January 18 2026

Before the Beginning: The Missing Step in Early Literacy

Every year, when new five-year-olds arrive at school, I hear the same quiet frustration.

"What did they teach them at kindy?"

"Surely they should already know this."

"It's much harder when they haven't been to preschool."

These comments usually aren't unkind. They come from pressure, expectations, and a system that assumes children arrive at school with the same foundations.

But there's a crucial misunderstanding at the heart of this transition.

Preschools and early childhood centres are meant to focus on play. Children under five are expected to learn through movement, exploration, imagination, and hands-on experiences, and that is exactly what should be happening.

Play isn't the problem.

The gap appears when children move from play-based learning into formal education far more suddenly than we realise.

When learning changes shape overnight

In early childhood settings, learning looks like touching, building, moving, experimenting, and using the whole body.

Then school begins and learning often shifts to sitting still, listening carefully, following spoken instructions, recognising symbols on a page, and producing written work.

Even in schools committed to play-based learning, literacy becomes formal very quickly.

And this is where learning can start to feel hard.

Not because children aren't ready. But because a key step has often been missed.

The step before phonics that many children need

Early literacy frequently jumps straight into phonics: learning sounds, blending, segmenting, listening closely.

For some children, this works.

For others, it doesn't, not because of ability, but because phonics assumes an understanding that hasn't fully formed yet.

Many children can sing the alphabet song beautifully. But that doesn't mean they understand that letters are symbols, that symbols carry meaning, and that letters are the building blocks of words.

Here's something I notice constantly: many of my younger clients aren't even familiar with the term "the alphabet." They call it their "ABCs." And this isn't just five-year-olds. I hear this from eight, nine, ten-year-olds, and older. They've been singing their ABCs for years but have no idea that's called "the alphabet."

They can recite "A-B-C-D-E-F-G" perfectly, yet when you ask them to identify letters, they usually know A, but struggle with those middle letters like L, M, N, O, P.

Others know letter names, but don't yet grasp how letters come together to form words.

Singing the alphabet and understanding the alphabet are not the same thing.

When phonics is layered on top of shaky foundations, confusion sets in, and confusion is where struggle begins.

Why around 20% of children quietly fall behind

In almost every classroom, there is a group of children who don't quite keep pace once learning becomes abstract.

These are often children who learn best visually or spatially, need to move and manipulate to understand, benefit from hands-on tactile learning, may later be identified with learning differences (or may not), and simply need a more concrete foundation before abstraction.

They are not failing. They are not less capable. They are not doing anything wrong.

They are learning in a way the system hasn't slowed down enough to support.

When early literacy relies heavily on listening and verbal instruction alone, these children are unintentionally left behind.

What this actually looks like

Before we expect children to write letters with a pencil, they need to understand letters with their hands.

Imagine a five-year-old sitting with a lump of clay.

First, they just explore. Squeezing, rolling, pressing. Building the hand strength they'll need to hold a pencil properly later.

Then they roll it into lines. Long lines, short lines, thick lines, thin lines. These lines are the foundation of letters. They're learning what it feels like to create these shapes with their hands.

Then they make basic shapes. Circles. Curves. Straight sticks. They're not making letters yet. They're learning what these fundamental shapes feel like to create, and understanding that these shapes are what letters are made from.

Then they start forming letters. Not by tracing them on paper. Not by watching a teacher write them on a board. But by building them with their own hands.

They roll out a snake of clay and curve it into a C. They make two sticks and a cross piece for an A. They feel the difference between a D and a B in their fingers.

And here's something critical: when children build letters with clay, you can see immediately how they're perceiving them. If they're mixing up b and d, or flipping letters around, you catch it right then and there. This is the time to correct it, when they're forming the letter with their own hands, not later when confusion has already taken hold.

The focus is purely on the shape and form of the letter. Not the sound. Not writing it correctly. Just understanding what this letter is as a physical thing.

Building letters with clay strengthens fine motor skills, supports the hand muscles needed for writing, helps children learn letter shape and form, anchors learning in movement and touch, and makes abstract symbols concrete.

