family data loads instantly.
First-time setup takes about 30 seconds.
Pick 2–6. This sets how many kid names and profiles you'll enter.
Enter each kid's first name and pick an emoji for them. The emoji shows up everywhere — their dashboard, the family board, chore logs. You can change these later in Settings.
The app starts with 9 common chores pre-loaded (empty dishwasher, feed pets, make bed, etc.) with values already set. You can add, change, or remove chores anytime in Settings.
You start in Cash + Screen Credit mode. You can switch modes anytime in Settings.
After setup you land on the main parent portal with all tabs active. Your family is live.
The Log tab is where you spend most of your time. It's the first thing you see when you open the app.
At the top — tap a kid's name to switch between them. The emoji and name highlight when selected. Everything below updates for that kid.
Four numbers: Earned (cash this week), Credits (screen credits available), All Time (lifetime cash earned), and Co-ops (total assists and team chores). These update in real time as you log.
Select the chore from the dropdown. Chores are sorted by tier (lowest value first) then alphabetically within each tier.
Select the bonus type (optional — default is Standard). See the Bonuses section below.
If you're in Cash + Screen mode and it's a Standard or Team chore, pick Cash or Credit — this is the kid's choice. Ask them.
Backdate (optional) — if you forgot to log yesterday's chore, tap the date field and pick the right date.
Tap Log Chore. A toast message confirms the entry with the kid's name, chore, and value.
Remember: This app tracks chores — it doesn't pay anyone. When it says "$1.50 for Atlas," that means you owe Atlas $1.50. You're the bank.
Four bonus types are available when logging a chore. The bonus buttons are below the chore dropdown.
Normal chore completion. Kid picks cash or credit (in Cash + Screen mode). This is the default.
The kid did the chore without being asked. This is the big one — it earns a bonus reward. In Cash + Screen mode, that's double the cash value plus an extra screen credit. The specific bonus depends on your mode, but the principle is the same: initiative is rewarded the most.
The kid helped a sibling with their chore. Earns the chore value and bumps the co-op count. In Cash + Screen mode, assist always pays cash (no credit choice) — it's a helping bonus.
Both kids worked together on one chore. Both kids get credited — the selected kid gets the log entry, and the other kid automatically gets a matching "(team)" entry. Both earn the reward and both get a co-op count bump.
Screen credits appear below the chore logger when a kid has credits available.
Spends one screen credit. A "📺 Show time!" entry appears in the log. This represents one 30-minute session (or whatever your family defines a "show" as).
When a kid has 3+ credits, a gold "Movie earned!" card appears. Tap it to spend 3 credits at once. A "🎬 Movie time!" entry logs it.
If a kid watches a show before earning the credit, log the show use first. They'll go into negative credits (or 0). They earn it back through chores. The app frames this as "completing a transaction" — not a punishment. The kid started something, now they finish it.
Screen Time Only mode simplifies everything — every chore earns 1 credit, 3 credits = 1 movie. No cash, no math, no choices. Great for ages 3–5.
Made an entry with the wrong date, wrong chore, or wrong kid? Go to the History tab and tap Edit on any entry.
Tapping Edit opens an inline panel where you can change:
Move an entry to a different day. The weekly earnings recalculate automatically.
Change which chore was logged. Picks from your chore list.
Adjust the dollar amount. Useful if you gave a custom amount.
Change between Cash, Screen Credit, Self-Initiated, Assist, or Team.
Updates the entry and recalculates all stats — weekly totals, all-time totals, screen credits, co-op counts. Everything stays accurate.
If the entry shouldn't exist at all, tap Remove Entry. This creates a transparent audit trail — both the original entry (struck through) and a "↩ Removed" record stay in the log. Stats are reversed. On the kid's dashboard, removed entries show as "↩ Updated" — neutral, not punitive.
The Analytics tab gives you a visual overview of each kid's activity.
Bar chart showing the last 8 weeks of earnings. Each bar represents one week's total. Helps you see trends — are they earning more or less over time?
Frequency bars showing which chores each kid does most. Useful for spotting if they're only doing the easy ones or if they're branching out.
Total earned, credits, co-ops, and total chore count — all time.
The Goals tab lets you set targets for each kid.
Do something X times to earn a reward. Example: "Feed the dogs 7 days in a row → ice cream trip." Tap +1 to manually track progress. A progress bar fills up. When it hits the target, it marks complete with a celebration.
Accumulate a dollar amount toward something specific. Example: "Save $25 → Lego set." Tap +$0.50 to add to progress (or use the +1 for whole dollars). The progress bar shows how close they are.
At the bottom of the Goals tab: pick Activity or Savings, enter the goal name, set the target number, choose an emoji, and enter the reward. Tap Add Goal. Goals are per-kid — switch kids at the top to see and set each kid's goals.
Savings goals teach delayed gratification visually. The kid can see on their dashboard exactly how far they are from what they want.
The Board tab shows a side-by-side view of this week's contributions across all kids.
Visual comparison of this week's earnings per kid. Each kid gets a colored segment proportional to what they've earned.
Same visual but counting number of chores completed this week.
Shows each kid's total co-op count. Highlights collaboration alongside individual progress.
The board's message always reads "Every chore helps the family! 💪" — the visual bars do the motivating, the words stay supportive. No "you're behind," no comparisons in text.
