Homeschool · Placement

Where should we start?

A short, relaxed check, about 10 minutes, that finds the right starting point in reading, spelling and arithmetic. Your child reads a few lines, spells a few words or works a few sums; you say how it went; the page moves up or down until it finds the level that is just right. Then it can set everything up in the lesson planner.

Who are we checking?

Name Age

Check 📖 Reading ✏️ Spelling 🧮 Arithmetic

Tips: do it on a good day, at the table, not right before a meal. Tell your child it isn't a test; you're just finding the right page. It's fine to stop and come back.

How it works

Each subject is a ladder of short checks taken from the books themselves: lines from McGuffey's Readers, words from Webster's and McGuffey's spellers, and sums at the level of each part of Ray's Arithmetic. It starts near your child's age. If a check is easy it moves up; if it's too hard it moves down; it stops at the level where your child needs a little help, or at the last one that felt comfortable, so the first few lessons build confidence. You are the judge: you know when your child is guessing or struggling.

For history, science, nature study, geography, writing and Latin, there's no need to check: start at Lesson 1 of the book the planner suggests for your child's age.