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For homeschooling

You are the teacher as well as the parent, so this page is about what gets written down.

What is kept

Every book finished, how long it took, and which words turned up for the first time. Where a page is read aloud, how many words came out as written. Where questions are answered, how many they got.

All of it is on their progress page, and any of it can be put on a report card behind a link you can send to somebody. The link lasts a month and you can stop it sooner.

What is not kept

No percentile, no reading age, nothing comparable with another child. That is a decision, not a gap: a measurement taken at a kitchen table over a few books is not a school assessment, and dressing it up as one would be worse than useless.

We also do not claim alignment to a curriculum. There are 11 phonics phases here in a sensible order, and they will be close to whichever scheme you are using without being the same as it.

What a book looks like at each age

These are the figures the writing is held to rather than a description of it. A draft outside its band is rewritten before a picture is drawn.

  • Ages 2 to 5

    A short picture book for you to read out loud.

    Length
    100–500 words
    Pages
    10–16
    Pictures
    8–10
    Chapters
    None
    Questions at the end
    2

    How this level works for ages 2 to 5

  • Ages 5 to 7

    A first book, built from the sounds your child already knows.

    Length
    500–1,500 words
    Pages
    12–20
    Pictures
    8–12
    Chapters
    None
    Questions at the end
    3

    How this level works for ages 5 to 7

  • Ages 7 to 9

    A first chapter book, with a hook at the end of every chapter.

    Length
    4,000–9,000 words
    Pages
    18–34
    Pictures
    4–6
    Chapters
    6–10
    Questions at the end
    3

    How this level works for ages 7 to 9

  • Ages 9 to 12

    A longer story with subplots and choices your child makes.

    Length
    8,000–15,000 words
    Pages
    24–50
    Pictures
    3–5
    Chapters
    8–14
    Questions at the end
    3

    How this level works for ages 9 to 12

More than one child

Each reader has their own level, phase, interests and record, and nothing we measure puts one beside another. The exception is the weekly board, which is by age group rather than household, so two children close in age can land on the same one. It does not start until you agree to the notice that describes it, and you can switch it off per reader.

A record you can hand to somebody

Books at the level they are on, and a report card behind a link that expires.

No adverts, and nothing a child can buy.

Make their first book