This isn't "extra" learning. It's foundational learning.

When children physically build letters, they aren't just memorising, they're understanding.

And once that understanding is secure, phonics becomes far more accessible.

This is multi-sensory learning in its truest form. Visual, tactile, kinaesthetic. The way young brains are actually wired to learn.

This isn't about blame, it's about bridges

This isn't a criticism of preschools. And it isn't a criticism of teachers.

Early childhood education and primary education are designed for different developmental stages, and both matter deeply.

The issue is the gap between them.

When that gap isn't bridged intentionally, some children arrive at school expected to "just know" things they haven't yet had the opportunity to fully understand.

Learning doesn't become hard because of ability. It becomes hard when clarity is missing.

What parents often notice first

Parents usually sense this before anyone else.

Learning starts to feel harder than it should. Confidence dips. Focus wanders. Children compare themselves to peers who seem to move forward more easily.

These aren't signs something is wrong. They're signs something doesn't quite make sense yet.

And when we respond with clarity, not pressure, learning can move forward again.

A better starting point

Imagine if, before phonics, every child had time to explore letters physically, understand what letters are, connect symbols to real words, and build confidence through hands-on success.

This wouldn't benefit just a small group of children. It would benefit every child.

And it would change how many children experience the start of school.

The sequence that actually works

Here's what early literacy could look like if we filled this gap:

Stage 1: Play and exploration (preschool/kindy) Building, creating, developing gross and fine motor skills through play.

Stage 2: Before the Beginning (late kindy/early Year 1) Hands-on, multi-sensory alphabet foundation using clay and tactile materials. Understanding letter shapes and forms through building and creating.

Stage 3: Phonics (Year 1 onwards) Now that children understand what letters are physically, they're ready to learn what sounds they make and how they work together.

Imagine how different the literacy journey would be if we included that missing step.

Who this is for

This approach isn't just for children who are already struggling. It's for:

Every child starting school. Building this foundation benefits all learners, regardless of their natural strengths or challenges.

Children who are visual-spatial or kinaesthetic learners. These children need to see and touch to understand. Phonics alone leaves them behind.

Children with undiagnosed learning differences. Many children who will later be identified with dyslexia or other challenges could start on much stronger footing with this foundation.

Children who haven't attended preschool. These children especially need this bridge between home and formalised education.

Moving forward

I'm developing a workshop called "Before the Beginning: Building Strong Foundations for Every Learner" for teachers, SENCOs, home educators, and parents who want to understand and implement this approach.

For teachers and SENCOs: What if we built this stage into our junior classrooms? What if the first term of Year 1 focused on hands-on, multi-sensory alphabet mastery before we introduced phonics?

The children who grasp it quickly move on. The children who need more time get the foundation they actually need. Everyone wins.

For home educators: This is something you can build into your approach from the start. Before you introduce reading programmes or phonics, give your child this tactile, hands-on foundation.

For parents: If your child is struggling with letters, phonics, or writing, it might not be that they need more practice. It might be that they're missing this fundamental step. Going back to build this foundation can transform their entire literacy journey.

Because every child deserves to start their literacy journey on solid ground. Not 80% of children. Every child.

If you'd like to know more about this approach or the workshop, visit dyslexiaunpuzzled.co.nz or get in touch with Nikki dyslexiaunpuzzled@gmail.com

Let's stop asking "What did they teach them at preschool?" and start asking "What step are we missing?"

The answer might change everything.

About the Author

Nikki Palamountain is an expert consultant specialising in dyslexia, ADHD, and dyscalculia. With over 30 years of teaching experience, she works with neurodiverse children, teens, and adults who need clarity, confidence, and meaningful progress in their learning. Through her highly individualised programmes at Dyslexia Unpuzzled, Nikki delivers intensive, strengths-based, hands-on learning that builds strong foundations and genuine understanding. She supports families throughout New Zealand, offering expert insight, practical tools, and reliable guidance throughout the entire learning journey.