All About Reading Pre-Reading: The Good, The Meh, and What Actually Worked for Us

What We Loved (Yes, There Were Things!)

Ziggy the zebra is genuinely delightful. My daughter adored him, and I have to admit, he made our reading lessons feel special. The pre-reading skills activities were actually fantastic - all those rhyming games, syllable work, and phonological awareness activities? Chef's kiss. This is where All About Reading really shines. If you're looking for solid pre-reading skills development, this program has you covered.

The interactive elements kept my 5-year-old engaged, and the systematic approach felt reassuring for this mama who sometimes second-guesses herself. There's something comforting about having a plan laid out, especially when you're navigating those early literacy waters.

Where It Fell Flat for Our Family

Here's where I have to be honest - this program just didn't stick for us the way I hoped. After about 3.5 months, I noticed something concerning. My daughter could tell me that "horse" started with the /h/ sound, but when I laid out a small pile of letters, she couldn't easily find the letter H. The sounds were going in, but the letter recognition wasn't following. That was my wake-up call that something wasn't quite clicking.

The Research Backing (Because I'm a Nerd Like That)

Here's something interesting I discovered during our journey: there's solid research showing that children learn letter-sound relationships much more effectively when taught with embedded picture mnemonics. Studies have found that such embedded mnemonic pictures can reduce the amount of repetition needed for kids to learn the letters and sounds, with less confusion, better long-term memory, and greater ability to transfer or apply this knowledge in reading and spelling.

This is exactly why we ended up switching to "The Alphabet" (Pine Cone and Pepper Pot series) and later to Be Earth through Earthschooling. Those programs gave us clear, memorable pictures connected to each letter sound. Walking the letters, drawing them on each other's backs, creating those strong visual-kinesthetic connections - that's what finally made everything click for us.

What We Did Instead (And Why It Worked Better)

About halfway through, we made the switch to Be Earth curriculum through Earthschooling, and wow - what a difference! The multi-sensory approach was exactly what my daughter needed. We spent a whole year just on the alphabet sounds, and it never felt like a drag because we were playing, moving, and creating.

Food formation became our thing. Making the letter shapes with dough, then pretending to be the animal that started with that letter while eating our creation? Pure magic. The learning was happening through joy, not repetition.

Who This Program Might Work For

Look, I don't want to completely bash All About Reading Pre-Reading. For families who need a structured, laid-out program and don't have the brain space to dream up different activities for each letter, this could be a solid choice. The phonological awareness component is genuinely excellent.

But here's my honest take: don't skip straight to Level 1. Yes in the three hours this has been published I have had someone ask me why I didn’t just skip it if it wasn’t working. You can not just skip to reading without having the foundations in place. That will end in tears for everyone involved. If you're going to use this program or any program, commit to the pre-reading work first.

That said, for this age group (preschool to early kindergarten), the absolute best "curriculum" is still just playing and singing together. Everything else is gravy.

The Bottom Line for Working Parents

Here's what working parents need to know: this program will require supplementation. You'll need to add letter formation activities, and you might find yourself hunting for better stories and rhymes that actually connect to the sounds you're teaching.

If you have the bandwidth for that, great! If not, you might want to look at something like the Earthschooling approach or even just focus on rich play-based learning until your child is a bit older.

Final Thoughts

We ended up loving Level 1 of All About Reading much more than the Pre-Reading program. By then, we had all our foundational pieces in place (thanks to our supplements and switches), and AAR's systematic phonics approach really shone. But the Pre-Reading level? It felt like we were doing the heavy lifting while the program just... existed alongside us.

Would I recommend it? Maybe, with heavy caveats. It's not bad, but it's not magical either. And at this tender age, learning should feel at least a little bit magical, don't you think?

What's been your experience with early reading programs? I'd love to hear what's worked (or hasn't worked) for your family?