A master toggle turns the entire board on or off. Each kid also has their own toggle — useful if one kid doesn't respond well to visual comparison. Turn their toggle off and they disappear from the board while the other kid(s) still see it.
The Settings tab controls everything about how your family's tracker works.
Four options: Dark (default), Light, Fun (kid-friendly warm colors and Fredoka font), and A11y (high-contrast, WCAG AAA). Your choice saves instantly and persists across sessions.
Master on/off for the entire board, plus per-kid toggles. See the Board section above.
Each kid gets their own unique link. Tap Copy Link to copy it, then paste it into Safari/Chrome on the kid's device and bookmark it (or Add to Home Screen). Each link goes directly to that kid's dashboard — no login needed.
Copy the invite link and send it to your co-parent. They create their own account and enter the invite link (or click it). They'll automatically join your family and see the same data. Both parents can log chores, edit entries, and manage everything. Changes sync in real time.
Three options:
Each chore: kid picks cash or a screen credit. Self-initiated earns both. Best for ages 6+.
Every chore earns 1 screen credit. 3 credits = 1 movie. No cash, no math. Best for ages 3–5.
Every chore has a cash value. No screen tracking. Best for ages 9+ or families who don't use screen time as a reward.
All your chores listed alphabetically with values and tiers. At the bottom, add new chores: enter a name, pick the tier (Low $0.50 / Med $1.00 / High $1.50), add an emoji, and tap Add Chore.
Chore tiers set the default cash value: Low ($0.50), Medium ($1.00), High ($1.50). You can customize these. Harder chores = higher tier. The dropdown on the Log tab sorts by tier (lowest first) then alphabetically, so quick easy chores are at the top.
The kid dashboard is a read-only view — kids can look but can't change anything. No login required. The default theme is Fun (warm colors, playful font).
Their emoji, name, and current rank. Ranks progress as they complete more chores: Rookie → Getting Started → Hard Worker → Rising Star → All-Star Helper → Super Champion → Legendary Hero.
Same four numbers the parent sees — earned, credits, all time, co-ops.
A visual bar showing credit progress toward a movie (3 credits). "2 / 3 shows — 1 more!" When they hit 3, a gold celebration card appears.
If enabled by parent, shows the same side-by-side bars. Message: "Every chore helps the family! 💪"
Progress bars for each of their goals with reward names visible.
Shows their co-op count with encouraging text.
Frequency bars of their most-done chores.
All available chores shown as chips — so the kid can see what's available to earn.
Kids can switch to the History tab to see their chore log. Removed entries show as "↩ Updated" — no negative language.
Kids can switch between Fun, Dark, Light, and A11y themes at the top of their dashboard. Their choice saves separately from the parent's theme.
Personalized: "Keep going, Atlas! ⚡" with their name and emoji.
The demo is a fully interactive parent portal with pre-loaded sample data. No account needed.
showsandchores.com/demo.html for the generic demo, or showsandchores.com/demo.html?name=maddie for a personalized one. Anyone can create their own by changing the name in the URL.
Pre-seeded with 3 weeks of realistic data for two sample kids (Emma and Liam). Includes a mix of chore types, bonuses, screen credits, and goals.
You can log chores, use screen credits, edit entries, add goals, change settings — everything works just like the real app.
If you (or someone exploring) messes up the sample data, tap Restore Demo Data in the demo banner. It resets everything to the original 3-week sample.
The demo banner shows a per-kid dashboard link for each sample kid. Tap to see what the kid view looks like with real data.
Each unique name in the URL creates its own isolated data set. Two people exploring ?name=maddie share data, but ?name=sarah is completely separate.
The teacher portal at teachers.showsandchores.com (or showsandchores.com/teacher.html) is a classroom-specific version of the tracker.
Everything uses "reward credits" instead of money. No dollar amounts anywhere. Teachers define classroom rewards (extra recess, homework pass, sticker pick) with credit costs.
The language uses "contributions" and "classroom contributions" instead of "chores" and "behavior tracking."
Communication between teachers and parents uses pre-built message chips — no free text. This protects privacy and keeps communication positive and consistent.
Teacher creates an account, enters their name, school name, and adds students (names + emojis). Default classroom contributions and rewards are pre-loaded.
Select a student from the grid, pick a contribution, tap Log. Student's credits update instantly.
Full roster with credit balances. Add new students here.
Redeem rewards for the selected student. Shows which rewards they can afford and how many more credits they need for the rest. Add custom rewards with any credit cost.
Full contribution log — who did what and when, plus redemptions.
Send pre-built messages to a student's family. "Great day today!" "Really helpful in class!" "Showed leadership today" — tap to send.
Theme picker, classroom info, and contribution management (add/view contributions with credit values and tiers).
School authorization required. Classroom features are designed for school-level adoption, not individual teacher self-service. See the Privacy & Terms page for details on FERPA, COPPA, and data privacy agreements.
Shows and Chores is built with aggressive cache resistance. Every page includes no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate headers at both the HTML level and the server level. When we push an update, you get it immediately on your next visit — no stale versions, no clearing cache manually.
On iPhone: close the app completely (swipe up from app switcher), reopen. On Android: same — close and reopen. On desktop: hard refresh with Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac).
Delete the home screen bookmark and re-add it using the steps in the Install section above. This forces a completely fresh load.
Data syncs in real time via Firebase. If one parent logs a chore, the other parent and the kid dashboards see it instantly — no refresh needed. The data is always live.